Giannis Antetokounmpo: MVP gets fitting mention on Kanye West’s ‘Donda’

After helping the Milwaukee Bucks take home their first NBA championship in over 50 years, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been soaking up the spotlight this offseason.

While this has largely been due to his heroic effort in the NBA Finals, he found himself in the news for a different reason early Sunday morning. Recording artist Kanye West released his 10th studio album, Donda, to begin everyone’s day, and he showed love to the Finals MVP on the track titled ‘Junya.’  Lyrics presented by Genius.com:

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"“Let me be honest (What? Mmh, mmh)Let me be honest (Mmh, mmh)I won with the bucks, boy (Mmh, mmh)Let me Giannis (Mmh, mmh, slatt)I won with the bucks, boy (Mm, mm)”"

Although West may want to work on his pronunciation of Antetokounmpo’s name, it was remarkable nevertheless to hear the Greek Freak get a shoutout from one of the most popular artists in the entire world over the last decade.

Kanye West’s mention of Giannis Antetokounmpo on ‘Donda’ will serve as a perfect memory for the Milwaukee Bucks’ title win

Personally, this line from West brings back fond memories of the night that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks became NBA champions after defeating the Phoenix Suns.

Seconds after the final buzzer sounded, Antetokounmpo immediately took a seat and simply just took it all in. An emotional Antetokounmpo realized that he had finally reached championship status after so many people had doubted him. He brought the city of Milwaukee their first title in 50 years, just like he promised he would do. As Giannis sat there, teary-eyed and overcome with joy, he realized that he achieved what he set out to do from the moment he set foot in the NBA.

Following a historic 50-point effort in Game 6, the image of Antetokounmpo proudly hoisting his Finals MVP trophy in the air while letting out a triumphant yell was the perfect signal that he had finally won with the Bucks. There would be no more discussion about Antetokounmpo’s decision to sign the supermax extension, whether management was doing enough, and whether or not his teammates were good enough. They did it. They won. Who could forget Antetokounmpo looking over to Khris Middleton, his running-mate for the past eight years, and saying, “We did it, huh?”

That was some perfect wordplay there from West, and it brings back memories from the greatest night Bucks fans have experienced in a long time. The 21-time Grammy winner was rumored to be in attendance Game 6, so perhaps he developed the motivation for the mention after watching the Greek Freak’s phenomenal effort live and in person. After all, how could you not be inspired by all that?

Antetokounmpo can now add a name-drop by Kanye West to his ever-growing résumé. While it may fail in comparison to the two MVPs, the Defensive Player of the Year, the All-Star Game MVP, and especially his recently earned Finals MVP trophy, it is certainly something to take pride in as it revolves around his biggest accomplishment yet in his career. At 26-years-old, the future looks bright for the Greek Freak.

This was not the first time Antetokounmpo has been mentioned in a song, and after the run he just put together, it will certainly not be the last.