Vassilis Spanoulis Discusses EuroLeague Favorites

Vassilis Spanoulis, one of the most famous people in basketball, talked to SPORT24 about some of his thoughts on the Greek national team, his time as a coach, and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s personality. The 42-year-old also talked about how famous trainers Zeljko Obradovic and Dusan Ivkovic have shaped his career and cast his vote for the EuroLeague’s Final Four.

Since leaving his job at Peristeri last summer, Spanoulis has only been coaching the Greek national team. He has refused to train in a club league, even though many teams were interested in him. Spanoulis told SPORT24, “It’s my choice to only play for the national team.” “It’s a great honor for me.” Now I have more time to do other things. Being free to spend time with my family is nice because I didn’t have time to do that when I played basketball. “So I’m savoring each moment because it’s worth every penny.”

How I Got From Being a Player to a Coach

Three EuroLeague wins later, the former star player found his calling as a coach after a long and successful playing career. I wanted to be busy and find new ways to motivate myself. I never thought about becoming a teacher, but basketball was always on my mind, Spanoulis said. He coaches the same way he played, putting a lot of emphasis on player connection: “I used to talk to my coaches and teammates so we could figure something out.” It’s very important how you talk to the players.

The 2024 Olympics and How Greece Did

Greece did pretty well at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. They made it to the quarterfinals after beating Australia in the group stage, which was very important. But their journey came to a stop when they played the strong German team. “The experience was very beautiful,” Spanoulis said as he thought back on it. The president, Vangelis Liolios, and the general manager, Nikos Zisis, got the message. The goal is to make something good for the future. Those Olympics were very good. There were two to three times as many challenges as the two Olympics I played in (2004 and 2008).

Spanoulis’s words show that he is a leader who wants to do more than just get short-term results. He wants to set the team up for future success. As one of the smartest people in European basketball, his ideas on how to teach, his guesses on how well the EuroLeague will do, and his experience playing in foreign games are all taken seriously in the basketball world. Fans can expect his path from player to teacher to continue to shape the sport as he works to improve Greece’s players.