Giannis Antetokounmpo informed his millions of fans in Greece that he’s coming back to the country — and not only that, he’s bringing with him the NBA trophy he won earlier this month.
In a tweet in Greek, Antetokounmpo said ”We’re coming, and we’re bringing the cup with us!” adding a mention to Thanassis Antetokounmpo, his brother, who is obviously coming with Giannis to Greece as well.
Ερχόμαστε και φέρνουμε κ το κύπελλο!!! 🏆 @Thanasis_ante43
— Giannis Ugo Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) July 29, 2021
In less than ten hours, his tweet got more than 22,000 likes, with thousands of people commenting below it.
”Bring it, Giannis, we’re gonna tear down the walls,” a Twitter user said, referring to the Ancient Greek custom of tearing down a part of a city’s fortifications when an Olympian was returning as a winner from the Olympic Games in ancient Greece.
This was the ultimate show of appreciation in the ancient Greek world, as it demonstrated that the city was not in need of fortifications anymore, as it was home to the strongest man in the country.
The Greek Freak led the Bucks to the top of the NBA
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns 100-94 in game six of the NBA finals to win the 2021 NBA Championship on July 20, 2021 — the first NBA championship for the Bucks in decades.
The Greek Freak once again led the team to a great game to secure the first Championship of his career. Behind 50 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks from their superstar forward, the Bucks held off the Phoenix Suns to win the franchise’s first championship since 1971 on their home court.
The Bucks did so in front of a wild crowd of more than 17,000 fans inside Fiserv Forum — along with a truly remarkable 65,000 more fans assembled outside into the “Deer District” surrounding the building.
The atmosphere there was out of this world.
Antetokounmpo won the Bill Russell NBA Finals’ Most Valuable Player Award that night, for his extraordinary performance.
His 50 points were tied for the most all-time in a closeout game of the NBA Finals, according to the ESPN Stats and Information research.
They equaled Bob Pettit’s 50 points for the St. Louis Hawks at home in Game 6 of the 1958 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
The Last Time Antetokounmpo Returned to Greece
In 2019, Giannis and his family returned to Sepolia and received a hero’s welcome. Thousands of Greeks turned out to greet their homegrown hero.
Antetokounmpo was born in the Athens neighborhood of Sepolia on December 6, 1994.
He was the son of immigrants from Nigeria, who had come to Greece illegally in an attempt to get a better life.
Three years earlier, his parents had moved from Lagos, leaving behind their firstborn son, Francis, with his grandparents.
The Greek Freak, with his brothers Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex, together with their mother Veronica Antetokounmpo and their older brother Francis Antetokounmpo, hosted the 2019 “AntetokounBros” event that took place in the area where the family used to live.
Sepolia was the place where everything began for Giannis and his brothers.
“It’s amazing. Who would have imagined that this would happen? I get chills with what was going on today,” Giannis had said emotionally. “No matter how much you achieve, the point is to not forget where you started. I will always start at Sepolia.”
Although Giannis and three of his four brothers were born in Greece, their parents had come there illegally. They did not automatically receive full Greek citizenship as Greek nationality law follows the concept of jus sanguinis. For the first 18 years of his life, Antetokounmpo was effectively stateless, having no official documents from either Nigeria or Greece.
Related: The “Lost Antetokounmpos” of Greece.
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