Greece’s Athens Greek basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo will fly the Greek flag at the next Olympics in Paris on July 26th, marking a historic milestone. An important turning point has been reached for the athlete and the country with this announcement.

A two-time NBA MVP with the Milwaukee Bucks, Antetokounmpo will be the first athlete of African American descent to head the Greek delegation at the opening ceremony. His inspirational journey to this honor includes surviving a childhood of statelessness brought on by his parents’ immigration from Nigeria.

After Greece qualified for the Olympics and Antetokounmpo made his first appearance in the Games, he commented, “It’s an incredible feeling.” “I have aspired to compete in the Olympic Games ever since I was a young child.

His selection as flagbearer celebrates the country’s increasing diversity and sends a clear message of inclusivity.

On July 26, the two-time NBA MVP will fly the flag in Paris with racewalker Antigoni Ntrismpioti.

“The decision to have Giannis carry the flag was made unanimously,” said Greek Olympic Committee President Spyros Kapralos. “Both flagbearers will lift our country high.”

Given that Greece, the country where the Olympics originated, usually leads the opening procession, Antetokounmpo will be among the first athletes to compete.

There was “unanimity” in the choice of Antetokounmpo to fly the Greek Olympic Committee flag in Paris, according to Spyros Kapralos, the organization’s president. Both flagbearers, he continued, will “lift our country high”.

Antetokounmpo just uploaded a video on X that had highlights from the qualifying campaign and the term “Greece”; he hasn’t made any public comments as of yet.