Giannis Antetokounmpo recently revealed that his idol and inspiration for basketball is the legendary Allen Iverson.At All Star week 2022, an extremely interesting reunion took place. Giannis Antetokounmpo shook hands with Allen Iverson again, a legend of the previous generation. 

After the initial greetings, the Greek superstar suԀԀenly looked straight at the man in front and exclaimed: “I started playing basketball because of you. I saw your story, I followed you.” documentary. You once said you played basketball because of Michael Jordan. As for me, I only play basketball because of you,” Giannis Antetokounmpo expressed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo reunited with the person who inspired him to take up basketball at All Star 2022

A player with a height of 2m11, possessing great strength and physique, strong but effective playing style, but influenced by a legend with skillful crossover ability and random streetball techniques. excited with a height of 1m83. The two have nothing in common, but the Milwaukee Bucks star didn’t lie about that.

Back to the difficult years in Athens, Greece. Giannis Antetokounmpo was born into an immigrant family. His life was not rich, causing the boy to always strugglе to make a living to support his family. For him, basketball seems to be the only joy of his whole life.

Besides the few training sessions with his brother Thanasis at a local club, Giannis Antetokounmpo still has the habit of accessing the Internet to freely explore the vast world beyond the borders of Greece.

Giannis Antetokounmpo regularly watched Allen Iverson’s highlight videos during his youth in Greece

There, the teenage boy at that time was often fascinated by Allen Iverson’s football highlights that were widely circulated on Youtube. His small savings were spent on an Internet cafe near his home, which also helped him form a desire to reach the NBA tournament in the near future.

As one of the most prominent players in the 1990s and early 2000s, Allen Iverson is the idol of many later generations of players in the NBA. Not only spreading hiphop culture, Allen Iverson’s “dances” always make many young people fascinated, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Of course, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s physical qualities cannot help this player completely copy his idol’s playing style. What Allen Iverson did was inspire the Greek boy to take up basketball at the highest level.

Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the NBA in 2013, won the MVP title in 2019 and 2020 and ascended to the top of the league in 2021. For the Milwaukee Bucks superstar, today’s success comes from burning passion, resulting in through Allen Iverson’s mesmerizing videos in Athens last year.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is on his way to becoming one of the great legends in the NBA

Giannis Antetokounmpo will definitely not stop on his way to becoming a legend in the NBA. At that time, if the Greek boy was always looking for a solution on how to nurture his passion for basketball, “The Answer” (*) was sometimes the answer.

In the 2021-2022 season, Giannis Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.4 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists per game. He is full of opportunities to win his third MVP title, and is always trying his best to help Milwaukee Bucks defend their championship this season.