Greek, for a non-native speaker, isn’t the easiest language to hear over the phone and then spell out phonetically. Still, NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is doing his best to recommend his favourite restaurants for when I visit Athens later this year. Ithaki, I believe he says, is a bit expensive, but it has an incredible seaside view. There’s also a neighbourhood, Penteli, that has exceptional cuisine. “I go there once a week—get a souvlaki, get a gyro,” he tells me. “They’ll fill you up.”
Here’s another word I look up later: kalanta. It’s a kind of carol that children sing during Christmas and New Year’s in the streets of Athens, Antetokounmpo says, and it makes for one of his favourite times to be back in the city. He and his brothers—Francis, Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex—would sing the carols for tips from seven in the morning until seven at night. Every year, they would rake in around USD300 to USD500 and then beg their father for a PlayStation.
“When life wasn’t easy for us, we used to take that money and pay for the rent, or the groceries, or the light bill,” he recalls. “But one year my dad came back with a console, and me and my brothers were ecstatic. This day was probably the happiest moment of my childhood. And now, as a father, I realise what my dad had to deal with to make that decision.”
Take care of real-life issues or provide this for my kids? he imagines his dad mulling over in his head that night. “We were very happy. We spent so many hours playing. And the funny thing about that is that our light bill went through the roof because the energy bill was insane.”
We might be spending this sunny Thursday afternoon in July just chatting over Zoom about Greek food, childhood memories, and PlayStation consoles, but something tells me that Antetokounmpo has been thinking a lot about his family lately. After all, the 2021 NBA champion and two-time MVP winner is moving his wife and kids from Wisconsin to Florida this summer as he switches teams for the first time for what will be his 14th season in the league. For the 2026–2027 season, the former Milwaukee Bucks forward will play for the Miami Heat. It’s a daunting change, but it’s one that the basketball star seemingly needed—even if it was tough to leave.
“It’s hard,” Antetokounmpo says. He called Milwaukee home for 13 years. He knew every street corner and all the best shortcuts off the highway to get to the arena faster. He knew the security guards and the nannies in the family room who babysat his kids during the games. “But in the NBA, there’s nothing stable,” he says. “Whatever life throws at us, we try to find ways to navigate it and just keep moving forward. And I want my kids to be adaptive—because me and my brothers, and my wife, we are very good at that.”
Miami, too, is a hell of a lot warmer than Milwaukee.
“It was my favourite city because you associate basketball with the city,” Antetokounmpo says. “Obviously, you hope for the best outcome, but I’m happy. I went to spend a few days there, and wherever I went, fans were following me around, and they were so excited. I want to bring that excitement back to the city.”
Below, Antetokounmpo shares more about his excitement for the upcoming instalment of his favourite video game series, NBA 2K27; raising his kids (even though he isn’t their favourite player); and why he would have loved to have LeBron James join him in Miami.
ESQUIRE: What is it about NBA 2K that basketball players like so much? Is it not like, I already do this all day for work?
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO: I’m going to tell you what it is. The thing is, we have goals on the team—there’s somebody who is screening, or shooting, or rebounding. But when you play 2K, you can be whatever you want to be. I can just make a character that shoots 99.9 per cent from the three. When we were kids, we imagined being Kobe [Bryant] or Allen Iverson or Magic Johnson. Once you actually make it to the NBA, you start to realise, Oh, I got to fit in somewhere. I got to make a living, and I got to do my job and be good in my role. So sometimes people will lose their joy within the NBA. Not in a bad way, but they find this outlet, which is 2K, and it’s able to [recapture] their imagination. People find joy in that.
Is there anyone in the league who’s really good at 2K that we wouldn’t expect?
My brother Alex was good. He spent a lot of money [in the game] off my credit card too. But Khris Middleton sucked. Whatever Khris did, it was horrible. [Laughs.]
Are your kids into basketball?
They know every player; they know every number, every jersey, every team. But they love playing FC [FIFA’s video game]. They’re not into playing basketball yet, or 2K, which is okay. Wait a little bit, play basketball first, and then I’ll get them into it.
Do they not know that their dad is in 2K?
Actually, it’s crazy that you ask that. I don’t think they have any idea. My son is six and a half, and he figured out the other day when he went to summer camp that on his shoe, because I have a signature shoe with Nike, that his name is on the shoe. He came back, he was like, “Dad! Dad! My name is on the shoe!” And it’s not even that I’m in the games. I’ve been on the cover of 2K, which is insane. But I just let them be kids, let them play.
But now we have this rule in our house: For them to watch TV and play a video game, they have to be able to read a book. Just one book. One book equals one hour of screen time. Because when they grow up, I want them to be good kids, man.
Do your kids have a favourite player, if it isn’t you?
My son, he went to—what is it called, Pretend Day? It’s the day that you go to school and pretend to be somebody else. My son pretended to be Anthony Edwards. ...And my other son? He’s always talking about Wemby [Victor Wembanyama]. My daughters, they’re probably going to have favourite players too: A’ja Wilson, Sabrina [Ionescu]. But they’re too young right now.
What do they think about having to move to Miami? Is it a tough transition?
Yeah, it’s hard. They know that we are going to Miami, but it hasn’t hit them yet. They don’t really know that we won’t go back. Hopefully I can stay for many years with the Miami organisation. It’s a business—people get traded, people get moved every single year. So you got to have that mindset of Okay, wherever we go, as long as we’re together, it’s home.
What was it about Miami that made you know it was one of the places you wanted to play for next, even before the trade?
Before everything went down, I didn’t, really. But I’ve had top battles within that city. It’s also way warmer than Milwaukee. And in Milwaukee, I can go to Walmart in my flip-flops, wear my tracksuit, and nobody really bothers me. They’re used to me. Miami will be different. It’s very fast-paced. The fans are very passionate about the team, and I think the fans will be happy. We’re going to work very hard. And the goals that we’re going to set, we’re going to accomplish them.
What’s the most exciting part of a potential team-up with LeBron, should he choose Miami? [Editor’s note: This interview took place before LeBron James announced his decision to play for Philadelphia, but at the time, this is what Giannis said about the prospect of playing alongside LeBron James in Miami.]
Obviously, I think LeBron has made incredible decisions in his career. He’s not the best player of all time. Top two. It’s up there. So as long as you are in that conversation, you already won the battle. Some people will say it’s LeBron; [other] people will say it’s MJ [Michael Jordan]. Probably as the time passes by, they’ll probably say it’s LeBron. To have a historical, all-time-great player like that playing next to you, it’d probably be an incredible feeling. You can learn so much from him. How to understand the game, how to read the game. I would love that. I would think it’s a win-win situation.
What do you envision will be the hardest part about playing for Miami, or just another team in general, as someone who has played for one team their entire career so far?
The people. The people that you build a relationship with within that organisation. Now, those people [in Milwaukee], all of a sudden you’re not on the same side and they’re trying to take something away from you. I have a goal: winning championships. They have the same goal, and now they’re trying to take that away from me.
But basketball is basketball. You’re always going to figure out ways to be good if you put the work in. The hardest part? I have to figure out a new place to get gas, a new place to get groceries, a new route to the game, a new soccer academy [for the kids]. It’s a new routine. A new life.
