Giannis Antetokounmpo And Hasan Minhaj Talk About Their Cultures In WhatsApp Short

NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and comedian Hasan Minhaj are used to people mispronouncing their names. The two friends talked about their cultural backgrounds while playing a friendly game of their version of HORSE in a newly released WhatsApp digital short that helps bring light to cultural uniqueness.

Antetokounmpo, 28, and Minhaj, 37, shared their cultural backgrounds while shooting hoops in a game they called, "Adetokunbo," which is the well-known game of HORSE with a twist. Minhaj suggested to switch the word "HORSE" with Antetokounmpo's lesser-known Nigerian name, Adetokunbo, while the two had a candid conversation about their names.

"Why are we going with your Nigerian name?" Minhaj asked as the Milwaukee Bucks star shot around. "It means everything to me. I grew up in Greece and my parents are Nigerian. That's who I am. I gotta represent," Antetkounmpo said.

Minhaj then added that he has friends who have changed their ethnic names. "And I went through that in comedy. At any point did you feel like I should change my name?" he asked Antetokounmpo, who responded, "I will never change my name. I want to be myself - Giannis Ugo Sina Adetokunbo."

The two continued playing their version of HORSE and Minhaj kept on adding letters to the board as he missed shots. "I'm proud of my names. What gives you pride?" the NBA star asked Minhaj. "Immigrants, when you're growing up, you feel this is a weakness. It's my greatest strength," he said. "Immigrants are beautiful. We're tough, we're smart, our language is exquisite. So there's this feeling of collectivism because there's no one like us."

Antetokounmpo added he knows where he's from and is proud of it. He also hopes his kids feel the same way as they are growing up.

Ultimately, as one might have guessed, Minhaj lost the game, but was a good sport about it. At the end of the digital short, the two talked about going to get nuggets and smoothies, in pure Antetokounmpo comedic fashion.

WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users in 180 countries and is one of the most popular ways of communicating internationally. Antetokounmpo and Minhaj are both spreading WhatsApp's narrative, "There's No One Like Us" as ambassadors of the app. The campaign calls for its users to embrace their uniqueness and cultures.

Antetokounmpo further explained his name in a release. "Most people don't know that Giannis is not my only first name. Ugo is my Nigerian name, and it's actually the one name my closest friends and family use on our private WhatsApp chats."

He added, "I know that many, like Hasan and I, have similar relationships with their names and we're proud to bring to light this real story about culture that billions of people around the world can relate to."

Minhaj and Antetokounmpo were just together last weekend at the 2023 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game where Antetokounmpo was the coach of Team Dwyane and Minhaj was one of the celebrity players.

Minhaj didn't have any points on the board, but seemed to enjoy the experience, nonetheless.