A new book claims that when Giannis Antetokounmpo was younger, his poverty forced him to share a pair of basketball sneakers with his older brother.

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The athlete had to wait until his brother Thanasis was done playing before he could put on his size 15 trainers. His parents couldn’t spare the money for two pairs of shoes.

The seven-person family had a hard time making ends meet, and Giannis hurt himself at the gym because he was always hungry.

His life now as the best player on the Milwaukee Bucks—he helped them win their first NBA title since 1971 in May—is very different from how he used to live.

A new book called Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP, written by Mirin Fader, came out on Tuesday. It tells the story of a boy who went from being poor to being rich.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was voted MVP two years in a row, a feat only legends like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James had achieved before the age of 26, his current age

The child of Nigerian immigrants, Giannis grew up in extreme poverty in Greece where his family could hardly afford to eat

Giannis (pictured center with his mom and brother) was born three years after his parents immigrated to Greece and by the age of six he was helping his mother Veronica sell purses on the street

Giannis was a 15th round pick when he was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, beating the Atlanta Hawks who planned to choose him soon afterwards

Giannis’s biggest problem after being picked was getting used to his new friends, who were mean to their rookie, who was only 19 years old.

But because he wasn’t eating enough and missing meals, it was hard for him to do anything, even exercise.

Fader says that Giannis had to stop “gasping for air” during one session because he was so weak that he “could not go on any longer” and passed out.

After what happened, his friends kept giving him food, and they later found out that he hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Giannis’ brother Thanasis would give him a pair of shoes right after his game so he could play right away.

However, the family had to deal with more problems in society than just being poor.

Giannis’s younger brother Alex said that as Black people growing up in a mostly White country, they were often made to feel like “outsiders.”

People called Giannis “blackie” and told him to “go back to your country.” This was especially true when it came to race.

Rahman Rana, a player on Giannis’s team who was born in Pakistan, said, “People really treated him badly.”

“By being citizens, we were treated badly.”

Growing up with four siblings, Giannis had to share a pair of sneakers with older brother Thanasis who would hand them over after his game so Giannis could play basketball right after

A former teammate revealed Giannis and his family were treated as second-class citizens in Greece. Now, the family is reaping the rewards of his success

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The book revealed that the family always felt like ‘outsiders’ while growing up black in a mostly white country. Pictured: Giannis and his mother in Athens

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Giannis and his partner Mariah (shown) have a son together. People knew they were going to have a second child in May.

Without Greek citizenship, he couldn’t fly or play in the Greek first division, so he had to play in the semi-pro second league.

By 2012, Giannis had signed with an agency, but when the doctor did a physical test, he was shocked to see that Giannis’s liver looked like that of a chronic drunk.

The doctor told Giannis that he should start eating more healthy foods to help his body relax.

Scouts from the NBA quickly learned about Giannis, who is 16 years old, because he was said to be a talented but undeveloped kid.

They rode in limos to the dirty gym in Zografou, where a lot of NBA scouts were sitting with clipboards.

The Greek government was under a lot of pressure to give Giannis citizenship so that he could probably go to the US because the US was interested in him.

Fader harshly says that they sped up the process only after basketball teams became interested in Giannis and his family called the Nigerian embassy in Greece.

Giannis finally got a passport in May 2013, but the NBA draft was still a long way off.

It was only until US professional leagues began showing interest in Giannis, that the Greek government finally gave him citizenship and a passport