Kostas Antetokounmpo Joins Turkish Team Fenerbahce

Greek basketball star Kostas Antetokounmpo signed with Turkish club Fenerbahce just a few days after splitting from the Chicago Bulls.

Kostas is Giannis Antetokounmpo’s brother, the renowned basketballer who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kostas Antetokounmpo will train under Greek coach Dimitris Itoudis in Istanbul during his tenure at Fenerbahce. This will be until the end of the season.

Fenerbahce contract

Fenerbahce announced the deal on Tuesday. Antetokounmpo will play for the Turkish basketball team during the 2022-2023 season.

Fenerbahce is part of a major multi-sport club in Istanbul. The basketball team’s parent club, Fenerbahce SK, organizes several other sports teams in football, volleyball, table tennis, athletics, swimming, sailing, boxing, rowing, and eSports.

Greek team Panathinaikos Athens was also reportedly interested in signing Antetokounmpo, but he opted for Fenerbahce.

Antetokounmpo will be joined by Greek compatriot Dimitris Itoudis, who signed a three-year contract to coach at Fenerbahce earlier in the summer this year.

Kostas Antetokounmpo

Kostas began playing junior basketball with Filathlitikos in Athens, the city of his birth. In 2013, his brother, Giannis, was drafted to play for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA, and the family moved to the United States.

He attended school in Wisconsin, where he played high school basketball. He was a successful young player and led his team to the state championship during his senior year.

Antetokounmpo also played basketball at Dayton University. He debuted in the 2017 to 2018 season averaging 5.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game, in 15.1 minutes per game.

Professional career

Antetokounmpo entered the NBA draft in 2018. He was initially picked up by the Philadelphia 76ers but was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks. He signed a two-way contract that allowed him to play for the Mavericks and their NBA G League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

He made his NBA debut on March 20, 2019, in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. In July 2019, Antetokounmpo signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. He became the first Greek-born player to win an NBA championship when the Lakers beat the Miami Heat in six games.

He played for the Lakers between 2019 and 2021. Then, between 2021 and 2022, he played for the French team, ASVEL. In October 2022, Antetokounmpo signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls but was waived by December of that year and did not appear in any games for the team.

Antetokounmpo has also played for Greece nationally. He was selected by Greek coach Dimitris Itoudis alongside three of his brothers to play in the 2022 EuroBasket and World Cup qualifiers.

Antetokounmpo brothers

Kostas Antetokounmpo comes from a successful sporting family. His brothers, Giannis, Thanasis, and Alexandros, are all professional basketball players. His oldest brother, Francis, is a professional association football player as well as a semi-professional basketball player.

The Antetokounmpo parents left their native Nigeria and settled down in Greece. Their father, Charles, was also an athlete and played football for Nigeria. Likewise, their mother, Veronica, was a high jumper.

Of course, currently, Giannis is the most famous name among the brothers. Earlier this month, he reached an impressive 15,000-point milestone in his career.