Giannis Antetokounmpo reveals the 1 college that recruited him
May 13, 2022; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) shoots during warmups prior to game six of the second round for the 2022 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Giannis Antetokounmpo never came particularly close to playing college basketball, but at least one school did take a hard look at him when he was still an amateur.
In an interview with Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win, Antetokounmpo said he only received one college offer, with Old Dominion heavily recruiting him when he was 15.
“When I was 15, I was ‘highly recruited’ by Old Dominion. That was my only offer,” Antetokounmpo said.
In the same interview, Antetokounmpo added that if he could have played for any school, he would have picked Duke due to the program’s success with players he sees as similar to him.
It is hard to imagine Giannis playing collegiately. After all, he was an NBA All-Rookie selection after debuting at age 18, and he was a $100 million player when he theoretically still could have been playing in college. Old Dominion could have been quite the story with him in the fold, though it is easy to see why he never gave the offer much consideration.
Giannis’ younger brother received more college interest than Giannis himself did, but he also opted to go pro overseas instead.
