By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
For the second straight year after the 2017 tour, Eurohoops, home of Giannis’ official blog, traveled to Milwaukee for a sit-down with the NBA All-Star.
And it’s not easy to “unlock” him. Giannis is not only an athletic phenomenon, but a deeply insightful person who knows what to do and say as the “Greek Freak”. And while he is always authentic, he likes to keep things for himself. In order to know the real Giannis, you have to look behind his backstory and the hardships of his childhood. Those are the things that made him, but not necessarily define him at the current point of his life.
This is the real Giannis – and according to his words “not little-Giannis anymore” – talking about the competition with LeBron James and his respect for the “King”, his knee and his very difficult decision not to play last summer for the Greek national team, the loss of his father Charles, his shooting and his future with the Milwaukee Bucks, which is tied to the goal of winning a championship title.
He expressed himself in his native language of Greek and here’s what he had to say.
In the first part of the interview, Giannis speaks about his shooting ability, his knee issue, the pain that he feels and his decision not to play for the Greek national team in Eurobasket 2017.
In the second part, he explains why trash talking is needed in the NBA, he expresses what he feels the Bucks need from him and also his admiration for LeBron James. And he also addresses his future with the Bucks and what it may be if the team is not transformed to a title contender.
In the third and most personal part, he speaks about the interaction he has with other NBA stars, the moment that Kevin Durant dunked on him, the thing that makes LeBron the best player on the League, the loss of his father and the idea of the four Antetokounmpo brothers winning a medal for Greece. Giannis wants the name “Antetokounmpo” to mean more than basketball and help people in Greece and Africa.