How Giannis Antetokounmpo uses his time to become an Olympian and NBA champion

Russell Sheldrake

Elite athletes are a strange breed. They seem to be endlessly adaptable, yet reliant on very specific rituals, procedures, and routines in the run up to competitions. Giannis Antetokounmpo appears to be the classical example of this – with a highly regimented schedule in the lead up to a game, but able to change his style on the fly to suit the situation in front of him. The 7-foot-tall NBA champion was back home in Greece recently to prepare for the Olympic Games which are now upon us, and where he is competing alongside his fellow countrymen.

I got the chance to meet up with the Greek Freak a couple of weeks ago in the sweltering heat of Athens, as he held a packed out event outside the Breitling boutique attended by fans and clients alike. While many were contempt to get a selfie with the NBA champion, I wanted to get a better understanding of how someone just a year older than me can achieve as much as he has, especially when I still struggle to make it to the gym once a month.

Given that we have both spent a similar amount of time on this planet, I wanted to see what makes the Breitling ambassador so successful. He has worked with some of the biggest companies in the world like Google, Facebook and Nike, alongside leading his Milwaukee Bucks to their first NBA championship in 50 years back in 2021. I got the chance to sit down with Antetokounmpo in the Pallas Theatre for a couple of minutes of calm after a rather packed out event just outside, and it was clear from the off that despite his highly considered answers, he is exacting when it comes to how he spends his time. Despite it being nearly 9pm (and his day off), he had been doing his all-important recovery before we met, after beating the Bahamas in a warm-up game the night before, with more recovery awaiting after we wrapped up. “Even today, it was my day off. I had a game yesterday, and so today I lifted, then went to spend time with my kids, and then came here. After this, at 10pm, I have treatment. It doesn’t stop.”

And it doesn’t stop with how he treats his schedule, the two-time MVP maintains his discipline in nearly all aspects of his life. “I don’t drink, I drink water to put my body in the perfect position tomorrow to compete. Even when I’m with my kids, I don’t sit like this” as he imitates a slouch that makes me feel very seen and instantly sit up straight, “because if I do, my back will hurt, then I can’t move. So everything I do, I do it because I want to be good at this. In order for you to do that and not get bored, you have to be very disciplined. I don’t care how I feel, emotions are for movies and my family, not for me.” It’s clear that he is laser focused on, as he sees it, the short time he has to compete at the highest level.

Of course, you can’t spend your whole time working, and it was clear from the first two minutes of speaking with Giannis that his main passion outside of basketball is his family. But when I asked him what he did in his downtime, he didn’t want to just give the stereotypical answer. “It’s gotta be my kids. I love spending time with them. But I think that’s the cliché answer that everyone gives, so I have to give you something else. If I’m not spending time with my kids, I like to watch sports docu-series. Like The Last Dance, Break Point, stuff like that. I just love to watch other people’s journeys, and try to learn from them.”

Does he ever really turn off? Who knows, but this obsessive mindset seems to be serving him well so far as he is set to lead his nation’s basketball team in his first Olympic games. Despite still only being 29, he has three kids to go along with his long list of achievements, and as anyone who has had children of their own knows, it can change your perspective a bit. “I’m always thinking long term. I want my kids to have a normal life, and in order for them to have that, we have to be as down to earth as possible as parents. But at the same time, I have to stay in the moment.”

The rise of the Greek Freak has seemed remarkably quick, and while he hasn’t been partnered with Breitling for too long, he has been interested in watches for a very long time. He admitted to picking up an interest in watches after entering the NBA and discovering a certain secondhand trading site (although he wouldn’t say its name in front of Georges Kern), but when Breitling came knocking he couldn’t say no. “I don’t think there’s ever been a company that has allowed me to be myself as much, that has promoted me, as much as Breitling. I’ve worked with probably the best companies in the world, and not to discredit any of them. I’ve worked with Nike, I’ve worked with Facebook, I’ve worked with Google, but I have friends that travel to Tokyo, and they send me a picture of my billboard. So I really enjoy this partnership.” And when the watch brand teamed up with Antetokounmpo to create a collaborative watch, they allowed him the opportunity to make a one-of-one piece just for himself.

It is exactly how Antetokounmpo views time that makes this partnership with Breitling so meaningful for me. We’ve all witnessed collaborations that have seemed contrived, or shallow, but here the partnership appears genuine. Despite only having a brief moment with him, every answer he gave was highly considered, which displayed how carefully he approaches everything in his life now. If we weren’t on a time crunch, I’m certain he could have gone on talking forever on each question. But as it was, he had to get to his final bits of recovery, and I had make way for other journalists to have their interviews. While I may not have gotten long with him, I can safely say the answers he gave were some of the most well thought through I have ever been given, and hopefully, with a little more time, I will get the chance to learn some more from him in person.