Basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is having a great year in the city of Milwaukee. Just one month after winning the 2021 NBA Finals with the Bucks and earning the title of the NBA Finals MVP, the 26-year-old is making major moves with another team from the Brew City.
On Friday, Aug. 20, during an official news conference at the American Family Field in Milwaukee, Mark Attanasio, chairman and principal owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, announced Antetokounmpo as the newest member of its ownership group. The Greece native is the first new individual investor in the Brewers’ ownership group since Attanasio initially bought the baseball team in 2005 for $223 million.
“We are honored to have Giannis join our team of Milwaukee Brewers investors,” Attanasio said during the news conference. “Giannis is a great athlete, a world champion, and a true local hero with international renown.”
Sporting a Brewers jersey with the number 34 — the same number he wears on the basketball court, the athlete appeared excited over the newest partnership, telling reporters, “Man, this is unbelievable.” He continued, “This is a dream come true for a kid from Sepolia, Athens, Greece, born from immigrant parents. I could have never imagined I would be in this position.”
Attanasio and Antetokounmpo said they finalized this agreement in May, but wanted to keep their deal under wraps for fear it would distract the Bucks’ playoff run and the earlier portion of the Brewers’ season.
The two-time NBA MVP revealed he began to have interest in ownership of a pro sports franchise last year while in the NBA playoff bubble at Walt Disney World. The power forward and his team first initially discussed buying into a European soccer team. However, he opted to go with his home city as a way to show his support.
“Milwaukee made me who I am today,” Antetokounmpo expressed. “It made me a better person. This is basically my home. I’ve become a father here. I’ve become a leader here. I’ve become a champion here, and I want to be involved. I want to be involved in the community as much as possible. I know Milwaukee invested a lot in me, and I want to invest a lot of me back into the city of Milwaukee.”
Antetokounmpo now joins LeBron James as the latest NBA player to have a stake in an MLB team. James and his long-time business partner and friend Maverick Carter became the first two Black partners for Fenway Sports Group (FSG), A Red Sox parent company. The Los Angeles Lakers star also owns a portion of the English soccer team Liverpool Football Club, whose majority owner is FSG.
