Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in the news this summer as people around the NBA wonder about his future. Will he remain in Milwaukee and be a lifelong Buck, or will he force his way to greener pastures in pursuit of another championship?
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For now, it feels like Giannis isn’t going anywhere. The Bucks have been doing everything they can to prove to him that they’re serious about competing next year, though it’s debatable whether waiving Damian Lillard in order to sign Myles Turner was smart or reckless.
It’s always fun to step into the NBA rumor mill and speculate on the future of the game’s biggest stars, but Giannis is the rare superstar whose past is more interesting than whatever lies ahead. It’s so interesting, in fact, that Disney made a movie about it three years ago.
The 2022 Disney+ original film Rise details the journey of the Antetokounmpo family from Nigerian immigrants to basketball royalty. Unlike most sports movies though, Rise doesn’t spend all its time on the court. It shows instead how difficult it was for Giannis’ parents to emigrate from Nigeria to Greece in search of a better life for their boys.
That decision was by design, as Giannis revealed in a recent live episode of the Thanalysis podcast. “Around 2018, I went to the [Disney] headquarters and spoke with one of the executives,” he said. “And he was like, ‘Yo, you guys have an incredible story. We’re gonna to talk about basketball, we’re gonna talk about this, we’re gonna talk about that.”
“I was listening,” Giannis continued, “and at the time, I realized this story is not a basketball story, and this is not our story for it to be told. It’s our parents’ story. Dad had passed away one year prior to that, so I was like, ‘No no, this is Mom and Dad’s story of the sacrifice they made throughout their journey for us to be in a better position to be successful in life.'”
Giannis said that even after he told Disney this, the first script he received was still “straight Hollywood.” After some back-and-forth between the family and the studio, a final draft was hammered out which included many real-life details but still kept things family-friendly. “It was the light version of our story,” Giannis said, “but I’m still happy with it.”
The result is not your average sports movie, but one that was incredibly well-received with a 91% Tomato meter (critics score) and an 85% Popcorn meter (audience score).
Giannis and his brothers all either admitted to crying while watching the movie or took the fifth to avoid incriminating themselves.
The Antetokounmpos have always shared a special bond. Family has been at the foundation of everything they’ve done, and this movie is no different. The film ends with Giannis being drafted, but, fittingly, the final shot is a freeze-frame of his parents smiling at each other, secure in the knowledge that all their hard work and sacrifice paid off.
