Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to win the NBA title for the first time since their last championship win last 1971. He scored 50 points with a 105-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
This NBA star started playing basketball at the age of thirteen to help his family escape poverty. He brought his team their first NBA title Tuesday night with the humility that showed his deep faith in the Lord. Antetokounmpo was awarded the Finals MVP after obtaining 35 points in the Finals. In addition, he was the regular season MVP of the NBA in 2019 and 2020. He gave God the glory with his first NBA MVP, and he thanked God with his 2020 MVP acceptance speech.
He was born in Athens, Greece, to Nigerian parents who immigrated to Greek in search of greener pastures and was known as the “Greek Freak.” Despite this search for a better life, his family could not escape poverty. He and his brother sold watches and other items on the streets of Athens so they could eat. He only considered basketball as a serious game at the age of 13 with the hopes that he could feed his family.
He considers himself extremely blessed as he held the Finals MVP trophy and the FInals Trophy. A Greek Orthodox, Antetokounmpo has not forgotten his origins. He reiterated, “Even if I never have the chance to sit at this table ever again, I’m fine with it.”
Giannis Being Mentored by Kobe Bryant
Antetokounmpo embraced the ‘Mamba Mentality‘ during his mentorship under Kobe Bryant, the ‘Black Mamba.’ This mentality is embodied in Kobe’s work ethic—he practiced and trained. As a result, Kobe became one of the greatest NBA players because of the standard he has set for himself.
The late Kobe Bryant said, “Giannis came to work out with me this summer, and he showed up one-and-a-half hours early. We talked for 20 minutes before we worked out, and he whips out a notepad. What the….he starts taking down notes. ‘What about the footwork here? What about the coverage here?’ and he’s writing them down.”
Kobe even predicted Giannis’ road to becoming an NBA superstar as he said, “He just has the mentality that he’s just getting better all the time. He’s just scratching the surface.”
Celebratory Feast
Finals MVP decided to have a celebratory feast on Wednesday by ordering 50 chicken nuggets representing the first NBA title of Milwaukee Bucks in 50 years with a 50-points Game 6 performance against the Phoenix Suns.