Francis Olowu Ofili Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) was born on 20 October 1988; the basketball player is the eldest of the five Antetokounmpo brothers, who are all known for their Basketballing skills. Born to parents Charles and Veronica Antetokounmpo, two of his brothers are associated with the NBA, the most famous being Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Asides from Basketball, for which he is mostly known, Francis, who is of Nigerian descent, is also a talented singer and football player. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and was only a child when his parents relocated to Athens, Greece. At first, he was left behind in the care of his grandparents before later joining his parents abroad.
Francis is a semi-professional basketball player. He has played for a small team known as Filathlitikos, which some of his brothers played for as well. The children got their affinity for sports from their parents, who were both into sports in their days. Their father was a soccer player, while their mom was a high jump athlete.
As far as fields of endeavours go, Francis is the most versatile of the Antetokounmpos. Just like the rest of his siblings, he has stayed true to his Nigerian roots. This has been reflected heavily in his music. In 2020, he released a song titled “Shekosi”, his first single. Let’s get to know even more about Francis and the Antetokounmpos. For starters, see these ten facts about them.
10 facts about Francis Antetokounmpo
- Unlike his other four brothers who were born abroad, Francis was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and was a kid when his parents relocated in search of greener pastures.
- His parents worked very hard to give him and his siblings a better chance at life. While Charles Adetokunbo worked as a handyman, his wife Veronica served as a babysitter.
- Although the original family name is Adetokunbo, they changed their name to Antetokounmpo after an error was made on Giannis’ passport.
- Giannis, who is six years younger than Francis and the most popular of the lot, currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, alongside his brother Thanasis.
- Francis played basketball in Greece alongside his brothers, but unlike them, he never considered it as something he wanted to do for a living.
- Francis played professional football as a midfielder and was associated with AE Sparti, a Greek football club based in Sparta, Laconia, Greece, in 2018.
- In July 2020, Francis released “Shekosi”, his first single, which featured an appearance by Serbian actor Darko Peric; Peric portrays the character Helsinki in the famous Netflix series La Casa De Papel.
- The Antetokounmpo organised ‘Antetokounbros 5K Run’ in Athens, Greece, in partnership with NIKE, which involved four of them (minus Kostas) running through the city of Athens along with hundreds of other participants.
- Francis is active on social media, where he mostly promotes his music and cheers his brothers on through every milestone they achieve.
- He currently has a net worth of approximately $1 million.
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Early life and education
As earlier stated, Francis was born in Nigeria and was still a child when his parents moved abroad. He was left with his grandparents, who brought him up till he joined his parents. Francis is a high-school and college graduate, but there is no information on what school or university he went to.
Career
Francis, as already hinted, is a multi-talented person. He is the most versatile among the Adetokunbo boys and has tried his hands on several things. He started out with a career as a basketball player, and he is known as a semi-professional basketball player; he used to play for Filathlitikos, a small local club.
More than Basketball, he did considerably well as a soccer player. In fact, he is better known as a football professional. He has played for various clubs from Nigeria and Greece, like AE Sparti and Aititos Spaton, where he played as a midfielder. He, however, left Aittitos Spaton on 23 June 2019 and shifted his focus to pursuing a career in music. Francis uses his middle name, Ofili, as his stage name. In 2020, he released his first official single, “Shekosi,” which has garnered 156K views on his YouTube channel. The music video has a guest of Darko Peric, the Serbian actor who stars in La Casa De Papel as Helsinki.
After his first single, he has released other songs as well, like “Jump On It,” “Obago” featuring Obi Iross, and “That Ting” featuring King Kanja.
Antetokounmpo brothers
Francis is the eldest of the five Adetokunbo children who are all boys. He is also the only one who wasn’t born in Europe. Let’s meet his other siblings as we unearth some lesser-known facts about them.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Born 18 July 1992, Thanasis (Athanasios Rotimi “Thanasis” Antetokounmpo) is the second oldest brother of the Antetokounmpo brothers. Thanasis, who is four years younger than Francis, was born in Athens, Greece. He is a professional Greek basketball player, and he plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. He was earning a salary of $1.446 million in 2019.
While Thanasis Antetokounmpo may have inherited his athleticism from his father, his jumping skills can be attributed to his mother. The highlight of his budding career was when he was selected for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Defensive Third Team. The following year, he earned a position at the NBA D-League All-Defensive Second Team. Not many know that while his young brother Giannis is known as ‘The Greek Freak’, Thanasis is occasionally referred to as ‘Greek Freak 2’. He is also called ‘The Greek Streak’.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo’s Nigerian legacy and heritage earned him a spot at the senior Nigerian men’s national team for the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, a Greek by heart, he declined the offer and instead chose to play with the senior Greek national team. Later, he was selected to the country’s 12-man roster for the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Born 6 December 1994, Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo is the third born son of Charles Antetokounmpo and Veronica Antetokounmpo. Just like his brother, Thanasis, he is also a professional Greek basketball player. They in fact play for the same team. He is the most popular of the Antetokounmpo brothers.
He started his professional career by signing up to play for the junior squad of the Filathlitikos B.C., a Greek professional basketball club. Soon after, he became a member of Filathlitikos’s senior squad. Antetokounmpo excelled in all departments of the sport, including rebounds, assists, and blocks. His unusual and extraordinary sporting skills attracted the attention of top-notch clubs in Europe. CAI Zaragoza, a Spanish club, contracted him for 4 years at €4,000,000 per year.
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Giannis however did not get to play for Zaragoza as he was picked up by Milwaukee Bucks as a preliminary draft just before he could debut for the Spanish squad. Because his contract with Zaragoza incorporated a default escape condition, he qualified to play for Milwaukee Bucks. He was the integral playmaker for Milwaukee Bucks’ in his third year with the NBA team. In the following year, he was adjudged as Milwaukee Bucks’ star player.
Giannis also became the first and only Greek NBA All-Star player to start an All-Star game. He was designated Eastern Conference Player of the Month in 2017 on 3 April for all his appearances in the month of March which was a career first for him.
Giannis height
The Greek Freak, as he is fondly called, stands at a height of 2.11 meters (6ft 11 inches) and weighs around 109kg (240lbs).
Kostas Antetokounmpo
Born 20 November 1997, Konstantinos Ndubuisi “Kostas” Antetokounmpo is the fourth born son of the Antetokounmpo family. He is a Greek professional basketball player for LDLC ASVEL of the French Betclic Élite and the Euroleague. Kostas was drafted 60th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018 NBA draft. His draft rights were then traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
Kostas played with the junior Greek Under-20 national team. He played at the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B, where he won a bronze medal. He is currently signed to the Los Angeles and South Bay Lakers in a two-way contract.
Alex Antetokounmpo
Born 26 August 2001, Alexandros Emeka “Alex” Antetokounmpo is the fifth and the youngest born son of the Antetokounmpo family. He is also a professional Greek basketball player just like his other 3 brothers and he plays for UCAM Murcia of the Spanish Liga ACB. Alex started playing Basketball at the age of 9. He played basketball for Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay for four years.
Francis Antetokounmpo net worth
Unlike his brothers who play basketball for a living and earn huge wages, Francis’ main source of income is his music. So far, he has amassed a net worth of $1 million.
Conclusion
The Antetokounmpo family is fascinating in many ways. From the formation of their surname which is a mouthful, to the overflowing talent in the family. How the foresight of a couple paved the way to greatness for their five children. With the potential the Antetokounmpo boys possess, one can expect the name to remain relevant for a long time.
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