TIME October 23, 2017NEXT GENERATION LEADERS ▼IN FEBRUARY 2016, MILWAUKEE BUCKS COACH
Jason Kidd told 6 ft. 11 in. NBA superstar Giannis
Antetokounmpo—known as the “Greek Freak” for
his homeland and for his ability to dunk a basket-
ball with one foot on the floor—that he’d be the
team’s new point guard.
The position requires unique leadership skills;
a player must start offensive attacks, shout direc-
tions and distribute the ball to veteran teammates
hungry to fatten their stats. The task intimidated
him—at 21, he was still the sheepish kid who had
leaned on the Eddie Murphy comedyComing to
America to learn English. Most other point guards
were way more experienced
(and far shorter).
But it’s no wonder that he
blossomed into an electrifying
talent, a player who last sea-
son became the first in NBA
history to finish in the top 20
in scoring, rebounds, blocks,
assists and steals. The son of
undocumented immigrants
from Nigeria, Antetokounmpo
grew up fearing that his par-
ents would be deported at any
moment. “We didn’t have the opportunity to be who
we were destined to be because we didn’t have a
piece of paper,” he tells TIME. Antetokounmpo sold
watches, glasses and toys on the streets of Athens.
That hustle put food on his family’s table. Order-
ing around a bunch of older millionaires? That was
easy. “I always had to be there for my family. I think
that helped me a lot to adjust to the NBA,” he says.
Antetokounmpo says he hasn’t followed the
political debate in the U.S. over immigration closely
but that people like him “need an opportunity to
become great in life, to become something better.”
That’s part of the reason he’s helping sponsor a
college scholarship in Greece for a student who is
either not a citizen there or who has not received
citizenship in the last five years. He also wants to
build schools, and cites Magic Johnson, Muhammad
Ali and Nelson Mandela as leaders who inspire him.
The power of his platform is not something he takes
for granted. “Before I leave this earth,” he says, “I’m
going to help people have a better future.”
—SEAN GREGORY/MILWAUKEEGREECE
Giannis
Antetokounmpo
BASKETBALL’S FREAK TALENT
▼
‘I ALWAYS
HAD TO BE
THERE FOR
MY FAMILY.
I THINK THAT
HELPED ME
ALOT TO
ADJUST TO
THE NBA.’PHOTOGRAPH BY SARA STATHAS FOR TIME