Giannis Antetokounmpo has become one of the most well-known players in the NBA. He’s made six All-Star teams and won two MVP awards and a championship.
The Greek Freak has worked extremely hard to become as good as he is, which has led to tons of recognition among basketball fans. But Antetokounmpo hopes that will all go away once he retires.
Antetokounmpo spoke with SiriusXM NBA Radio’s Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine and talked about his retirement goal.
“When I retire from this game, I want to disappear,” Antetokounmpo confessed. “I want to go somewhere where they’re not going to know me.”
Antetounmpo then shared how he took a trip to Sweden and nobody recognized him. The 27-year-old enjoyed blending in and not being recognized.
“I want to be like Tim Duncan. Where the hell is Tim Duncan? I want to play the game … and then you forget about me. You don’t talk about me,” Antetokounmpo said of his retirement desire.
Duncan was always a humble, low-profile player even while he was with the Spurs. Social media wasn’t a big thing for most of his playing career, and he has avoided it in retirement. But the 46-year-old Hall of Fame forward did coach the Spurs in 2019 and 2020, so he has been around in the game of basketball.
Giannis is just too fun, too friendly, and too beloved to disappear like Duncan. Maybe he’ll go retire in Scandinavia, because in America, nobody will forget him.
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