Kevin Punter on potentially playing for Spanoulis: ‘That would be crazy’

Kevin Punter led FC Barcelona in scoring with 18 points when the Spanish outfit visited the Peace and Friensdhip Stadium for their EuroLeague Round 7 game against Olympiacos Piraeus
However, the Reds got the best of the guests and ended up winning by as many as 21 (95-74). That was Barca’s first loss after five straight wins and second overall in the EuroLeague season.

“Credit Olympiacos. They played well and capitalized on our mistakes. They’re obviously a tough team to beat at home. You can’t have too many mistakes,” Punter, 31, told the Greek media.
The American shooting gurd doesn’t think that the heavy loss that can or will change his team’s mentality following a winning streak.
Not at all, not at all,” he uttered. “[We have to] get back to the drawing board, got to keep going, keep fighting. We fell short and we got to keep working,” he pointed out.

Punter played his maiden EuroLeague season with Olympiacos in 2019-20, where he averaged 6.8 points and 1.9 rebounds, while shooting a career-low 17.9% from 3-point distance in 18 minutes of playing time. He only got to suit up in 11 games for the Greek powerhouse before moving to Crvena Zvezda and becoming one of the Old Continent’s most formidable shooters.
What’s more, during his short-lived Olympiacos tenure, he also got to play alongside club legends Vassilis Spanoulis and Giorgos Printezis, whose jersey is now hanging from the rafters of the stadium.

“It’s dope because I played with both of those guys,” Punter reflected.
“I was supposed to go to Printezis’ camp in the summertime. I wasn’t able to make it, but it’s good to see that they retired their numbers. Obviously, me and Billy got a really good relationship. He was over at Peristeri. It was dope playing with those guys and cool coming back here and seeing their jerseys hung up,” the Barca player repeated.
When Spanoulis retired in June 2021, Punter called his ex-teammate “a fantastic person.”

“From the moment I went to Olympiacos, I understood why he won the EuroLeague so many times and how he managed to become so successful,” he told Olympiacos’ website back then.

“Every day, he would come to practice focused and dedicated. Every day he wanted to get better — even after all those years he had accomplished everything. He was one of the most competitive players I’ve ever met. You had a lot to say with him both on and off the court,” Punter praised the former EuroLeague scoring king who saw Mike James surpass him last year.
Spanoulis, 42, appears to be one of those cases that dispell the myth that great players rarely turn into good coaches.

In his first head-coaching gig with Peristeri from 2022 through 2023, he led the Greek team to the 3rd place of the Greek league standings twice, and also to the BCL Final Four last season. In 2023, Vassilis Spanoulis he was appointed coach of the Greek NT, which he led to its first Olympics since 2008.

Asked whether he would imagine himself playing for his ex-teammate, Punter appeared enthusiastic.

“That would be crazy, that would be crazy!” he exclaimed. “Because I was his teammate — and now, if I were able to play for him, that would be crazy.”