Giannis Antetokounmpo name origin, pronunciation amid 2024 Paris Olympics

It’s hard not to notice Giannis Antetokounmpo on the basketball court.

Just because the 6-foot-11 Milwaukee Bucks forward makes it look easy with his highlight-reel plays, elite passing and athleticism doesn’t mean NBA fans don’t still have difficulty figuring out the pronunciation of the Greek star’s name.

Perhaps thas is why the nickname “Greek Freak” is more commonly attributed to Antetokounmpo — a moniker that likely emerge during the 2024 Paris Olympics after he helped Greece qualify for this year’s Games for just the fifth time ever. However, Antetokounmpo has insised on embracing both his home country and his African roots:

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“There are a lot of people that I see and I tell them that I am African. I am not just ‘The Greek Freak,’” Antetokounmpo said to NBA insider Marc Spears in 2019.

“It doesn’t matter what people may believe because of my nickname. There were a lot of times when I was in Greece where people said, ‘You’re not Greek. You’re Nigerian because you’re Black.’ But then there have been a lot of times where it’s been the opposite, where people say, ‘You’re not African. You’re Greek. You’re ‘The Greek Freak.’ But I don’t really care about that. Deep down, I know who I am and where I am from. That’s all that matters to me.”

Here’s what you need to know about how to pronounce Antetokounmpo’s name, and its origins:

How to pronounce Giannis Antetokounmpo

• Pronunciation: \YAHN-iss ah-dedo-KOON-bo\
• Full name: Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo)

And here is how Antetokounmpo pronounces his name:

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Giannis Antetokounmpo name origin

Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece, and his parents were immigrants from Nigeria.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s parents are Charles and Veronica Adetokunbo, Nigerian immigrants to Greece. Per Giannis Antetokounmpo’s interview with his Spears, the couple moved from Lagos, Nigeria, to Greece in 1991 to secure a better future for the family after struggling to find employment.

“Adetokunbo” was the Milwaukee Bucks star’s birthname, though it was changed to Antetokounmpo after it was spelled that way on his Greek passport. Hall of Fame NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon told Spears in 2019 that, based on Giannis’ “Adetokunbo” surname, he and and the Bucks star are Yoruba, denoting a West African ethnic group who mainly live in Nigeria but also in the countries of Benin and Togo.

“I know from his last name that we are from the same tribe, the Yoruba tribe. His last name, which in Yoruba is spelled Adetokunbo, means ‘the crown has returned from overseas,’” Olajuwon said.

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John Leuzzi contributed to this report.