Giannis Antetokounmpo will lead Greece into Olympics as a flag bearer in the opening ceremonies

Giannis Antetokounmpo wept.

As his son patted his knee, Antetokounmpo couldn’t hold back the emotions in the final moments of Greece’s Olympic qualifying tournament victory over Croatia on July 7 in Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. The 29-year-old superstar helped lead his home country to its first Games in men’s basketball since 2008, and as the clock wound down, he unraveled.

He wept again in the locker room.

Representing his country at nearly every opportunity has been important to Antetokounmpo ever since he established a foothold in the NBA and with the Milwaukee Bucks – and the Olympic Games were always a goal.

His country has now honored him. The Hellenic Olympic Committee named Antetokounmpo a flag bearer for the opening ceremonies on the Seine River on July 26 in Paris, France. He will join race walker Antigoni Drisbioti as the first athletes to open the Games. Greece has led the parade of nations due to their ancient history with the competition.

Sport24 in Greece reported Antetokounmpo was a unanimous selection for the honor.

It is a historic moment for Greece, as Antetokounmpo becomes the first Black athlete to bear its flag in the Games.

Antetokounmpo was asked about the possibility of holding a flag following the game against Croatia.

“That is an honor,” he said. “If I am the flagbearer, great. If I am not, OK. I am just happy that I have a good coaching staff and a good team, I am in the Olympics. I just want to go and compete. But I would enjoy every moment.”

In 2016, sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou was the country’s first female flag bearer.

Born in Greece but of Nigerian descent, the racism and fear the Antetokounmpo family experienced growing up in Sepolia, an Athens neighborhood, has been well chronicled. He and his brother Thanasis were not granted citizenship until 2013, allowing them to be drafted into the NBA (Thanasis played in the G League in 2013 and was selected by New York in the 2014 draft).

Because of his family’s undocumented status, former Bucks owner and U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (along with a dedicated group of staff) worked tirelessly with the U.S. State Department to get the Antetokounmpos to the United States.

Thanasis and Giannis have been the subject of public racist remarks dating back to 2013 from right wing politicians to television commentators.In a 2018 social media post responding to a slur levied against Thanasis, Giannis wrote in part, “We must not let negative comments alter our family and our love for the country in which we grew up. I and my brothers are Greek/Nigerians and that’s it. We will continue to represent our home country in the best way possible."

Kostas Antetokounmpo, also a member of the Greek national team, was eventually granted citizenship in 2016. Their youngest brother Alex and mother Veronica were granted honorary citizenship in 2021.

Veronica and her late husband Charles had immigrated to Greece in 1991.