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Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP
**Instant New York Times Bestseller, Los Angeles Times Bestseller, Wall Street Journal Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller**
The story of Giannis Antetokounmpo's extraordinary rise from poverty in Athens, Greece, to superstardom in America with the Milwaukee Bucks-becoming one of the most transcendent players in history and an NBA Champion-from award-winning basketball reporter and feature writer at The Ringer Mirin Fader.
As the face of the NBA's new world order, Giannis Antetokounmpo has overcome unfathomable obstacles to become a symbol of hope for people all over the world; the personification of the American Dream. But his backstory remains largely untold. Fader unearths new information about the childhood that shaped "The Greek Freak"-from sleeping side by side with his brothers to selling trinkets on the street with his family to the racism he experienced. Antetokounmpo grew up in an era when Golden Dawn, Greece's far-right, anti-immigrant party, patrolled his neighborhood, and his status as an illegal immigrant largely prevented him from playing for the country's top clubs, making his NBA rise all the more improbable. Fader tells a deeply human story of how an unknown, skinny, Black Greek teen, who played in the country's lowest pro division and was seen as a draft gamble, transformed his body and his game into MVP material.
Antetokounmpo's story has been framed as a feel-good narrative in which everyone has embraced him-watching him grow up, sign a five-year supermax contract extension worth $228 million, and lead the underdog Bucks to the NBA Championship in 2021. Giannis reveals a more nuanced story: how lonely and isolated he felt, adjusting to America and the NBA early in his career; the complexity of grappling with his Black and Greek identities; how he is so hard on himself and his shortcomings-a drive that fuels him every day; and the responsibility he feels to be a nurturing role model for his younger brothers. Fader illustrates a more vulnerable star than most people know, a person who has evolved triumphantly into all of his roles: father, brother, son, teammate, and global icon.
The story of Giannis Antetokounmpo's extraordinary rise from poverty in Athens, Greece, to superstardom in America with the Milwaukee Bucks-becoming one of the most transcendent players in history and an NBA Champion-from award-winning basketball reporter and feature writer at The Ringer Mirin Fader.
As the face of the NBA's new world order, Giannis Antetokounmpo has overcome unfathomable obstacles to become a symbol of hope for people all over the world; the personification of the American Dream. But his backstory remains largely untold. Fader unearths new information about the childhood that shaped "The Greek Freak"-from sleeping side by side with his brothers to selling trinkets on the street with his family to the racism he experienced. Antetokounmpo grew up in an era when Golden Dawn, Greece's far-right, anti-immigrant party, patrolled his neighborhood, and his status as an illegal immigrant largely prevented him from playing for the country's top clubs, making his NBA rise all the more improbable. Fader tells a deeply human story of how an unknown, skinny, Black Greek teen, who played in the country's lowest pro division and was seen as a draft gamble, transformed his body and his game into MVP material.
Antetokounmpo's story has been framed as a feel-good narrative in which everyone has embraced him-watching him grow up, sign a five-year supermax contract extension worth $228 million, and lead the underdog Bucks to the NBA Championship in 2021. Giannis reveals a more nuanced story: how lonely and isolated he felt, adjusting to America and the NBA early in his career; the complexity of grappling with his Black and Greek identities; how he is so hard on himself and his shortcomings-a drive that fuels him every day; and the responsibility he feels to be a nurturing role model for his younger brothers. Fader illustrates a more vulnerable star than most people know, a person who has evolved triumphantly into all of his roles: father, brother, son, teammate, and global icon.
Editorial Reviews
"Mirin Fader gives readers a gorgeous portrayal of one of the most unique talents to ever play professional basketball. But Giannis is more than just the comprehensive story of a once-in-a-generation athlete. It is the story of how American promise intersects with iron will, and heartwarming vulnerability."―Jemele Hill, host of "Jemele Hill Is Unbothered"
"For years, I have admired Mirin Fader's ability to tell a long-form journalism story. I'm happy (and unsurprised) to say her skillset has translated over perfectly to books. This book is engaging, smart, and unputdownable."―Shea Serrano
"Around the time that the Greek Freak was busting out in the NBA, Mirin Fader was doing the same thing in her line of work. In a journalism world that had become more and more about opinions, Fader decided that she would be a storyteller, and she invariably spins her tales with vividness and clarity, fueled by endless curiosity."―Jack McCallum, author of Dream Team
"Mirin Fader traces an upbringing marked by deep family ties, extreme poverty, racism, and xenophobia. Like its subject, this biography is serious, engaging, and, more than anything, inspiring."―Ben Golliver, author of Bubbleball
"Giannis the basketball player is almost too good to be true-and so is his story, told here with vivid writing and meticulous reporting. Mirin Fader's portrait of the young superstar is as graceful, understated, and powerful as Giannis himself. A superb biography."―Jonathan Eig, author of Ali and Luckiest Man
"We think we know everything about modern-day superstars. We're sure we know everything about modern-day superstars. Then along comes Mirin Fader with this nuanced, detailed, revealing portrait of a man who has lived one hundred lives in twenty-six years. A fantastic read that proves most dreams go unaccomplished without toil, despair, grit, and an unyielding quest to soar."―Jeff Pearlman, author of Three Ring Circus and Showtime
"The stories. My goodness, the stories. Mirin Fader's ability to find and tell the most illustrative and humanizing tales really shines through. A player this great deserves his story to be told like this."―Marcus Thompson, author of Golden and KD
"[Mirin Fader] wrote the book on Giannis… at the moment that he is transmogrifying into an all-time great."―David Shoemaker, The Press Box
"[Fader's] biggest skill is her accumulation of details through deep reporting - that's when she's in her bag, as basketball fans like to say. Some of these details might seem trivial (the smell in an intern's car after a trip to upstate Wisconsin to fetch a goldendoodle puppy for Giannis's girlfriend), but they transport the reader to ...
"For years, I have admired Mirin Fader's ability to tell a long-form journalism story. I'm happy (and unsurprised) to say her skillset has translated over perfectly to books. This book is engaging, smart, and unputdownable."―Shea Serrano
"Around the time that the Greek Freak was busting out in the NBA, Mirin Fader was doing the same thing in her line of work. In a journalism world that had become more and more about opinions, Fader decided that she would be a storyteller, and she invariably spins her tales with vividness and clarity, fueled by endless curiosity."―Jack McCallum, author of Dream Team
"Mirin Fader traces an upbringing marked by deep family ties, extreme poverty, racism, and xenophobia. Like its subject, this biography is serious, engaging, and, more than anything, inspiring."―Ben Golliver, author of Bubbleball
"Giannis the basketball player is almost too good to be true-and so is his story, told here with vivid writing and meticulous reporting. Mirin Fader's portrait of the young superstar is as graceful, understated, and powerful as Giannis himself. A superb biography."―Jonathan Eig, author of Ali and Luckiest Man
"We think we know everything about modern-day superstars. We're sure we know everything about modern-day superstars. Then along comes Mirin Fader with this nuanced, detailed, revealing portrait of a man who has lived one hundred lives in twenty-six years. A fantastic read that proves most dreams go unaccomplished without toil, despair, grit, and an unyielding quest to soar."―Jeff Pearlman, author of Three Ring Circus and Showtime
"The stories. My goodness, the stories. Mirin Fader's ability to find and tell the most illustrative and humanizing tales really shines through. A player this great deserves his story to be told like this."―Marcus Thompson, author of Golden and KD
"[Mirin Fader] wrote the book on Giannis… at the moment that he is transmogrifying into an all-time great."―David Shoemaker, The Press Box
"[Fader's] biggest skill is her accumulation of details through deep reporting - that's when she's in her bag, as basketball fans like to say. Some of these details might seem trivial (the smell in an intern's car after a trip to upstate Wisconsin to fetch a goldendoodle puppy for Giannis's girlfriend), but they transport the reader to ...
Readers Top Reviews
WiscoMama
Brilliant storytelling about a remarkable person and his adopted home, Milwaukee. Every Bucks fan should read it for sure. But it’s not just about basketball. It’s about life, struggle, and building a community. Buy it and don’t look back. You’ll be happy you did.
Fromal16
This book is so much more than a basketball story; it's a human-interest story that uses basketball as a backdrop to tell a fascinating story of growth. It touches on statelessness, identity, personal development, heartbreak, happiness, and so much more without ever losing sight of the overarching themes, and it contains one fascinating and memorable anecdote after another. It's beyond obvious that Mirin Fader conducted one interview after another, always searching for that one extra detail that can bring the already fully alive story to life even more fully.
This expressively written book reminded me that as great as Giannis' basketball skills are, he is first and foremost a devoted son, brother, partner and, yes, patriot (despite the ill-treatment afforded him and his family by so many of his countrymen.) This book is a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable person. What I like best about this book is that it not only describes in remarkable detail the journey that Giannis took to become the "Greek Freak," but that it takes the time to put that story in context--examining the relevant social, cultural and historical backdrop against which Giannis's rise to fame took place. We learn, for example, about the impact of "Golden Dawn"--the right wing, xenophobic white supremacist group that saw in families like Giannis' a threat to their own white domination and privilege--on Greeks of color. We learn with considerable detail about the extreme poverty experienced by Giannis's families and so many others. And we learn about the very human need to identify with a nation and with a home. Giannis' love of his native home, Greece, is so poignantly expressed by him and his family--against the challenge of obtaining official papers that would confirm Giannis' Greek citizenship (despite having been born in Greece, he would not necessarily be granted citizenship). Later, when achieving fame in the league whose stars he had idolized for so long, Giannis would consider Milwaukee his home, too--and would turn down the opportunity to move to a bigger, glitzier city (with all the perks that a bigger market would provide). Giannis is, above all, loyal--to family and to those who have faith in him, as his loyalty to the Bucks and Milwaukee fans amply shows . Mirin Fader has elegantly and movingly presented all these aspects of Giannis' story. I highly recommend this book, for fans and non-fans alike.
Kevin O'Connor
Mirin Fader's story gives you a deeper understanding of the life of Giannis than you can even imagine. It makes you feel and understand what he and his family went through as they struggled as immigrants living in Greece, how he first fell in love with basketball, what factors led him to become the success he has as an NBA MVP and champion. It has remarkable anecdotes about his life that I won't spoil here. But let's just say the cookie jar one will stick with me forever. Some are funny. Others are infurating. A few of them are depressing. All of them, in some way, can inspire you. There are life lessons woven throughout, but you are never batted over the head with preachy quotes or passages. The reader takes from the book what they want. Every basketball should own this book, but the truth is you could not know a single thing about basketball and still love this book because it's about far more than just sports. It's a book about joy, struggle, sacrifice, family, love, and so much more. This is a book for everyone.
