By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
CHICAGO – As a team captain, Giannis Antetokounmpo has responsibility this weekend, and this is to win. While he was heavily criticized for his choices for Team Giannis, he explains that he likes his roster, and he likes the fact that he is once again an underdog.
As he explained: “My whole life, I’ve been an underdog. I picked guys similar to me. I want to chase; I don’t want to be with the best, I want to beat the best. People say I’m a bad GM and made the wrong choice. You can’t go wrong when picking out of the 24 best players in the world”.
Meanwhile, Giannis is already enjoying fatherhood. “I call him the MVB, most valuable baby,” he said, smiling when asked about his newborn son and the differences in his life right now, before adding in Greek: “At this point, he just sleeps, eats and sh*ts.”
This All-Star Weekend is a celebration, and Giannis’ mood fits right into it. On the other hand, Giannis, like the rest of the NBA, is honoring the memory of Kobe Bryant.
“He was my idol. … He was the Michael Jordan of our generation”, said Giannis about his latest basketball mentor.
And since Giannis has proved time and time that he is also skilled in European football, he was asked if he prefers Real Madrid or Barcelona. “Both Messi and Cristiano are great players, but I would go with Christiano,” keeping as a gift a Real Madrid jersey.
However, when he left the podium, he got another jersey as a gift, which is more dear to him — a replica of his old jersey from the Greek second division team, Filathlitikos.
It’s coming full circle for a kid for Sepolia, Athens, who is now having a practice in front of 12.000 raving fans.