Greek-Nigerian basketball star, Giannis Antetokounmpo is going viral after he was seen in a video buying a counterfeit version of his own jersey at Balogun Market in Lagos, Nigeria.
The NBA star’s hilarious experience was documented in a documentary called ‘Ugo’, Antetokounmpo’s Nigerian birth name, which captures the star’s exploration of his roots, reconnection with his family, and a journey to his life story.
In the documentary, Antetokounmpo happened upon a booth selling basketball jerseys where he saw that some of them had his name on the back. He engaged the merchant in conversation and worked out a price reduction from N7000 to N6000. The vendor and bystanders, interestingly enough, could not identify the NBA player. This led him to ask them whether they knew who was on the jersey.
“I was basically bargaining. I know it was 2 dollars, and I told him, okay, I’ll give you $3 for two, he was like, no. He was really good, I gotta give him respect for that. And this, the craziest part, the guy giving me the jersey had no idea who I was. He knew who Giannis Antetokounmpo was, but he didn’t know that was me that he was selling the jersey to which was, that was a crazy experience,” he said.
The Milwaukee Bucks player released a riveting documentary titled “UGO: A Homecoming Story” on January 16, 2024, a video chronicling his initial visit back to Nigeria in August of 2023.
Antetokounmpo’s return to the West African state 35 years after his parents’ relocation has sentimental significance following a life in Greece and a prosperous career in the United States of America.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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