Born and raised in Athens to Nigerian parents, Antetokounmpo began playing basketball for the youth teams of Filathlitikos in Athens. In 2011, he began playing for the club's senior team before entering the 2013 NBA draft, where he was selected 15th overall by the Bucks.

With a fallaway 15-footer in the final seconds of the third quarter against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder, James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer on Tuesday night. With that, Kareem's near 39-year run as the NBA's all-time leading scorer ends.