The Greek whiz Giannis Antetokounmpo began it all with a tweet: “Are we all set for 7pm today at the Triton basketball courts in Sepolia?” As hundreds of children from the impoverished Athens suburb gathered to see their hometown hero and current NBA rookie, together with his brother Thanasis, set up a pick-up basketball game, magic ensued.

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Cheering spectators were in awe of the dunks and shots that NBA fans in America are used to seeing, and the brothers did not let them down.

Only a few years ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo was unknown to the majority of Greeks. He’s a household name now.

The baby-faced athlete, who stood 6 feet 9 inches tall, was the tall star of a minor-league basketball team in the impoverished Sepolia neighborhood of Athens. He was raised and educated in Athens after being born in Greece to Nigerian parents who had escaped the poverty of their homeland.

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When the 19-year-old was chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA draft on June 27, everything changed. Leaping from the throng, Antetokounmpo embraced his brother Thanassis, 20, who was holding a huge blue-and-white Greek flag.

As they say, the rest is history.

Let’s fast-forward to today. One of the Bucks’ most well-known players, Antetokounmpo is popular with Milwaukee’s most ardent supporters and is active both on and off the court.

For a few days, he went back to his hometown of Athens with the intention of motivating and cheering up the youth during the financial crisis’s sorrow.