The NBA MVP now has his own set of shoes, the Nike Zoom Freak 1, after previously sharing a pair with his brother.
The gym is located in the heavily populated area of Zografou, on the eastern edge of urban Athens. A flight of steps leads to the ground-level entrance, which is tucked away between clusters of copious trees. There, a small lobby gives access to the double doors of a basketball court. One of basketball’s best-kept secrets used to hoops behind them.
For Γιάννης Αντεκoυντούμπου, a 12-year-old child, that’s where it all started.
The current NBA MVP played at Filathlitikos Basketball Club long before he was known to the world as Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Eurostepping Greek Freak with the 6-foot-11, 242-pound frame and legendary athleticism.
Takis Zivas, the head coach of Antetokounmpo’s first squad, Filathlitikos B.C., describes him as “like a cricket.” “Compared to the rest of his body, his torso was small, but his legs were enormous.” Zivas, a thin man with years of coaching experience under his eyes, can still clearly recall Antetokounmpo’s first visit to his gym. He remarks, “I simply hadn’t seen a kid like that before.” “His eyes were dazzling.”Antetokounmpo began playing hoops on Filathlitikos’ worn hardwood floor, which was more suited for a little soccer field in terms of breadth. The gym’s ceiling previously held two original hoops, but those have been retired and are now permanently lifted to the rafters. In their place now rest two stanchions holding baskets whose rims are rusting slowly. A wall of hazy windows on one sideline lets the strong sun peek inside. After a few journeys up and down the floor, the five soaring air conditioners scattered throughout the room are powerless against the intense heat in the middle of July.
Antetokounmpo trained here several times a day for two years prior to being chosen for the Filathlitikos young squad. Zivas taught the young player how to be a quick and disciplined point guard while drilling him at all levels of the club, including with the women’s squad. He joined the men’s team at the age of 14. His two eventual representatives began spreading the word about his insane potential after they witnessed the phenomenon firsthand. When Antetokounmpo was 17 years old, a horde of NBA scouts, general managers, and owners had seats arranged against the wall on the near sideline, watching the young player in action.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Giannis’ older brother and former Filathlitikos teammate, says of Giannis, “The way Giannis would see things from a young age, the way he was so serious about things, the way he perceived… he had a different mentality than everybody else.” “Listen, I know I’m playing in this gym, but I’m working toward becoming an NBA player because I know I’ll be an NBA player eventually.” And I will be prepared for my NBA debut.”
Over ten years after initially entering the building, Antetokounmpo—who is currently an All-NBA forward for the Milwaukee Bucks—returned as the league’s most recent MVP. Five days after receiving the Maurice Podoloff Trophy and giving a moving MVP acceptance speech, Antetokounmpo visited his old gym in Zografou at the end of June. He stepped onto the court and sat in a chair that was too tiny for him then and even smaller for him today.
He leaned between his long legs and started tying the laces of a new pair of sneakers: orange and navy Nikes with an additional emblem on the heel that entwined No. 34 with the Greek flag and an interlocking “GA” mark on the tongue.
The first pair of Antetokoumpo’s signature sneakers are known as the Nike Zoom Freak 1. He’s the first basketball player from outside of the United States to have a personal pair of Nike shoes, at age 24. He is aware of this distinction.
According to Antetokounmpo, “I wanted my shoe to basically introduce me and my family to the world.” The names of his parents, Veronica and Charles, who moved to Greece in the early 1990s to give their boys a better life, are included on the outside midsoles of each pair of sneakers. Each shoe’s heel is imprinted with the names of Antetokounmpo’s four brothers: Alex, Thanasis, Kostas, and Francis.
He goes on, “I wanted a stylish shoe that could convey a message that a child could identify with.” A sneaker that would force a child to work hard. A sneaker with the power to inspire a child to dream big.
It’s a shoe that, in his wildest imagination, he could never have called his own. Not at this gym, where the sneakers he laced on didn’t even belong to him, when his journey started back in Greece.
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Little Giannis needed some convincing to step onto a basketball court at first. He had aspirations of following in his father’s footsteps and playing soccer back in Nigeria. But Giannis wanted to spend as much time as possible with his older brother Thanasis, whom he adored. To cut a long tale short, Giannis states, “I didn’t choose basketball.” “Basketball was Thanasis’ choice.”
Thanasis introduced his younger brother to more than just the game.
At the age of seventeen, Thanasis secured a professional contract to compete in the Greek Basketball League’s top level with Maroussi. The team also gave him some complimentary pairs of sneakers.
Giannis will never forget the day Thanasis came home carrying crates full of priceless items that had been difficult for them to obtain as kids. Charles worked as a handyman and Veronica, frequently with the help of their sons, peddled things on the streets of Athens in order to support their family. According to Thanasis, “Our parents gave us whatever they had, and it got the job done.” “But our financial situation wasn’t great.”
So basketball shoes were considered a luxury, especially the new ones.
Giannis reminisces, “I remember… he had a pair of these Kobes.” “I desired those particular shoes.” However, Thanasis bested Giannis by claiming first dibs on a highly sought-after pair of Kobe Bryant’s iconic red and white Nike Kobe 4s. Giannis remembers that Thanasis said, “You can have the ugly pair, the heavy ones.” The younger Antetokounmpo sibling took the footwear and proceeded to play in them, naturally. However, he devised a plan to establish himself in those Kobes.
Giannis would take the shoes to practice while Thanasis dozed off or left them at home. He would go to the Filathlitikos gym in Zografou from his family’s house in the Sepolia suburb of northwest Athens. Walking four miles each way, the trip was worthwhile, even if putting on the Kobe 4s would have spared him some of Thanasis’s rage upon learning that his younger brother was wearing his shoes.
Giannis says, “Thanasis used to get mad at me.” “He said, ‘No, man.'” I’m wearing those shoes. Those shoes are really adorable. Avoid getting them soiled. Use them not at all.
Charles, their father, heard the lads talking and spoke out. “My father approached me and said, ‘That is your younger brother.'” You have to give him your shoes. He is free to wear them if he so chooses. We don’t really have a lot of shoes, Giannis recalls. “That’s when Thanasis and I started wearing shoes together.”
Eventually, the Antetokounmpo family relocated to Zografou, where Thanasis and Giannis were both Filathlitikos players. After that, the two brothers, who were two years, four months, and eighteen days apart in age, developed the habit of sharing sneakers from necessity to habit. Giannis would start for the club’s under-16 squad in the shoes. He’d give them to Thanasis when his game was over, and he’d wear the already sweaty kicks against other players who were 17 and 18 years old. The routine was simple while they were playing at different skill levels. However, Giannis continued to develop and his skills continued to become better, which gave him the chance to start competing in Thanasis’ age group. It was a different challenge to play the same game with the same sneakers on. It implied that Thanasis and Giannis couldn’t play together on the court.
“Man, that’s hard,’ I know a lot of people would say. To be honest with you, though, that was a lot of fun,” Thanasis remarks. We would engage in play by quarter. He puts on the shoes, I sub out, and he subs in if we need defense or a stop. The other students are upset because we still beat them and they say things like, “We’re losing to some guys who don’t even have shoes.”
In 2011, Thanasis stopped by Ministry of Concrete, an Athens-based store selling sneakers and streetwear, looking for new sneakers to wear off the court. Alex Segiet, the proprietor of the store, offered him a discount on a pair of high-top Nike Dunks as he had saved up some cash. “I owned that one pair of sneakers for three years,” Thanasis recounts, sounding appreciative and as though the shoes had endured forever. Segiet remembers the exchange from a few years ago, and she treasures it for another reason: “I remember he was so fascinated by the shoes.” Giannis was something he had never heard of before.
“After they received the money, Thanasis promised to bring his younger brother and purchase another pair,” Segiet claims.
Giannis was never able to enter the shop. He may have looked for sneakers in other ways.
Zivas recalls, “There was a time when he was scurrying around trying to find Jordans.” But Giannis would put on any old clothing. And he conducted the most of his investigations in Filathlitikos’ gym.
He claims, “I was just looking for shoes from teammates.” I used to approach them after practice and ask, ‘Are you done with those? Are those still what you want? “Come on, Giannis, but it’s okay,” they said, as they lifted them off their feet. “They are yours to have.” Growing up, my teammates were excellent. I was treated like a younger brother by them. Many other families and children out there were going through much worse than I was.
“I was like, ‘OK, this is crazy … I might be like Kobe, KD, LeBron, all these guys that have their own signature shoe, and play with it in the game.’ I was really, really happy.” — Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis didn’t care about size, particularly if someone was kind enough to gift him a pair of shoes. “As of right now… My toes are embarrassing me so much. “I used to wear shoes that were two sizes smaller, which is why they’re curled up,” he explains. And I have worn far larger shoes at times. It was preferable to donning a smaller size.Ten or twelve pairs of sneakers were in Antetokounmpo’s possession when he was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 15th overall choice in the 2013 NBA draft. However, that was about to alter. He accepted the one shoe deal offer he was given prior to his debut year. It so happened to be from the same business that produced his childhood favorite kicks to hoop in.He claims that Nike was the only corporation to take a chance on him. “I was passed over for a contract by other companies. I didn’t make the list. but Nike representatives entered and declared, “We’re going to get that guy.” We will look after him and his family. That had great significance.The dozen-pair collection of Antetokounmpo grew rapidly. “Man, I can keep this shoe, I can wear this one, I can switch it up every game,” Thanasis recalls him saying. It seemed like he truly enjoyed it. At his Milwaukee apartment, one or two storage units became six or seven, all filled with boxes of sneakers. “I have about three thousand, four thousand pairs of shoes,” Antetokounmpo says. He moved into his first home a year ago and now has a wardrobe full of sneakers. “And you know what the most absurd thing is? Not even that I wear them. I think I have ten or fifteen on.”With a faint hint of pride, he also acknowledges another constant: “I’ve never purchased basketball sneakers, to this day — ever.”
Antetokounmpo and his family first visited Nike at a downtown Milwaukee hotel in late September of 2017. After finishing the 2016–17 season with an average of 22.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 30 points in his first All-Star Game while donning a pair of Kobe 10s, Antetokounmpo was in high demand. In order to convince Antetokounmpo to sign a contract extension, Nike showcased his accomplishments as the 22nd basketball player in company history to acquire a signature sneaker and, more significantly, as the first signature athlete from Nike Basketball to be born and grown outside of the United States.Antetokounmpo was in disbelief.That’s when it dawned on me. He couldn’t help but reflect on his modest beginnings in Greece. “OK, this is crazy… I might be like Kobe, KD, LeBron, all these guys that have their own signature shoe, and play with it in the game,” he thought to himself. Growing up, I never imagined that I would have a signature shoe of my own. I’ve never desired a signature pair of shoes of my own. That was not my dream or my aim.He doesn’t, however, inquire as to how he got to the chance.He answers, “I know why.” “I gave it my all.”Antetokounmpo re-signed with Nike in November 2017.
I had to pretend that it was a difficult choice. Many other businesses were prepared to offer me a lot of items and a lot of money, according to Antetokounmpo. Li-Ning and Adidas, who courted him by sending him a whole truck full of free footwear, made overtures that he declined. Ultimately, I must be faithful to those who have supported me. My goal was to establish a brand based on my initial work. That’s my personality type. I know in my heart that I made the proper choice.
A few weeks after a long-term cooperation was announced, the Zoom Freak 1’s 18-month design process got underway. Antetokounmpo met with a 15-person product team including of designers, engineers, wear testers, and experts in materials, colors, and marketing at the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, to conduct a brainstorming session. Additionally, he had his first meeting with Kevin Dodson, the global vice president of basketball footwear at Nike.
Dodson remarks, “The thing that really sticks out to me was just engagement.” He was there as soon as we took a seat. He was concentrated. I had never seen him take notes in such detail before, but he pulled out a notebook. We felt at ease right then and there. Saying something like, “Okay, we’re going to give everything we have because our partner wants to give everything he has.”
Antetokounmpo articulated his expectations for his first shoe: dependable traction akin to that of Kyrie Irving’s signature line, a forefoot feel reminiscent of the Kobe 10, and an upper design and fit reminiscent of the Kobe 4s he cherished while growing up in Greece alongside Thanasis. He intended for his first sneaker to stand for his family and, above all, his house.
According to Dodson, “We always try to work in really specific details to the athletes.” As a team, we occasionally approach them and inquire, ‘Is there anything specific you would like us to have on a shoe?’
An early sketch from the 18-month design process of the Nike Zoom Freak 1.
The words “I Am My Father’s Legacy,” which Antetokounmpo envisioned, are embroidered into the traction pattern on the shoe bottoms as a tribute to the family patriarch, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 54 from a heart attack, six weeks prior to Giannis’s re-signing with Nike.
“I wanted people to think of my dad.” Antetokounmpo says, “I wanted people to know that he left a legacy behind.” He was solely concerned with his children. His legacy is us. His legacy endures in my brothers and me. That’s something we’re proud of. That will always be there in every shoe I make. It’s not disappearing. I am aware that he is gazing down from above and is quite pleased with how the shoe turned out.
The last brother to view the finished result was Thanasis, who recently inked a two-year contract with the Bucks to play alongside Giannis. While Nike worked on the Zoom Freak 1, he had been playing in Greece for the majority of the previous two years. A few days before Giannis was selected MVP, he traveled to Milwaukee.
“What kind of shoes are these?” was my first thought as soon as I entered my room. Says Thanasis. It was an alternative box. It was something I had never seen. I opened it, and the shoe is inside. It looked so powerful, comfortable, and attractive that I was really excited.
It was only fitting that Giannis traveled back to his native Greece to unveil his first signature sneaker. Located in the historic Zappeion building in Athens, the circular atrium is open to the air and encircled by thirty-two columns adorned with goddess busts. The fencing competition from the inaugural modern Olympic Games took place there in 1896. Over a century and a half later, Nike constructed the area to present the Zoom Freak 1 and its initial three models: the basic black-and-white model; the “Roses” edition, themed in his father’s favorite colors—red, white, and gold; and the orange and navy “All Bros” colorway, which became the first to be sold at retail on June 28 as a celebration of the close bond of the “Antetokounbros.”
Additionally, Giannis specifically requested that the Zoom Freak 1 be priced reasonably at $120 each pair.
According to Segiet, “people are waiting like gnats for the shoe.” “In the market, that has never, ever happened before. I have no doubt that it will sell out quickly wherever it is launched, in every store across the nation. Is there anyone who wouldn’t want a pair in their wardrobe? It’s our hometown hero’s shoe.
A photo of Giannis wearing the Kobe 4s that hangs in the lobby of the Filathlitikos’ gym.
Within Filathlitikos’ gym, a huge banner featuring Antetokounmpo dunking in his Zoom Freak 1s is suspended behind a basket. The banner is emblazoned with Nike’s signature white writing, which reads, “Fate can start you at the bottom.” You can reach the summit with your dreams. The picture commemorates what could have been Antetokounmpo’s best week ever—one that started with an MVP award and concluded with a trademark sneaker.
According to Zivas, “we all dreamed of him having a great career and playing on a high level.” “Today, he serves as inspiration for young children to play basketball, to be content, and maybe to accomplish goals while wearing Giannis’ shoes.”
Nike’s banner is placed next to a few others that the team has flown in celebration of the three Antetokounmpo brothers—Giannis, Thanasis, and Kostas—who have made it to the NBA. Soon, their 17-year-old younger brother Alex’s photo will be hanging beside theirs on Filathlitikos’ court wall. On the day when the “All Bros” Nike Zoom Freak 1 released, Zografou mayor Vassilis Thodas declared that four of the “AntetokounBros” will take over as the gym’s new name.
Old team photos are hung on a wall in the lobby, directly outside the court. A blurry picture from the team’s 2010–11 campaign is centered within a sizable wooden frame. Upon closer inspection, the athlete seated second from the left in the front row is a familiar yet youthful face. A scrawny child with knees higher than the teammates’ on either side, sporting a baggy black T-shirt underneath his red basketball jersey.
The red and white Kobe 4s that helped launch Giannis’ rise from this little gym to the largest platform in basketball were on the feet of the 16-year-old Giannis when he used them to pilfer them from his older brother Thanasis.
Giannis wrote “Thanasis Thanks For Sharing” in February on a pair of those Kobe sneakers that Nike had produced especially for him in a size 16 so he could wear them to the NBA All-Star Game.
“I actually got really emotional. He made me remember,” Thanasis says. “Everybody was asking me, ‘ … Thansasis, you saw what your brother wrote?’ That was our first legit, really nice shoe. I told everybody that.”
Early in his NBA career, Giannis also had a chance to share a pair of shoes.
After Giannis was drafted by the Bucks in 2013, his family came to live with him. Giannis would always take then-12-year-old Alex to basketball practice, like Thanasis used to do with him, and he also did with Kostas. Once, after Alex’s practice, Giannis took notice of another kid leaving the gym.
“Alex at the time was 6-foot. This kid was like 6-6,” Giannis remembers. “He was huge and big. He came out, and I saw his pair of shoes. They were old. I’m not saying they had holes on them, but they weren’t new. They were almost ripped apart.”
“I wanted a visually appealing shoe with a kid-friendly narrative. A sneaker that can inspire children to work hard. A sneaker with the power to inspire a child to dream big. The Giannis Antetokounmpo…Giannis was one of those kids who anyone could connect to. He pondered the number of times he had to get the bravery to ask someone for shoes. The hustle was not shameful, but how did it feel to be on the receiving end of the exchange?”I promised the child that the next time I visited, I would make sure to get you some sneakers.”As promised, he did indeed follow through.”I possessed two sets of shoes. Giannis adds, “I gave them to him, and he was so, so thrilled. “I did for him what others used to do for me. I had never been in a situation where I could have done that before.”Many individuals tend to take things for granted when you give them. However, many children do not take it for granted. I didn’t consider that a given.Giannis will always be appreciative of the chance to wear the Kobe sneakers and the significance they have for his journey. He knows how a child can follow their dreams with the aid of a pair of shoes.Now that he has his own branded sneaker, he can return the favor.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is surrounded by fans as he leaves a basketball court in Athens on June 28. Antetokounmpo was back home in Greece to debut his first sneaker and host a 3-on-3 basketball tournament he sponsors with his brothers.
PETROS GIANNAKOURIS/AP PHOTO