Giannis Antetokounmpo brothers: Meet the ‘Greek Freaks’

We all know who Giannis Antetokounmpo is. The ‘Greek Freak’ is a familiar name in the NBA after winning two consecutive Most Valuable Player titles in 2019 and 2020. He started his playing career for the Greek basketball club Filathlitikos, which played in the semi-pro Greek Basketball League. In 2013, he registered himself for the NBA draft and was selected 15th overall by Milwaukee Bucks. He has been with Milwaukee ever since, making five NBA All-Star appearances in seven seasons. Giannis Antetokounmpo has enjoyed a stellar career, with so many achievements to his credit. But how much do we know about the brothers of the 2019 NBA MVP?

Giannis has two older brothers and two younger brothers who are also athletes. Three of the Antetokounmpo brothers are NBA basketball players. None of them, though, have had the same influence as Giannis. Francis, Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex are his brothers.

Francis Antetokounmpo 

32-year-old Francis hasn’t been involved in basketball. He is involved in soccer and plays as a midfielder. While he hasn’t played in top-tier football, he played for AE Sparti, a Greek lower-tier club. He stayed till 2018 and joined Atitos Spaton. He played there for a year and left them in 2019. Furthermore, despite being from a family of athletes, he has always had music in his blood. Francis has used it as inspiration to encourage him to pursue music. Similarly, on July 22nd, 2020, he released his first single, titled “Shekosi.” Darko Peric, a Serbian singer, made a cameo appearance in this song. 

Thanasis Antetokounmpo 

The 28-year-old small forward currently plies his trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, the same team as his younger brother, Giannis. Thanasis started his basketball career with Filathlikitos in the Greek third division. After spending two seasons in the Greek basketball league, he was selected by the Delaware 87ers in the NBA Development League. Next year, in the NBA draft, he was selected 51st overall by New York Knicks. He played in the NBA Summer League and was acquired by the Westchester Knocks for NBA D League. In January 2016, he signed a 10-day contract with the Knicks and made his debut later that night against the Suns and scored two points. Later that year, he signed with Andorra of Spanish Liga ACB. He helped his team qualify for the Liga ACB playoffs for the first time in 22 years. He was also named The Most Spectacular Player of the Season. Thanasis returned to Greece on July 11, 2017, and signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos of Greece’s top-tier Greek Basket League. He won the 2018 Greek All-Star Game MVP award. Thanasis and Panathinaikos secured the Greek League championship in June 2018 after a five-game series against Olympiacos in the league finals. He signed with the Milwaukee Bucks on July 16, 2019, reuniting with his brother Giannis.

Kostas Antetokounmpo 

After Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis shifted to the USA, Kostas started playing high school basketball for Dominican High School. He played college basketball with the University of Dayton. He declared himself for the NBA draft in 2018, but he was put in the second round due to a lack of progress in college basketball. He was the last pick of the NBA draft Philadelphia 76ers, who immediately traded him to Dallas Mavericks. Like his brother, Thanasis, he also played for the Knicks and their development team, Texas Legends. In 2019, Los Angeles Lakers claimed him off waivers, and Kostas joined an experienced NBA team. He played just five games and wasn’t selected to play in the finals. He became the first Greek player to win the NBA Championship in 2020 with the Lakers. Last year, he re-signed with the Lakers on a two-way contract.

Alex Antetokounmpo 

The youngest of them all, Alexandros Emeka Antetokounmpo, played high school basketball at Dominican High School. However, after high school, he decided not to play college basketball and signed a three-year contract with Spanish Liga ACB side UCAM Murcia. He made his Liga EBA debut on October 18th, scoring 28 points and grabbing six rebounds while shooting 6-of-9 from three-point range in an 83–69 victory over SCD Carolinas. He is still 19 years old and hasn’t registered for the NBA draft yet.