National Basketball Association

Giannis puts on a show vs. Lakers, tells dad jokes afterward

Updated Feb. 9, 2022 1:57 p.m. ET

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By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

As Giannis Antetokounmpo exited the interview room at Crypto.com Arena late Tuesday evening, he noticed a little boy with tears in his eyes who was wearing his No. 34 jersey. Antetokounmpo stopped dead in his tracks and spun around.

"Don't cry," he told the boy, who responded by sniffling and straining his eyes open in an attempt to obey his hero.

Antetokounmpo smiled warmly. He asked the boy if he played basketball. He told him to keep it up. He said that one day, the boy could be blocking his shots.

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Those weren't just empty words robotically spewed by a multimillionaire. There were no television cameras around. This was not performative. It was a heartfelt message from someone who defied all the odds to be where he is today.

Antetokounmpo's mother stood nearby in the hallway. They were about to be whisked by team personnel through a part of the arena only team members have access to. Multiple people were calling Giannis' name. Everyone wanted a moment of his attention.

But not too long ago, he was the invisible one.

As a boy, he desperately tried to get the attention of everyone around him, hawking items on the streets of Greece to earn a little extra money to help his parents, who were immigrants from Nigeria. He didn't know where his next meal was coming from. He was anonymous. His future seemed grim.

It's a feeling that stays with someone, even if he blossoms into one of the best athletes on the planet.

Antetokounmpo's success hasn't dulled his memories of fear and uncertainty. If anything, it has highlighted them. The stark contrast has made him deeply grateful for every moment — and acutely aware of the absurdity of his circumstances.

Following his monster, 44-point performance in 35 minutes in the Milwaukee Bucks' 131-116 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, I asked Antetokounmpo if he's having more fun now than ever before. He just led the Bucks to their first championship in 50 years. He's a two-time NBA MVP — and he's not even 30 years old.

But Antetokounmpo's response showed that even though he's now firmly planted in the world of the super successful, his mind still straddles both realities. It's as though he'll forever have imposter syndrome, knowing that if he didn't have a few lucky breaks, if a few people hadn't recognized his potential and opened his eyes to the star he could become, his life would be very different.

It makes him appreciate every moment.

"I'm always having fun," he said. "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm extremely blessed to even go onto the court and even wear a jersey and even represent my family. I came from a place that you guys don't even know. I mean, me and my family have struggled a lot to even have the opportunity for me to be here."

Antetokounmpo often goes back to that place. After he led the Bucks to the title in July, he repeatedly talked about his rough childhood.

Now, his life couldn't be more different.

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He signed a five-year, $228 million contract in 2020. Disney is making a movie called "Rise" about him and his family. And on Tuesday, it was clear that he really could be the best player alive after he made LeBron James look his age and made Anthony Davis look like a one-way player.

The Lakers simply had no answer for Antetokounmpo. He was a man playing among boys, and he could dominate whenever he felt like it.

He shot 17-for-20 from the field, including making both of his 3-point attempts, while finishing with 14 rebounds and eight assists. He danced his way around the Lakers' porous defense with such ease, it was as if he were playing against cardboard cutouts instead of future Hall of Famers.

Performances such as this are becoming commonplace for Antetokounmpo. He's averaging 29.2 points, 11.3 rebounds and six assists this season for the Bucks, who are in second place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 35-21, just a half-game behind the first-place Miami Heat (35-20).

And the scariest part is he's just 27 and might not have reached his prime yet. Antetokounmpo keeps getting better and better.

"I looked up in the third or fourth quarter, and I saw that he had 35 or 38, and I didn't know he was anywhere close to that, but that just shows the level he's playing," Khris Middleton said. "He's knocking down his jump shot. He's got guys now going for his pump fake, which is going to open up things even more for him."

Despite being atop the league, Antetokounmpo has maintained his humility. He's the biggest of superstars, but at heart, he's a goofball who loves the game. He doesn't have an aura of unapproachability about him. You want to get a beer with him — not because he's larger than life but because it would actually be fun.

That's an extremely rare quality for a superstar. But Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer has seen glimpses of it before, when he was an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs from 1996 to 2013. Antetokounmpo reminds him of some of the Spurs' understated greats, though Budenholzer added that Antetokounmpo is much more outwardly silly.

"You're so lucky to be around somebody that is that great but that is at the same time so incredibly humble," Budenholzer said. "The humility that he brings to our team and our organization, I think it trickles down and allows for some steadiness and calm and consistency. I love Giannis' humility, and I think it's fair to put him in that bucket with Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili] and Tony [Parker]."

Middleton echoed that statement, pointing out that Antetokounmpo has not changed since the Bucks selected him as the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft.

While he has transformed his body from a scrawny, 6-foot-9, 190 pounds into a chiseled, 6-foot-11, 242 pounds, his personality has remained the same as when he was an 18-year-old desperate to prove himself.

"He's been the same way," Middleton said. "You could go back to my first days here with him, just telling his corny jokes that he loves to tell so much."

A few reporters laughed — but Middleton wasn't trying to be funny. Jrue Holiday, who was on the interview podium with Middleton, turned to him and asked, incredulously, "They be cracking up?"

Antetokounmpo really loves to tell dad jokes. He finished both of his interview sessions in Los Angeles with one.

After a 28-point, 10-rebound performance against the Clippers on Sunday, Antetokounmpo said, "Why did the football coach go to the back? To get his quarterback."

Tuesday's joke was just as silly. "Why did the orange lose the race? He ran out of juice."

Both times, Antetokounmpo implored everyone in the room to say "Why?" after he set up the joke. Both times, he proudly flashed a wide smile after he delivered the punchline.

Antetokounmpo is clearly having fun with it all, both on and off the court. He's playing at an extraordinary level, but he hasn't let any of it go to his head.

Deep down, he's the same little boy. But now, he has the attention of the entire world.

Everyone can see how talented he is. Everyone can see his sincerity. Everyone can see him.

It's something he'll never take for granted.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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National Basketball Association

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Milwaukee Bucks

Los Angeles Lakers

NBA - Milwaukee Bucks vs. Los Angeles Lakers - 02/09/2022

Jrue Holiday

Khris Middleton

Melissa Rohlin