On Wednesday, Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo ascended the Acropolis, where they proudly carried their mementos and posed in front of the Parthenon after bringing the NBA championship trophy back to their home country of Greece this week.

Giannis shared a number of photos from their visit on his social media accounts. Giannis won the Finals MVP Award following a dominant performance in the series against the Phoenix Suns.

The Antetokounmpo brothers had planned to celebrate in their Athens neighborhood of Sepolia before returning home. However, Giannis declared that the ceremony will be postponed because of the wildfires that have swept through Greece over the last three days.

“We hope the fire doesn’t claim any lives,” Antetokounmpo posted on Twitter. Needless to say, we are calling off today’s festivities in Sepolia. We’ll let you know when the time and day change.

Born in Greece to Nigerian immigrant parents, the Antetokounmpo brothers had to sell DVDs and bracelets on the street to provide for their family. They grew up fearing deportation since Greece’s doesn’t recognize children of foreign-born immigrants.

It wasn’t until 2013, following their NBA draft selection, that they were granted Greek citizenship.

The entire Greek population, whose basketball often lags behind football in popularity, is captivated by the brothers’ incredible ascent from Sepolia to the NBA.A giant mural of Giannis in his Milwaukee Bucks jersey, across the court where he and his brothers played and practiced, is proof of the pride felt in his success. The neighborhood will also serve as the focal point of a Disney biopic about Giannis’ ascent to the NBA’s top. The biopic is expected to start filming in September.

“This trip has been insane. “I would say you’re crazy if you told me eight years ago that Thanasis and I would be in this situation, with the NBA trophy with us, and that we could take it anywhere we wanted,” he remarked.

However, it has all been accomplished through hard work, and we haven’t given up. We don’t stop, as a family. When we returned home after practice or school, we witnessed our parents working nonstop to provide for us. That is what we witnessed throughout our lives.