Star Wars Day: NBA stars and their Star Wars counterparts

NBA stars and their Star Wars counterparts: Giannis Antetokounmpo = Rey

Giannis Antetokounmpo grew up filching food off the streets, hawking wares and trying to help his family have enough to eat every night. Even when he was in high school he would take his school lunches home to split with his brother, which frustrated coaches trying to help him bulk up. He was drafted in the middle of the first round based on grainy recordings of his play in a lower league. Yet out of obscurity, he has blossomed into the reigning two-time MVP of the NBA.

At the close of the Skywalker Saga in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey is likewise the most powerful person in the galaxy. She came from nowhere, an orphan raised on the desert planet of Jakku. She scrounged the wrecks of old ships for parts she could trade for food. Yet when she did make it out and was discovered by the classic heroes we know and love, she turned into a talented Jedi who helped save the galaxy.

For both Rey and Antetokounmpo, they not only grew from unknown to known, but they did so exceptionally fast. Antetokounmpo was all long limbs and excitement as a rookie, but now he is a point forward winning league MVPs and going toe-to-toe with the other superstars in the league. Rey went from collecting scrap metal to Jedi Knight in mere months.