Greek basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has wished his younger brother Alex a heartfelt happy birthday.
In a social post to his 3.1 million Facebook and 10.6 million Instagram followers, Giannis expresses his best wishes to Alex and shares a number of photos, including some of the two brothers taken in their childhood.
“Happy birthday @alex_ante29 we love you, enjoy your day!! #MoreLife” reads the message, which includes a gold heart emoji.
One of the NBA’s most coveted stars after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their first championship in 50 years this year, Giannis was born to former Nigerian footballer Charles and former high jumper Veronica and is one of five brothers of which Alex is the youngest.
Francis is the eldest and least well known of the Antetokounmpo brothers– rarely featuring in family pictures. He played basketball for the local club of Filathlitikos as a small forward and competed in the club senior men’s team in Greece’s semi-pro level of 3rd tier league. He later took up football, featuring professionally as a midfielder for a Greek pro club in Greece’s 2nd tier.
Thanasis (Athanasios) is the second eldest brother and also an NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks. He began playing junior basketball with Filathlitikos in 2008, before graduating to the senior men’s team in 2010. Thanasis’s career took a turn for the better when he moved to the US as was selected by the Delaware 87ers in the 2013 NBA Development League Draft. He made his NBA debut with the New York Knicks after being drafted by the organisation with the 51st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
Born after superstar older brother Giannis in 1997, second youngest brother Kostas currently plays for South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League. After moving to the US with his brothers, he enrolled in Dominican High School and continued his basketball career - leading his team to a state championship in the process. After high school, Kostas rose through the ranks, playing college basketball at the University of Dayton. In 2018, Kostas was declared for the 2018 NBA draft and eventually drafted by Philadelphia 76ers, before being traded to Dallas Mavericks. He debuted in the NBA in 2019 in a loss against Portland Trail Blazers.
Alex is the youngest of the Antetokounmpo brothers and still in the early stages of his career. Born in 2001, he moved from Greece to the USA in 2013 before following his older brother to NBA side The Milwaukee Bucks. In May 2020, Alex announced that he would play in Europe after graduating from high school, rather than play college basketball. A month later he signed a three-year contract with Spanish basketball club UCAM Murcia CB.
Giannis Antetokounmpo surprises Greek fans on the streets with the championship trophy
