A wave of international players have taken over the NBA, and near the top of the list is the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. The MVP winner and NBA champion came from extremely humble origins. His brother and teammate Thanasis opened up about the challenging road they took to the NBA during an appearance on Above the Rim with Dwight Howard.
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Given his stature in the game now, it is difficult for most fans to imagine a time when The Greek Freak could have been playing in the third division in Greece for peanuts. “When we first started, me and Giannis used to make 300 euros combined,” said Thanasis.
The brothers have combined to make over $290 million in the NBA now. Thanasis went on to say that he and Giannis didn’t think much about money in those early years. “You start with the love of the game first,” he said.
Thanasis and Giannis were inspired to pick up the game after watching the Greek national team defeat Team USA in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Cup in Japan. Thanks to a team loaded with legendary European players, Greece prevailed in the semis, but lost in the final to Spain. The stars included Theo Papaloukas, Vassilis Spanoulis, and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who was known as Baby Shaq.
[That team] shaped the way we looked at basketball,” Thanasis revealed.
That game sent Giannis and Thanasis on the path to a life in basketball, one that culminated with them coming to America to play in the NBA. Even younger brothers, Kostas and Alex, have taken up basketball as their career. They were both drafted by the NBA at one point.
Thanasis has been vital in Giannis’s on-court success
Gilbert Arenas believes that people don’t realize how important Thanasis has been to the Bucks and Giannis’ success.
“Besides Giannis, the most important player on that team was Thanasis,” Arenas said on an episode of his podcast, Gil’s Arena.
Even though Thanasis hasn’t contributed much on the court during his time in the league, Arenas’ take cannot be shunned to the side. Giannis clearly has a different motor to him when his brother is courtside.
The Bucks are undefeated with Thanasis onlooking Bucks games this season. Jeff Teague, a former Buck, has also stated that the unique connection between the 2x MVP and his older brother fuels Giannis to do better.
Thanasis is still recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in May, which will force him to miss the entire season. He’s currently an unrestricted free agent and it’s unclear if Milwaukee will look to pick him up once he’s healthy.
Unsurprisingly, the Bucks have overcome their slow start to become the hottest team in the NBA and the winners of the NBA Cup, with Giannis claiming tournament MVP.
