Giannis Antetokounmpo discloses why his family took part in new documentary

Giannis Antetokounmpo is giving some insight on decisions that had to be made in the making of the Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, a new documentary from Prime Video.

The 29-year-old star athlete told People magazine that the decision to give a firsthand account of not only his story, but also the story of his family, was a collective decision for them. The documentary features his mother Veronica Antetokounmpo, brothers Alex, Kostas and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and fiancée Mariah Riddlesprigger.

“I talked to my brothers, talked to my mom and Mariah, to see if we were OK and willing to share our story with the world, and we came to this decision as a family,” he noted.

According to the eight time All-Star and NBA champion, for his family, it was the opportunity to speak directly about some of the “darkest moments” they endured in their own words. Having subjects such as the death of family patriarch, Charles, and the poverty and fear they faced as Nigerian immigrants in Greece told through the voices of others was something that didn’t quite sit right with the family.

“There’s been a lot of people that have shared their version of our story, but we felt like this was our time to open up about our dad, our foundation, our journey and do it in our way,” Giannis asserted.

“It was time for us to go out there and share this like I said, our way,” he retorted. “That’s one thing that I’m very, very happy about — it’s our way.”

Rehashing some of the memories proved to be more difficult for Giannis than maybe he even thought but he says it was good to do so nonetheless.

“You don’t want to go back there because there are just some things that are hard to talk about,” he lamented. … We don’t know how the world is going to take it. I’ve never opened up about my father to anybody. So it’s good, but it’s also hard.”

Giannis: The Marvelous Journey is streaming now on Prime Video.