Son Nigerian immigrants in Greece, Giannis Antetokoumpo was able to meet the President of the United States of America.
Nigerian-born basketball star Giannis Antetokoumpo led his teammates and a delegation of the Milwaukee Bucks to visit the President of the United States of America Joe Biden at the famous white house.
Giannis and the Milwaukee Bucks earned an invitation to the white house after beating the Phoenix Suns to win the 2020/21 NBA Championship.
This was the first time the winner of the NBA championship would visit the White House since Barack Obama was president back in 2016.
Giannis was at the podium and spoke about how he was able to chase his dreams despite his parents being Nigerian immigrants in Greece.
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He said, “A kid from Sepolia, Athens, Greece — grew up with two Nigerian parents who were struggling every day to provide for us. … It’s an unbelievable opportunity to be able to be in the White House meeting the president of the United States. I could not be as honored and happy that something like this — that I’ve accomplished something like this in my life.”
“For everybody out there, this is a great example that with hard work, with sacrifices — if you dedicate yourself to waking up every single day and try to get better in anything you do, in anything you love and believe in your dreams — you can accomplish great things in life.
“Man, as I said. I’ve done that my whole life. And I’m in the White House.
“First of all, I want to thank our families. Obviously, our families are a big part of who we are and what we do, and they did a lot of sacrifice during the year for us — enable for us to win a championship.”
Biden on Giannis
President Biden also spoke about Giannis and his journey to the NBA not being born in the United States.
He said, At just 26 years old, you’re just getting started. What makes it even more special is you won the title with your brother, who’s here today and you join another brother already with the ring. What a hell of a family, I tell you what man, I think you won the gene pool.”
Giannis was full of praise for the opportunity to be in the white house following their triumph. He and the Milwaukee Bucks are expected to be in action on Wednesday, November 10th when they face the Philadelphia 76ers.
