By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Mar 22, 2018 at 3:11 PM

Around here, most everyone knows the story of Giannis Antetokounmpo, from his hardscrabble childhood in Athens to NBA superstardom in Milwaukee. But the rest of the country only recently learned how to (sort of) pronounce his last name, so it’s safe to say many people probably still aren’t totally familiar with the Greek Freak’s unique background, upbringing and personal life, even if they see his extraordinary highlights on TV every night.

On Sunday night, "60 Minutes," the esteemed investigative television news program, will tell a national audience the inspiring Giannis story. The film crew spent some time in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago talking to Antetokounmpo about his humble beginnings and basketball journey with the Bucks.

In the interview with Steve Kroft, the charismatic Antetokounmpo opens up about his life in Athens, his family and selling trinkets on the street as a kid, saying he was "the best" salesman because he "wouldn’t give up." When asked if he’s still like that, Antetokounmpo says, "Persistent in life? I think yes. I am. I'm going to do something until I get it right."  

Here in Milwaukee, and especially at OnMilwaukee, we already appreciate how incredible Giannis is and love him dearly. Now, everyone else will too.

This week’s "60 Minutes" special with Antetokounmpo is Sunday, March 25 at 6 p.m. CT on CBS.

Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.