Locked On Lakers podcast is your daily ticket to stay ahead of the game and the first to know the latest news, analysis, and insider info for the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA. Hosts Andy and Brian Kamenetzky, who have covered the Purple and Gold since 2005 for media outlets including the LA Times, ESPN and The Athletic, offer traditional journalism, informal commentary, and offbeat humor to provide expert, local analysis. Locked On Lakers takes you beyond the scoreboard for the inside scoops on the biggest stories from within the Lakers locker room and all over the NBA. The Locked On Lakers podcast is part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.
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Mirin Fader discusses Giannis Antetokounmpo's Inspiring Career, Obstacles Overcome, Relationship with Kobe Bryant, and more!
It's a bit of a change of pace for today's show. We bring on one of the great writers working in sports today, The Ringer's Mirin Fader, whose biography of Giannis Antetokounmpo, "Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP" comes out August 10th. (Preorder wherever you get your books!) Having had a chance to preview the book, it's a fantastic look at a wholly unique player and the conditions and circumstances that made him what he is today. In a wide-ranging interview, we talk with Fader about the incredibly difficult process of writing a book about a guy who grew up in Greece during a pandemic, when travel is impossible and communication more complicated.
What don't people understand about the way Giannis grew up, and the obstacles he encountered? How is his experience different than athletes who grow up poor, even desperately so, in the United States? What turned him into an MVP, someone who plays with incredible joy but equally incredible drive? What was the influence of his family? Of veteran players both on his team, and around the league (including Kobe Bryant)?
Also, what does Mirin keep on her bookshelf?
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: How to write a well-reported biography during a pandemic. What makes Giannis such a complex and intriguing biography subject?
SEGMENT 2: It's easy to get caught up in the sheer wonderfulness and innocence of Giannis, and the way he came into the league. But he, and other Black immigrants in Greece, faced real and often violent discrimination. Giannis only received Greek citizenship after the family started looking to other countries in an effort to get a passport, and only after it was clear Giannis could become a star.
What is different about growing up poor there vs. the experience so many athletes have in the US?
SEGMENT 3: What is the role of family in Giannis' development? Of veteran leaders on his own team, like Caron Butler, or around the league, like Kobe Bryant? Fader tells the story of a meeting engineered between Giannis and Bryant and the impact it had. Plus, what getting the Bucks to the Finals means for a city like Milwaukee.
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