- Giannis Antetokounmpo played an NBA game with his brothers Thanasis and Kostas for the first time.
- Antetokounmpo said it was his favorite moment of his career.
- Antetokounmpo said he and his brothers used to share a bed and dream of playing in the NBA together.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's favorite NBA moment occurred on Wednesday in the Milwaukee Bucks' 112-97 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The game marked the first time Antetokounmpo played professionally with his other NBA siblings, Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Kostas Antetokounmpo. Thanasis plays with the Bucks while Kostas is with the Lakers.
Though Giannis and Thanasis played the Lakers while Kostas was on the roster last season, Kostas never checked into the game.
After Wednesday's game, Giannis, the two-time reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, said it was his favorite moment of his accomplished career.
"This moment today is probably my favorite moment I've had so far in the NBA," Giannis said. "You can never have a feeling like this, no matter what you do. You win a game with a buzzer-beater, you score 50, you score 40 — like, it does not frickin' matter.
"This moment, just seeing the guys that I grew up with, and we slept in the same bed, and we were looking at the ceiling and imagining if we were ever going to play in the NBA, if we were ever going to make it, and just being on the same court while our mom is having her phone and videotaping the whole thing — I think it's priceless, and nobody can take this away from us. I think this is the best moment we've ever had in the NBA."
After the game, the three brothers shared a hug.
Wednesday's game marked just the second time in NBA history that three brothers played in the same game — the Bucks' Jrue Holiday accomplished the feat in 2019 when he played his brothers Justin and Aaron on the Indiana Pacers.
Antetokounmpo's parents are Nigerian and moved to Athens, Greece, before Thanasis, Giannis, or Kostas were born. The family struggled to make ends meet, and Giannis and Thanasis would hawk watches, bags, and sunglasses in the streets.
"Sometimes, our fridge was empty," Giannis told The New York Times in 2013. "Some days, we didn't sell the stuff, and we didn't have money to feed ourselves."
Giannis and Thanasis both played professionally in Europe before making the jump to the NBA. Kostas moved to Wisconsin when Giannis was drafted by the Bucks in 2013 and played at Dominican High School, then the University of Dayton before being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2018.
Alex, the youngest of the five brothers, currently plays professionally in Spain.
Former NBA player Jason Terry, who played with Giannis from 2016-2018, told Insider that Antetokounmpo is fiercely loyal and devoted to his family. Terry said Giannis lived with his family in a two-bedroom apartment in Milwaukee early in his career.
Terry also said Giannis used to take sneakers that teammates were throwing out.
"That's just his humble beginnings," Terry said. "That's why you love the kid."
Giannis told reporters on Wednesday that he hopes to have more matchups with his brothers in the future.
"It's amazing, man," Giannis said. "It's been a long, long journey to be able to have the three of us be in the same NBA court, man. It's amazing. Our mom is right there watching. You can never ask for anything better. We're representing our father in the right way. We're doing it with a smile on our face. We're try to improve every single day, and this was always our dream. Just being able to take a moment and realize that we accomplished it, it's amazing. We gotta keep getting better, keep working on our game, and hopefully, moments like this, like tonight, can happen again."
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