After his father, Charles Antetokounmpo, passed suddenly in 2017, NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo, 29, admitted in a new documentary about his life on Prime Video Sports that he almost gave up on basketball.
.
In the first trailer for Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, which PEOPLE exclusively shared, Antetokounmpo, 29, and his family members talk about how their tragic loss has affected them as a family.
“I said, ‘I want to stop playing.’” Giannis says this in the teaser before Mariah Riddlesprigger, his fiancée, finds out. “I believed he was finished.”
After a heart attack, 54-year-old Charles unexpectedly passed away in Milwaukee three years into Giannis’s NBA career.
Even so, Giannis continued to pursue his passion for basketball and went on to become one of the greatest players of all time. He did this despite losing his father.
Giannis continues, “Go conquer the world, because we’re all going to ɀie one day,” in the teaser.
The Prime Video documentary chronicles Giannis’s journey from a poor childhood in Greece as the son of Nigerian immigrants to the pinnacle of the basketball world, starting with the decision made by Giannis’s parents, Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo, to leave Nigeria for Greece when Giannis and his brothers were young.
Veronica claims that she “left Nigeria looking for a better life” for her children, along with her hubby. However, residing in Greece proved to have a unique set of challenges.
Giannis’ brothers Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex Antetokounmpo discuss their experiences as immigrants in Greece, describing how they had to live “in fear” and how Giannis was “always trying to protect” his family.
Giannis sobs as he says, “You want the best for your brothers,” in the video. He goes on, “I’m just a hard worker trying to make ends meet because I’m tired of losing all of this.”
Before Giannis ever dreamed of being a professional player, he and his siblings remember watching NBA highlights from neighborhood internet cafes in Greece. They watched the plays of athletes like LeBron
James and Kevin Durant, who Giannis would eventually face off against in the NBA.
His brother Thanasis plays basketball for the Milwaukee Bucks right now.
Following the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship run, Giannis solidified his place in the annals of basketball greatness.
Giannis says in the teaser, “How you deal with fear is what separates a hero from a coward.”
The Prime Video Sports film, directed by Kristen Lappas and produced by Words + Pictures, marks the first time that members of Giannis’ family have given first-hand accounts of their common journey.
For the documentary, interviews are conducted with several NBA players, including Ernie Johnson, Jason Kidd, Vin Baker, Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Kenny Smith.