Giannis Antetokounmpo Shares His Inspiring Journey In Prime Documentary

Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family are telling their story their way.

Their inspiring journey began in Nigeria and took them to Greece, before eventually landing in Milwaukee. The NBA star along with his three brothers, Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex, their mother Veronica, and Giannis' fiancée Mariah Riddlesprigger, are sharing their story in the Prime Video Sports new documentary, "Giannis: The Marvelous Journey."

It's not the first time the Antetokounmpo family's story has been told, but it's the first time they are sharing it how they want it shared. Giannis, 29, said his life story includes his family's struggles with poverty, racism, and citizenship, and includes some of his "darkest moments."

"I talked to my brothers, talked to my mom and Mariah, to see if we were okay and willing to share our story with the world, and we came to this decision as a family," Giannis told PEOPLE.

"There's been a lot of people that have shared their version of our story, but we felt like this was our time to open up about our dad, our foundation, our journey, and do it in our way. It was time for us to go out there and share this like I said, our way. That's one thing that I'm very, very happy about — it's our way."

Giannis explained that it was difficult to recount some of the darker moments the family has experienced for the documentary.

"You don't want to go back there because there are just some things that are hard to talk about," he said. "We don't know how the world is going to take it. I've never opened up about my father to anybody. So it's good, but it's also hard."

Giannis also said he's "going to be proud to show my kids this film so they can see our story." Giannis and Riddlesprigger share three children together, sons Liam, 3, Maverick, 2, and daughter Eva, born in September 2023.

"I don't play basketball for the money, the fame; I only play because I wanted to change my family's life," Giannis said in the trailer for the documentary that was released on February 19 on Prime Video.

The documentary was directed by Kristen Lappas, who Giannis said, "did a very good job of making everybody open up, because we don't really do that, especially to a stranger."

Lappas told PEOPLE that the documentary is "the story of a strong family" instead of a documentary of a basketball player.

"The family has been apprehensive to tell their story in a documentary, they're very private, but we were able to really go there on their complicated relationship with Greece, with their dad's passing which he had never opened up about, and I feel like this just shows a different side of him," she shared.

NBA All-Start Weekend just wrapped up in Indianapolis on Sunday night with the All-Star Game. For the second year in a row, Giannis, an eight-time All-Star, was a team captain and led his team to victory.

The East won the Sunday evening game against LeBron James' West team 211-186.

During the game, Giannis paid tribute to his older brother and fellow Bucks player, Thanasis, wearing his newly released Giannis Freak 5.

During the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, Giannis wore a pair of red/white Kobe 4s with the handwriting on them, "Thanasis, thanks for sharing." And now everyone can own an identical pair. The new shoes were released on February 16, just ahead of All-Star Weekend.

In acknowledgement of how far the family has come, reminiscent of the time Thanasis would let Giannis borrow his red/white Kobe 4s, the shoes have "Thanasis, thanks for sharing" written on them. On the back of one shoe, Giannis' number 34 and on the other, Thanasis' number 43.

The shoes are currently selling on Nike.com for $140.

"Giannis: The Marvelous Journey" is now streaming on Prime Video.