Cover of Giannis, the MVP (JC) born out of misery José Manuel Puertas.
The American Dream is becoming more global and less American. Although almost always when it comes true, there’s a scene that seems like it’s straight out of an American movie. For example: The sports scout who goes beyond the usual search areas and one day, thanks to his good eye and chance, comes across a future NBA player. And you don’t even have to see him play basketball to envision the future. It was the same with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Today’s all-time favorite for the Milwaukee Bucks began weaving his destiny playing tag with two of his brothers at an athletics field in the Sepolia neighborhood of Athens. Spiros Velliniatis, the coach scout who spotted it, noticed the changes in direction in those giant hands and predicted that they were also bodies ready to grow. “I thought I found Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Julius Erving all in it together.”
But tales of dreams come true are also nuanced, tending to forget the bits that bordered on a nightmare, as well as the many moments when things went haywire. In Giannis, the risen MVP (JC) José Manuel Puertas presents the complex history of the player.
Born in Athens, the son of Nigerians who emigrated in the early 1990s, he accompanied his parents on the streets selling DVDs, wallets, watches, bags and sunglasses as a child. They had no residence papers, which made any confrontation with the police a toss up. They suffered an eviction. And when her life intersected with Velliniatis, Giannis said he preferred football. Then his inconsistency for training. His parents’ doubts. Stateless until 2013 – his sporting talent helped him obtain Greek citizenship. The Adetokunbo have been renamed the Antetokounmpo. They were the first pages of a new version of the unfathomable ways of life.
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