Here is some information regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo’s parents, including their immigration to Greece and raising their four NBA players.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has always shared a strong relationship with his family, particularly with his late father Charles Antetokounmpo and mother Veronica Antetokounmpo.

After growing up in Nigeria, Charles and Veronica (commonly known as Vera) moved to Athens, Greece, in 1991. Together, they produced five children; Francis, the eldest, was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and lived there with his grandparents following his parents’ relocation to Greece. Thanasis, Giannis, Kostas, and Alex, their four younger kids, were raised in Athens. Giannis received Greek citizenship in May 2013, just before he was selected in the NBA draft, after they had been without citizenship for a long time. In 2014, after securing their visas, his younger brothers, who were 11 and 14 at the time, joined their big brother Thanasis, who had relocated to the United States to play in the NBA’s D-League that same year.

Because of their talent and close-knit community, the Antetokounmpos were the subject of the 2022 Disney+ movie Rise.

“Since the beginning of our time together, I have always had faith in my children’s abilities, hoping that everything will work out in the end. However, as I watched them grow up—playing, traveling the world, winning championships, and all—I thought, ‘This is going to take us to a greater place in the future.'” Veronica said to Yahoo! Sports. And thus, here is our current situation. We truly are extraordinary.”

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The other four boys in the family were drafted into the NBA, Veronica was a high jumper, and Charles and Francis were professional soccer players. The family is full with dedicated sports. Known by many as the “Greek Freak,” Giannis is regarded as one of the NBA’s top power forwards.

“The experience has been amazing,” he said to The Red Bulletin. “My dream was more real to my parents than it was to me.”

A few years before Giannis won NBA MVP Awards in 2019 and 2020 and three of his sons won titles, Charles passed away in September 2017 at the age of 54 from a heart attack. (Kostas won with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and Giannis and Thanasis with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.)

It’s difficult. Two weeks following his father’s passing, Giannis told NBA.com, “Losing someone you love is tough.” “Losing a person who has been there from the beginning. Particularly for our family, as we are quite tight.

Veronica is a regular at NBA games and has maintained her relationship with her sons. Giannis stated to TIME in 2017 that “she’s been a colleague right next to me.”

Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo: who are they? Everything you need to know about the NBA player Giannis Antetokounmpo’s parents and their relationship is provided here.

They share five sons

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Charles and Veronica are parents to four other kids, Alex, Thanasis, Kostas, and Giannis.

All but Francis of the Antetokounmpo brothers were selected by the NBA. But Francis was a professional soccer player in Greece. Additionally, three have won NBA Championships: Thanasis and Giannis with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021; Kostas with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020. The Rise Disney+ movie from 2022 was inspired by the brothers’ remarkable rise to fame, their close relationship, and their great sports endeavors.

It’s not only about me in the film. Giannis stated to the New York Post in 2022, “It’s about the sacrifice that my parents made early in their lives in order for us to be in the position that we are today.”

Veronica and Charles are grandparents as well. Liam Charles and Maverick Shai, two sons that Giannis and his partner Mariah Riddlesprigger share, are the parents of two children and one is on the way. Veronica described the birth of her first grandchild in 2020 as a “special gift” to Milwaukee’s WISN 12 News.

They immigrated to Greece, where Giannis was born, in 1991

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In 1991, Charles and Veronica relocated to the Sepolia district of Athens from their home in Lagos, Nigeria. The other four Antetokounmpo boys were born and reared in Athens, but their firstborn son, Francis, stayed in Lagos with his grandparents.

The couple, who were undocumented immigrants, had difficulty obtaining consistent employment and had to juggle odd jobs and manual labor to make ends meet. Giannis said to TIME that they “had to hustle every day to provide a plate of food on our table,” and that living in Athens was “a daily struggle.”

Giannis and Thanasis used to sell things on the streets to augment their parents’ salaries until 2012. Giannis recalled to The New York Times that Charles and Veronica slept in a small den behind “a curtain,” while their four sons shared a bed.

Giannis said to ESPN in 2018 that “those moments back then, they were beautiful, man.” It’s incredible to overcome hardship, emerge stronger, and witness your family’s current success. I’m glad I experienced those moments since I can still recall them.

Junior club coach Spiros Velliniatis promised Charles and Veronica he would get them employment paying 800 euros a month to entice 13-year-old Giannis to join the semi-pro team Filathlitikos, according to The New York Times. Velliniatis remarked, “I knew that basketball isn’t important to Nigerians.” “Soccer is important to them. It’s necessary to buy off the parents. They won’t be interested if it’s not.

Veronica spoke to her children in her native language, Igbo

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Giannis and his brothers maintained ties to their Nigerian heritage even though they were raised in Greece.

“My family is from Nigeria,” Giannis said to Andscape. “I attended school in Greece and was born there, of course. However, when I return home at the end of the day, Greek culture is absent. It is unadulterated Nigerian culture. It’s about morality, discipline, and deference to authority.”

Veronica conversed with her sons in Igbo, one of Nigeria’s four official languages, at home. Charles was raised speaking one of the more than 500 languages and dialects spoken in Nigeria.

Giannis obtained a Nigerian passport in 2015. It’s crucial. It makes me who I am. My parents are from Nigeria. They wanted me to comprehend it. He told the newspaper, “I got it because I wanted it.”

In the summer of 2023, the NBA star traveled to Nigeria with his mother.

They were both athletes

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Charles Antetokounmpo was a professional soccer player, and Veronica was a high jumper, so the Antetokounmpo brothers come from an athletic family.

Charles used his soccer abilities to help his boys develop their basketball talents, especially training footwork, even though he hoped they would all follow in his footsteps. Giannis led his brothers both on and off the court, something that particularly pleased Charles about him.

The father of five told the National Basketball Players Association of Giannis in 2016 that “the way that he mentors all of his brothers is amazing.” “He’ll go above and above for them. To make sure kids have everything they require, he will stop at nothing. He imparts lessons to kids on life, basketball, and priorities. Seeing all that I am teaching Giannis he is teaching them is truly wonderful.

Charles died in 2017

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On September 29, 2017, Giannis’s father passed away in Milwaukee after a heart attack. 54 was his age.

Giannis and his whole family, including Veronica, whom he described as “strong” and “a beast,” took to the basketball court at the Bucks’ downtown headquarters on the day of Charles’ passing to express their sorrow.

Giannis told NBA.com, “There was never a day in my life that I called him and he wasn’t there for me.” “I could ask him to grab me some food while I’m being lazy and lounging on the couch. And all he would say was, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll take care of it.” Ever there at the game, he hasn’t missed one since the day he arrived. And he felt content. Very joyful. For every child.

Giannis stated shortly after his father’s passing that it was “okay to be sad” as long as the family supported one another during their grieving process.

“We cherished our father. My mother cherished her spouse. Ultimately, though, I believe he fulfilled his destiny in this life,” he remarked. “He reared us well, having five children. That is the most crucial factor. When I pass away, I aim to have the same influence on my children as my father is now having.

Giannis posted a vintage image of himself with his father in 2019 and wrote, “Happy Father’s Day! I sincerely miss you. ️

Three years later, Giannis and his family established the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation, a “global social impact foundation” with the goal of assisting youth, widows, athletes, refugees, and immigrants by funding groups like the International Rescue Committee and the Milwaukee Diaper Mission.

Giannis honored both parents in his MVP Award speech

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Two years following the passing of his father, Giannis was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2019. He paid homage to both of his parents during an emotional address he delivered on stage.

“I’d like to thank my father. You are aware, of course, that my father is not present,” he remarked. “I was going to be the top player in the league, that was my mental aim two years ago. I will stop at nothing to ensure that my team wins, and I will take home the MVP award. I always think of my dad when I walk on the floor, which inspires me to work harder and advance in my game.

Giannis also praised his mother as his “hero” and congratulated his brothers.

“You cannot glimpse the future when you are a small child. He said, “If your parents are good, they see the future for you.” She never lacked faith in us and always saw the future in us. She was our constant companion. She is our family’s cornerstone. My real idol is you.”

They moved to Milwaukee in 2014

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2013 saw the Milwaukee Bucks select Giannis. The following year, after a protracted and challenging process to obtain their visas, his family arrived in Wisconsin to join him.

According to an excerpt from Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP by author Mirin Fader, Giannis felt “lonely,” “homesick,” and “lost” during his rookie season. The New York Times published this writing.

He informed his family in November 2013 that he would go back to Greece if they were unable to go to the United States.

“Although I was raised with my family, I am a very independent and resilient child. However, I was aware that I had to go in search of a brighter future,” he told the NBPA. “I used to constantly use Skype to talk to my family and show them around the apartment, saying things like, ‘Alex, Kostas, this is your bedroom.'” “Mom, this is your and dad’s bedroom,” I said. Our living room is this. We use this as our kitchen. And I could see my mother’s expression in her eyes. “Perhaps one day we’ll be able to be there with you,” she said. I was about to lose it, but the Bucks came through for me by bringing my family.”

Giannis, Kostas, and Alex shared a Milwaukee apartment a few years into Giannis’s career before Kostas moved to the University of Dayton. Before Veronica moved upstairs following the death of her husband, their parents shared a downtown apartment building, one level below. Since then, Giannis and Riddlespringer and their children have relocated to the Milwaukee suburbs, as reported by GQ.

Their last name was not originally Antetokounmpo

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Though the family is known by the name Antetokounmpo, their original Yoruba surname is Adétòkunbọ̀. Antetokounmpo became Giannis’ surname after his given name was misspelled on his Greek passport. The entire family eventually adopted the new last name, according to Andscape.

Giannis spoke about his family’s lesser-known Nigerian name with comedian Hasan Minhaj in WhatsApp’s original digital short “The Game of Adétòkunbọ̀” in February 2023.

Giannis said that his given name “means everything” to him, explaining: “I grew up in Greece and my parents are Nigerian, and that’s who I am. … I know where I’m from and I’m proud of that and I hope my kids can be the same.”

They helped Giannis adjust to adulthood after he joined the NBA

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Charles and Veronica made sure to be at the majority of Giannis’ games, and Veronica continued to be an arena mainstay after her husband’s death. When 18-year-old Giannis was starting out in the league, his parents also helped by “paying the bills, driving me to the airport — simple things like that.”

“My father is helping me with basketball. My mother is doing everything else,” he told the NBPA. “If you could give like an MVP trophy, it’s going to my mom.”

Veronica keeps up with everything related to Giannis, especially any gossip on social media. In 2022, Giannis told SiriusXM’s The Starting Lineup that he tried to avoid online chatter, as he would eventually hear it from his teammates, his partner or his mother — who is “on Facebook all day.”

“She knows everything. You know, she’s my No. 1 fan, or stalker I’d say,” he joked, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “She’s my mom.”

They didn’t have friends in Greece due to fear of deportation

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As undocumented immigrants, Charles and Veronica were fearful of forging bonds outside of their family in Greece because “their friends could tell the cops, ‘Come get them,’ ” Giannis told TIME in 2017. “Even now that [my parents] are in Milwaukee, it’s tough for them to have friends. Because for 25 years, they’ve lived without having friends. It’s tough to trust somebody.”

The kids were also afraid in Greece, as they were constantly worried that Charles and Veronica would get deported.

“They couldn’t deport me because I didn’t have a passport. Deport me to go where? Back to Nigeria?” Giannis told the outlet. “I was born in Greece, I had a birth certificate. They couldn’t deport me. But they could deport my parents. So we were afraid as kids that one day we could wake up without our parents. That was one of the toughest feelings for us growing up as kids.”

Even when he had conversations with new people as an adult, his mother told him to ask questions and to give her their names to look up.

“So she still has that trust issue,” he said. “I think it’s getting better and better and better since we moved to the States. But for me, it’s kind of easy to now trust people.”

Despite being fearful of people outside of their family, Charles and Veronica taught their kids to be tough and believe that things would work out.

“My parents would always tell us: ‘Things are going to be all right. Believe in God, things are going to be all right eventually. We are blessed. We are blessed just being in this situation,’ ” Giannis recalled. “Have patience, believe and have patience.”

Veronica received Greek citizenship in 2021

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In September 2021, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou granted Greek citizenship to Veronica and her youngest son, Alex. They were sworn in on Sept. 16, 2021, at Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ residence, with both Giannis and the president in attendance.

“It is historic that you are the first woman president of the republic and thank you for inviting us as a family,” Giannis told Sakellaropoulou the next day, according to the Greek newspaper Kathimerini. “We have always felt Greek, we went to a Greek school, we know Greek, we know Greek culture and [the citizenship] is just the official seal.”

They were the last two living members of the Antetokounmpo family to obtain Greek citizenship. Shortly before Giannis was drafted into the NBA in 2013, he and Thanasis were granted citizenship. Kostas received his in 2016.

Veronica has a custom basketball purse covered with autographs

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Giannis may have been the one to watch during the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago, but off the court, all eyes were on Veronica.

WISN 12 News called her “the biggest fan of the night” among the sold-out crowd, showing off her custom basketball purse. The one-of-a-kind bag was covered in signatures, including those of LeBron James, Khris Middleton and her son Giannis.

While Giannis led the Eastern Conference’s team, her other four boys attended the game, which she called “a very proud moment for me.”

 

“It’s so fun, it’s so great, and I’m so proud,” she said of Giannis, who was the captain of his second All-Star Game in a row. “Better than proud.”