Named after the Milwaukee Bucks power forward's Nigerian birth name, Ugo accompanied Antetokounmpo and his mother, Veronica, on their trip to Nigeria last August. Available to stream on YouTube and Prime Video, the documentary offers "unprecedented access to the journey of one of the world's greatest basketball players of all time," according to the press release. Antetokounmpo's visit to Nigeria comes 35 years after his parents moved from Africa to Athens, Greece, where the NBA star grew up. His father, Charles Antetokounmpo, died in 2017 after suffering a heart attack. Directed by Rick Famuyiwa, Ugo shows Antetokounmpo discovering Nigerian culture and building a strong relationship with his culture. Giannis Antetokounmpo has accomplished many things in the basketball world, including winning an NBA championship and two NBA MVP awards during his 10-year career. Last offseason, the 29-year-old Milwaukee Bucks got the show of a lifetime: a visit to Nigeria, the home of his mother, Veronica, and late father, Charles. His parents moved from Lagos, Nigeria to Athens, Greece in 1991 for work opportunities. In Nigeria, "it's very difficult to find a job," Charles Antetokounmpo told NPR in 2013. He died of a heart attack at the age of 54 in 2017.
In moving to Greece, their parents left their eldest son, Francis, with his grandparents. The reason? "He's going to take us to a bigger place in the future," his mother, Veronica, told Yahoo! Games in 2022. "So that's where we are now. We are truly amazing." Older brother Thanasis plays for the Bucks — he's part of the Bucks' 2021 NBA title-winning team with Giannis — and younger brother Alex currently plays for the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks' NBA G League team. group. Another brother, Kostas, who won the NBA championship in 2020 with the Lakers, is currently playing football in Greece. When it was time to eat, Antetokounmpo thought he was ready to eat Nigerian food, but he was surprised at a family gathering. A famous chef was cooking - semolina fufu, Jollof rice and pepper soup - he called out: “Pepper soup? Yes, I eat chili soup all the time." Now, Antetokounmpo admits that his mother made it a little too spicy for him and others, including Bucks coaches. But at a family gathering in Nigeria, he saw some of the film crew trying the food and "they all gasped because of the spices," he said. But with his loved ones there, Antetokounmpo knew he couldn't back down. "I can't be calm. I'm a competitive guy, "I can't say, 'I can't handle this.' So I eat pepper soup and sweat." When asked if she likes it, "I say, 'Yes,' but I tell my mom, 'Mom, I want milk.'
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"This is going to take us to a greater place in the future,” his mother, Veronica, told Yahoo! Sports in 2022. “Then, this is where we are now today. We are very amazing.""unparalleled access into the journey of one of the world’s most decorated basketball players of all time, "She was "a great storyteller," he said, relating "everything about the things that they experienced and how hard (his parents') journey was, from Nigeria going to Greece and how their life was." "Pepper soup? Yeah, I eat pepper soup all the time." "I can't be soft. I'm a very competitive guy," he said. "I cannot be like, 'I cannot handle this.' So I'm eating the pepper soup and I'm sweating."When asked if he likes it, "I'm like, 'Yeah,' but I'm telling my mom, 'Mama, I need some milk'."
"You know thirty-something years ago, when I was sitting in this airport, I was young," she told him. "I had no idea where I was going. I just wanted something better for you guys." She told him she felt "blessed … with this opportunity to be able to come and dance with my brothers and sisters (and) see my relatives that you (got to) meet for the first time." "That's probably one of the best moments ever in my life, for your mom or your parents to appreciate (what you have done). It was very very, very, very humbling," said Antetokounmpo, who says he has been keeping up with relatives using WhatsApp.
