NEW YORK -- Mike Seremetis and his young son, Theo, are waiting for just the right moment to take a picture. It's 10 minutes before Sunday's matinee between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets, and the father and son, dressed in matching blue Greek Freak T-shirts, are standing a few rows off the Barclays Center floor trying to snag the attention of the man so many have come to see. Mike dutifully snaps a few pictures of Theo standing proudly as his basketball hero warms up behind him. The Seremetis family is part of a group of several hundred proud Greeks who have descended upon Brooklyn early this morning to cheer for a player who has transcended the game on and off the floor. As big of an impact as Giannis Antetokounmpo has on the court, his impact off of it, and his ability to connect with those around him, has been even larger for the Greek community all over the world.

"It brings us back home to our heritage," Mike said of seeing Antetokounmpo succeed on the NBA level. "And we embrace him as one of our own."

As Antetokounmpo continues on the path toward NBA superstardom, all the hallmarks of growth are there for the 23-year-old, who is in his fifth season with the Bucks. He recently accumulated the most player votes (226) and was tied for most votes (99) in media All-Star voting. Had Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James not edged him out, Antetokounmpo would have been the leading vote-getter in the fan category as well. Antetokounmpo's jersey is now the fourth-most popular in the league by sales, with the Bucks sixth on the list of most popular teams in merchandise sales, thanks in large part to Antetokounmpo's popularity all over the globe.

The difference between Antetokounmpo and players such as James and the Golden State Warriors dynamic duo of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant is that Antetokounmpo is representing an entire country every time he steps on the floor. The pride the Greeks have in the smiling big man is unlike anything many NBA players have ever seen. In NBA city after NBA city, large groups of Greek people are coming to games to support Antetokounmpo.

"The Greek community, especially in the bigger cities like New York, Chicago, he gets cheers like he plays for the home team," Bucks teammate John Henson said. "So it helps us out, and I'm sure it kind of gets him going, too."

Sunday was no different. Antetokounmpo heard plenty of cheers throughout the day, and Bucks No. 34 jerseys and Greek flags dotted the arena.

"You see that throughout the NBA," Mike Seremetis said. "Greeks are coming out of the woodwork to support him. And he sees that, and he's still humble about where he is, and that's what's really impressive about this kid. He's worked hard, he's come from nothing, and he's one of the biggest stars in the NBA right now."

Giannis Antetokounmpo, at 23 years of age, is already the most productive player from Greece in NBA history. Geoff Burke/USA TODAY

James Pristouris has been bringing groups of Greeks to see NBA basketball for almost 15 years. He is the one who organized the large group that the Seremetis family was part of. He has seen the passion surrounding the trips grow larger as Antetokounmpo has risen in prominence.

"We started in Jersey, and every year it's kind of gotten bigger," Pristouris said, noting that he brought another group to Barclays earlier in the season, when Kosta Koufos, Georgios Papagiannis and the Sacramento Kings came to town.

The Nets are often amenable to having gatherings after games, which is why the group has regularly found itself heading to New Jersey and then to Brooklyn over the years. Now that Antetokounmpo has entered the picture, the outings have gotten even larger. There is a loyalty the Greeks have toward all their players, but the pride they take in Antetokounmpo's ascension, especially in the New York City area, is different.

"Our community embraced Giannis here in Brooklyn, New York, from the very beginning just starting in the league," Mike said. "He came out to a camp where Theo attended and embraced the kids like one of their own. Him and Thanasis, his [older] brother, were very, very down to earth people with our children. They worked with them for about a week, and they had a relationship with them, a very special one."

Theo said he brags about Giannis to his grade-school classmates and enjoys watching the Bucks star because of his quickness and ability to play most of the positions on the floor. The Seremetis family's respect for the way the Antetokounmpos have handled themselves in the community runs deep enough that Mike took his family to Westchester to support Thanasis when the elder Antetokounmpo was playing for the Knicks' G-League affiliate.

"Look, it's huge," Pristouris said of the impact Giannis has had on the Greek community around New York City. "I think this says enough. It's Super Bowl Sunday. It's one of the biggest days in our country, and people are here waiting for Giannis. If it was another hour, they still would have been here. So what he's done for all Greeks is amazing."