Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Greece

In 2012, Antetokounmpo began his professional career with the senior men's team of Filathlitikos of the Greek second division, after being part of the Filathlitikos junior teams, and also playing in the Greek minors since 2008, and in the semi-professional Greek third division during the 2011–12 season. During the 2012–13 Greek 2nd Division season with Filathlitikos, he averaged 12.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. He was selected by the coaches to play in the 2013 Greek All-Star Game as a special participant, even though he was not actually selected as an all-star, and competed in the slam dunk contest as players from the second division are eligible to compete in the dunk competition.

After originally declaring for the 2013 NBA draft, he withdrew from the draft on June 17, 2013, along with 17 other players, on the day of the withdrawal deadline. He had originally entered the draft with his younger brother Giannis.

He played one game for Filathlitikos in the 2013–14 Greek A2 League season in a round 2 game against Ermis Lagkada on October 19, 2013. He recorded 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in his team's 76-69 win.

Delaware 87ers

On November 1, 2013, Antetokounmpo was selected by the Delaware 87ers with the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Development League Draft. On November 23, 2013, in his D-League debut, Antetokounmpo recorded 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, in a 117–106 loss to the Canton Charge. He also competed at the 2014 NBA D-League Slam Dunk Contest.

During the 2013–14 NBA Development League season, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks in 50 games. On May 1, 2014, he was named to the 2014 NBA D-League All-Defensive third team.

New York and Westchester Knicks

On June 26, 2014, Antetokounmpo was selected with the 51st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He later joined the Knicks for the 2014 NBA Summer League where he averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in five games. On November 3, 2014, he was acquired by the Westchester Knicks. On April 22, 2015, he was named to the 2015 NBA D-League All-Defensive second team. In 47 games for Westchester, he averaged 13.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game.

In July 2015, Antetokounmpo re-joined the New York Knicks for the 2015 NBA Summer League where he averaged 6.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in five games. On August 7, 2015, he signed with the Knicks, only to be waived by the team on October 23, after appearing in three preseason games. Later that month, he returned to the Westchester Knicks. On January 29, 2016, he signed a 10-day contract with the New York Knicks. He made his NBA debut later that night, scoring two points in two minutes of action against the Phoenix Suns. On February 8, New York decided not to renew his contract, and the following day, he returned to Westchester.

Andorra

On August 8, 2016, Antetokounmpo signed with MoraBanc Andorra of the Liga ACB. He played an instrumental role as his team qualified for the first time in 22 years to the ACB playoffs, where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Real Madrid. He averaged 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game during regular season, before raising his contribution to 12.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in the playoffs. Spanish basketball magazine Gigantes del Basket awarded Antetokounmpo with their 2017 "Top 5 Trophy", which goes to the Liga ACB "Most Spectacular Player of the Year".

Return to Greece

On July 11, 2017, Antetokounmpo signed a two-year deal with Panathinaikos.

National team career

On May 3, 2016, Antetokounmpo was named in the senior Nigerian men's national team training camp preliminary list for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He declined the offer, and chose instead to play with the senior Greek national team. He was selected to Greece's 12 man roster for the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Personal life

Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece to Nigerian parents. His father, Charles, is a former Nigerian soccer player, while his mother, Veronica, was a high-jumper. He officially gained Greek citizenship on May 9, 2013, with the official legal spelling of his last name being Antetokounmpo.

His younger brother, Giannis (b. 1994), was drafted 15th overall in the 2013 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. With Giannis known as "The Greek Freak", Thanasis is sometimes referred to as "Greek Freak 2", although his own nickname is "The Greek Streak". In addition, he's also the older brother of Kostas and Alexis, both of whom also trained with Filathlitikos. Antetokounmpo's mother gave each of her four sons born in Greece, both a Greek and a Nigerian name. In 2017 during the Eurobasket tournament in Helsinki, where the Greek National Basketball team was playing, he was nicknamed by the basketball sportcaster Vangelis Ioannou as well as by his brother Giannis as "The Elevator" due to his superb athletisism and jumping skills.