Giannis Antetokounmpo Rocks Mr. Potato Head Costume at Postgame Press Conference: ‘I’m a Father First’
Giannis Antetokounmpo is always a “father first” — but especially during spooky season!
After a hard loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Oct. 25, the Milwaukee Bucks player, 29, arrived at his usual postgame press conference at Fiserv Forum in an unusual getup: a Mr. Potato Head costume.
When asked about the unconventional presser attire, the star player joked that when you’re married, “you don’t have no say in things.”
Antetokounmpo — who tied the knot with longtime love Mariah Riddlesprigger in Greece earlier this year — went on to explain that “when the day start, you have, like, a schedule.”
“This is what you’re going to do today,” he continued. “You’re going to go to practice, you’re going to come back, you’re going to interact with the kids. Then, you’re going to take a nap, and then we have a costume ready for you.”
According to the NBA star, Riddlesprigger instructed him to put the costume on regardless of how he felt. “Win or lose, you’re going to wear that costume,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, you’re a father and after, a basketball player.”
“So,” he finished, “I chose this costume because I’m a father first. I have three kids. I have to go entertain my kids.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo Instagram
The toy-inspired outfit was not a one-off look, but a coordinated costume with his three children — sons Liam, 4, Maverick, 3, and daughter Eva, 13 months — who were spotted dressed as other Toy Story characters at the Bulls-Bucks game, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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The Mr. Potato Head costume was also not the first time Antetokounmpo has celebrated Halloween at a postgame press conference.
Last year, the NBA star dressed as the Incredible Hulk — and even adopted the superhero’s voice — both before and after an October game, per footage shared by ESPN.
And, when asked if he was channeling his “inner Hulk” on the court in a nod to the green getup, Antetokounmpo echoed his Mr. Potato Head speech, stating that he was “doing this for my kids.”
