Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece, on December 6, 1994, the son of immigrants from Nigeria. Three years earlier, his parents had moved from Lagos, leaving behind their firstborn son, Francis, with his grandparents. Though Antetokounmpo and three of his four brothers were born in Greece, they did not automatically receive full Greek citizenship as the Greek nationality law abides by the jus sanguinis. For the first 18 years of his life Antetokounmpo was effectively stateless, having no papers from Nigeria or Greece.
Antetokounmpo grew up in the Athens neighborhood of Sepolia. His parents, as immigrants, could not easily find work, so Antetokounmpo and his older brother, Thanasis, helped by hawking watches, handbags and sunglasses in the streets. In 2007 Antetokounmpo started playing basketball, and by 2009 he was playing competitively for the youth squad of Filathlitikos.
He was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church along with his brother Alexandros on October 28, 2012.
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