Giannis Antetokounmpo buys his own counterfeit jersey in bargain deal

Giannis Antetokounmpo, in his decade-long career so far, has already cemented his place among the finest of the game today. While he has been the face of the Milwaukee Bucks for a good part of this decade, not everyone is familiar with his facial features.

The Greek basketball genius recently backtracked to his Nigerian origins. To reconnect with his unventured bond, Giannis traveled more than six thousand miles to the land on the banks of Niger. While on his trip, the 2-time NBA MVP experienced a crazy encounter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo bargains for his own fake jersey

Recently a video went viral where the Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was spotted buying his own jersey; not an original one but a replica. The 29-year-old star was at a Nigerian market, Balogun in Lagos where he saw a kiosk offering basketball jerseys for sale.

The NBA champion bargained with the vendor for his own replica jerseys and successfully deduced the price from N7000 (Nigerian currency Naira) to N6000. Surprisingly, neither the vendor nor the passers-by could recognize the Greek-Nigerian player. The former NBA MVP asked the seller about the player on the jersey, and he said that he knew who Giannis was.

It seemed like the vendor could not identify him by seeing his face. To this Giannis said, “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.”

This whole incident was recorded for a documentary named after Giannis’ birth name, “Ugo.” The documentary aired on January 16, 2024, revolves around the player’s visit to his origins and reuniting with his Nigerian roots.

Giannis’ Nike deal details

While the 2021 NBA Championship winner can be thrifty with his bargaining skills, there is no reason to doubt his endorsement portfolio. For a person who is extremely cautious of his public image and rights, it is no surprise that Giannis will only consider deals matching his excellence.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s biggest endorsement is with the athletic footwear brand, Nike. In 2016, he was first sponsored by the brand for a $20,000 per year deal. The star was approached by rival companies Adidas and Li-Ning, a Chinese sportswear and sports equipment company.

After a breakout season in 2017, the player signed a new contract with Nike where his per-year deal reportedly rose to $10 million (roughly). The Bucks forward soon launched his signature shoe, Zoom Freak 1 with the brand in 2019 which he helped in designing.

Following in the footsteps of NBA greats Michael Jordan and LeBron James, The Greek Freak also landed a lifetime contract with Nike. The fifth edition of his signature shoe, the Nike Zoom Freak 5, launched last year, offering additional features compared to its previous edition.

His intangible qualities have already positioned the 29-year-old as a poster boy of the NBA, but it seems he has a bit more ground to cover before his native people can recognize him by his face as well.