Source: Courtesy / Prime Video
If they don’t know it already, the world will be able to learn the story of one of the most polarizing figures in sports will soon. This week (January 16th), Prime Video announced the upcoming release of Giannis: The Marvelous Journey. The feature-length documentary will chronicle the extraordinary odyssey of NBA mega-star Giannis Antetokounmpo from an impoverished childhood in Greece as the son of Nigerian immigrants to the very top of the basketball world. The documentary will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on February 19th. Giannis: The Marvelous Journey is the latest addition to the Prime membership. Prime members in the U.S. enjoy savings, convenience, and entertainment, all in a single membership.
The film is an intimate portrait of a global superstar and one of the NBA’s most dominating performers, a two-time league MVP who led the Milwaukee Bucks to a championship in 2021. His path began a world away from the spotlight though. It began on the streets of Athens, where alongside three brothers, Giannis was raised on the margins of society by parents who’d immigrated from Nigeria in search of a better life. As the documentary recounts, one day in an internet café, young Giannis was captivated by images of NBA stars. Soon after, he picked up a basketball. An epic journey that can be described as inspiring, heartbreaking and eventually triumphant unfolded from there. The journey ultimately landed him in his adopted home of Milwaukee. In the Cream City, he emerged as “The Greek Freak,” a superstar who transcends conventional limits, transforming the game with his athleticism and versatility, all while striving to use the memory of the loss he endured along the way to spearhead an impact far beyond the court.
Giannis: The Marvelous Journey features interviews with Giannis Antetokounmpo and his entire family, including his mother Veronica Antetokounmpo, his brothers Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex Antetokounmpo, and his fiancée Mariah Riddlesprigger. The documentary also contains basketball luminaries Jason Kidd, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Kenny Smith, Vin Baker, Ernie Johnson, and more. It marks the first time the family has given first-person accounts on their collective journey.
Presented by Prime Video, Giannis: The Marvelous Journey is an Improbable Media and Words + Pictures production. The film was directed and produced by Emmy Award winner Kristen Lappas. Connor Schell and Hannah Beir also served as producers on the film. Aaron Cohen, Libby Geist, Nick Monroe, and Giorgos Panou took on executive producer responsibilities. Be on the lookout for the documentary’s official trailer, which should be dropping in the coming weeks.
