There's one usual rule when it comes to autobiographies and biographies of famous athletes: Don't write them until their athletic career is over.
That's because a period of time in sports usually has enough drama to carry the story through to the ending. It feels a little incomplete without a "how did it turn out?" section. Besides, the subject often isn't old enough to put things into perspective.
Now ... when it comes to the book "Giannis," take that rule, and deposit it in the nearest wastebasket.
That's because the story of Giannis Antetokounmpo - I'm still working on how to say and type that smoothly - had enough drama in it by the age of 26 to more than fill a book. That's why it still fascinates.
Full credit to Mirin Fader for coming up with the complete version of the story. She seems to have talked to everyone involved, and supplemented it with other research. Fader came up with a book in 2021 that was simply jammed with great information and insights.
If you don't know much about the origin story of the Milwaukee Bucks' standout, he was born in Greece to Nigerian parents. The family all had to do almost anything possible to scrape up enough money to have some place to sleep and something to eat on a daily basis. The kids, all three boys (another one was back in Nigeria), didn't even have Greek citizenship papers even though they were born there. Oh, and Giannis and family were black, and there were plenty of people in Greece who needed to take a look at one of them and decide they hated them.
Giannis did figure out a way to play some basketball after an early fling with soccer didn't work out. It was a good idea, since he was getting taller by the moment in his youth. The problem was that there wasn't enough food at times, so that "lean and hungry" look was sort of permanent. Giannis needed time to grow into his body, and it's a little difficult to believe that he had a chance to become the proverbial prospect. Antetokoumpo couldn't even play with some national teams, because he didn't have citizenship papers.
But he blossomed at just the right time. When the NBA Draft came along in 2013, some NBA teams thought he might someday turn into a player. The odds were a bit long. However, the Milwaukee Bucks hadn't been a strong contender since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar left town. There was talk that the team might have to move if it didn't make a strong move up in the standings. The Bucks took a chance and drafted him 15th in the first round, surprising almost everyone.
It's a "stranger in a strange land" story from there. Giannis moved to Milwaukee, which in hindsight was a great place for him. New York or Los Angeles might have been overwhelmed. Milwaukee was a little cold and small, but it was a good place for someone with such an unusual background to learn the American ways. Antetokounmpo also worked hard, and then worked harder. After some serious negotiating, his whole family came across the pond from Greece to help him out. He became better, with each passing year, and fit in nicely with the style of basketball in vogue today in which all players- even 7-footers - have to be comfortable at any place on the court.
Giannis eventually started making NBA All-Star Games and winning individual awards. His career seemed to reach a climax in 2019, when he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. But then he did it again in 2020. That's where the book's story ends, but you don't need a spoiler alert to know that the best was yet to come. In 2021, the Bucks won their first NBA championship in 50 years, and Antetokounmpo was their leader. It was a heck of way to launch into a new contract that paid him a huge amount of money and in theory would keep him in Milwaukee for several more years. (It's easy to wonder if Fader watched that title and thought to herself, "Couldn't they have done it last year?")
Yes, this is a sports book, but as usual the best sports books don't easily fall into that stifling category. "Friday Nights Lights" was about high school football, and a ton of other things too. You can come up with several more examples. The details about those days in Greece are amazing to read, and the stories from Giannis' NBA days also are quite candid and interesting.
"Giannis" probably works best for those who have little idea of Antetokounmpo's personal story, but practically everyone ought to learn a lot about this fascinating individual. Makes me wish I had read it sooner, but it's still very, very worthwhile.
Five stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com. (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn money from qualified purchases.)
Be notified of new posts on this site via X.com @WDX2BB.
No comments:
Post a Comment