Nigerian Basketball Star Listed As One Of The Highest Paid NBA Players In 2018

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Nigerian Basketball Star Listed As One Of The Highest Paid NBA Players In 2018

Nigerian basketball star, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has been listed as one of the highest paid NBA players of 2018 by Forbes Magazine. The 24-year-old Nigerian basketball star who was listed as one of the highest paid NBA players of 2018, made $35.5million last year. Giannis Antetokounmpo a.k.a “the Greek Freak”, first talked about his home country, Nigeria for the first time in a 2019 interview with a sports website called The Undefeated. 

His Nigerian side is reflected on his Twitter bio and he also about getting his Nigerian passport in 2015.The NBA star was born on December 6, 1994, in Athens, Greece to Nigerian parents, Charles and Veronica Adetokunbo. He was born three years after his parents moved to the European country. His name was originally Adetokunbo, but it became Antetokounmpo after a misspelling in his Greek passport. 

Forbes revealed that his earnings went nearly 500% up in 2018 due to a new $100 million deal with the Bucks, as well as a Nike contract extension. His previous Nike deal paid roughly $20,000 annually, while his new pact will pay an estimated $9 million in the first year with more to come when Nike releases Antetokounmpo's first signature shoe in 2019. He also has deals with BMO Harris, Tissot, Kronos Foods and several more in his native Greece. The Greek Freak has increased his annual scoring average by at least four points per game each of his five-year career. He averaged a career-high 27 points during the 2017-18 season.