Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has a launched a new business venture, Improbable Media, along with his brothers and ESPN analyst and former NBA player Jay Williams, that is set to release its first feature-length production.
Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, is a 1-hour, 48-minute documentary that will premier Feb. 19 on streaming service Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories.
Antetokounmpo announced the new company and the film through social media posts.
“It’s the true story about me and my family’s journey and I can’t wait to share it with you,” Antetokounmpo wrote on Instagram in describing the new film.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, chronicles Antetokounmpo’s odyssey from an impoverished childhood in Greece as the son of Nigerian immigrants to superstardom as a professional basketball player.
The film offers an intimate portrait of Antetokounmpo, a two-time league MVP who led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA title in 2021, the franchise’s first in 50 years and only the second ever. His performance earned him the Finals MVP award.
Antetokounmpo has changed the fortunes of the Bucks franchise since being drafted with the 15th pick in the first round of the 2013 NBA draft. At age 29, Antetokounmpo already is the franchise’s all-time scoring leader.
In addition to highlighting his basketball prowess, the new documentary begins by focusing on Antetokounmpo before he found the spotlight.
The film is described in a Prime Video press release as “an epic journey, at turns inspiring, heartbreaking, and triumphant, ultimately landing (Antetokounmpo) in his adopted home of Milwaukee, where he emerged as “The Greek Freak,” a superstar who transcends conventional limits, transforming the game with his athleticism and versatility, all the while striving to use the memory of the loss he endured along the way to spearhead an impact far beyond the court.”
The documentary features interviews with Antetokounmpo and his family, including his mother, Veronica, brothers Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex, and fiancée, Mariah Riddlesprigger, as well as basketball luminaries Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, Antetokounmpo’s teammates on the title team, former Bucks coach Jason Kidd, former Bucks player and assistant coach Vin Baker, along with TNT basketball commentators Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson.
Giannis: The Marvelous Journey marks the first time the family has provided first-person accounts of their collective journey.
In 2022, Walt Disney Pictures released Rise, a biographical sports drama film focusing on Antetokounmpo and two of his brothers, who emigrate to the United States to play professional basketball. The film was released as a Disney+ original film.
Antetokounmpo also received a credit as an executive director in the film The Flagmakers from National Geographic, a story of employee-owned Eder Flag in Oak Creek, which sews and ships five million American flags per year from its Rawson Avenue factory. The film debuted at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee in November 2022.
Correction: This story’s headline previously stated that Giannis: The Marvelous Journey is coming to theaters. It is not. It will be streaming on Prime Video.
