Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t played basketball since mid-January, but he’s been busy announcing three investments in the last two weeks: prediction-market platform Kalshi, Chelsea FC Women, and delivery service Gopuff.
The Kalshi deal has drawn scrutiny because of the controversy surrounding sports event contracts offered by prediction markets. Plus, the NBA has yet to embrace the industry—although it did recently host the CEOs of both Kalshi and Polymarket on a panel as part of its annual NBA All-Star Tech Summit. But Antetokounmpo is an experienced investor, thanks in part to his close ties with Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian.
The Chelsea deal marked the third investment Antetokounmpo has made alongside Ohanian; the two are also invested in sports trading card company Alt and Los Angeles Golf Club in Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s indoor golf league TGL.
The direct message that connected Alexis Ohanian and Giannis Antetokounmpo—now good friends whose families have also become close—was sent in 2020.
Ohanian had recently resigned in protest from the board of Reddit, the social media platform he cofounded, amid the national reckoning over the death of George Floyd. Ohanian, who has been married to tennis legend Serena Williams since 2017, asked to be replaced by a Black candidate, and said in a blog post, “I’m writing this as a father who needs to be able to answer his black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’”
“That was a very isolating time for me,” Ohanian, 42, tells Front Office Sports. “It was the middle of COVID. I didn’t have many people from tech, or founders and folks who I considered close friends, reaching out. I felt pretty alienated from the industry.”
He says he heard from people outside of the tech industry, though, including Thanasis Antetokounmpo, brother of 31-year-old Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“It all started with a DM from Thanasis,” Ohanian says.
They developed a friendship, and before long they were hanging out and even lifting weights together, often talking about how they aim to build a legacy.
“Giannis thinks of himself as building a legacy,” Ohanian tells FOS. “Our group chat together is literally called that.”
Sports Collectibles
Today, they share three investments, starting with Alt, a sports trading card company that launched in March 2021 with $31 million in Series A capital, led by Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six. Antetokounmpo joined Alt as an investor a few months later when it announced a $75 million round.
Antetokounmpo’s arrival as an Alt investor came after a conversation in which Ohanian was imploring the All-Star to save all his game-worn shoes and uniforms—particularly from big games—so they would remain in his control. “I don’t want your kids to find these on an auction site years later,” Ohanian remembers telling Antetokounmpo.
“It turned out he was already thinking this way,” Ohanian says. “All this led me to say ‘I’m investing in this company, Alt. You should kick in if it’s interesting to you.’”
TGL’s Los Angeles Golf Club
In June 2023, Ohanian, his wife, and her sister Venus Williams led a group that purchased TGL’s LAGC, the first team in the nascent league. Less than three months later, Antetokounmpo and three of his brothers joined the ownership group.
Ohanian says he structured the TGL ownership group very deliberately after he had previously used a Silicon Valley model when launching NWSL club Angel City with three cofounders: actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and entrepreneur Julie Uhrman.
Ohanian previously told FOS that using the start-up model when launching Angel City was a mistake. Then, he invested about $5 million into the team without the expectation of board control, and he gave around 75% of the team’s equity away “for free” to his cofounders, who he said put up “no money.” Ultimately, that model was unsustainable; in 2024, Bob Iger and Willow Bay led a record-breaking takeover of Angel City (Ohanian’s shares were diluted, but he maintains a stake and is still on the team’s board.)
“One of the big lessons from Angel City was, if I’m going to be a control owner, make sure I actually have control,” he tells FOS. “And be really thoughtful and selective in who you bring into the ownership group.”
Ohanian says Antetokounmpo immediately understood what TGL was trying to be: a digital-native sport with a much faster pace than regular golf.
“Neither he nor I grew up going to golf courses to play; that was not a thing,” Ohanian says. “But he very quickly saw the bigger idea of building sports that have a modern focus for a much more modern audience.”
Chelsea FC Women
The pair most recently teamed up on Chelsea FC Women, which plays in the Women’s Super League. Ohanian bought into the soccer club in May at a valuation of more than $265 million (£200 million), and he took a seat on its board. Antetokounmpo announced his entry Feb. 7, writing on social media, “I’m proud and honored to partner with my friend,” referring to Ohanian.
“Chelsea’s history speaks for itself, and I’m excited to contribute to the future by supporting continued growth and impact in women’s sport,” Antetokounmpo wrote. “This is about ambition, legacy, and pushing the game to new heights.”
Last year, Chelsea—which has struggled so far this season—won a record-breaking sixth straight Women’s Super League title.
“He sees this vision for sport not as it looks today, but for how it can look in the future, and women’s sports is obviously a huge part of that,” Ohanian says.
A Shared Bond
There’s no telling what the future holds in terms of investments, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see future deals involving both Ohanian and Antetokounmpo. Ohanian says neither takes for granted the fragility of life—Antetokounmpo’s father died in 2017, while Ohanian’s mother passed away in 2008. Both were only 54 years old.
“You take all the values we’re aligned on, and his commitment to excellence on and off the court, it’s just so motivating,” Ohanian says. “He’s obviously an elite athlete, but he’s so humble and incredibly long-term focused. He motivates the hell out of me.”
