16 Nov 2016

16 Nov 2016

2016-11-16T19:23:34+00:00.

By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net

Barack Obama delivered an address in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, and he managed to include in it a mention to Greece’s biggest ever NBA star, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“I wanted to express my gratitude to Greece and its culture”, said the US president who spoke about the ancient Greece – “right here 25 centuries ago a new idea was born, democracy. The idea that we are citizens not servants” – but also about the connection between the two countries in the modern era.

In his examples about the things that unite Greece and the USA a specific mention on Giannis was included: “We are all cheering for Giannis Antetokounmpo who seems to be getting better each year”.

In his last overseas trip before the end of his presidency, Obama proved once again not only that he is a gifted speaker, but also an avid basketball fan, even if he, as many before him, had trouble pronouncing Antetokounmpo’s name