Vassilis Spanoulis discuss coaching in NBA, thinks Duda would be proud of him / News - Basketnews.com

Vassilis Spanoulis believes Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and other up-and-coming European stars might build a bridge to the NBA for European head coaches.

"You're from Vilnius or Kaunas?" Vassilis Spanoulis asked before the interview. Seconds later, we started talking about Zalgiris and how much they improved from last season.

3-pointers this season

33%10,0Points made:10,0Accuracy:33,3%Place in standings:15Record max:12Record min:9Most made 3FGs:Sylvain FranciscoTeamBCLStatisticsSchedule

Usually, these few minutes before you hit the rec button are uncomfortable. Especially when you don't have any previous relationship.

It was our first personal interaction, but Spanoulis was very nice and polite. Curious to get to know more about the BasketNews project and Lithuanian basketball.

Soon I noticed that no matter the topic, his every follow-up question led to a basketball conversation.

For example, coming off another sleepless night before the interview with an 11-month infant, I asked for a tip from a father of six who won three EuroLeague titles the same year he had a newborn (2009, 2012, 2013).

Abruptly, we were talking about discipline, rules, and routines, something so familiar to his principles from playing years and now working on the sidelines as if the conversation was about coaching rather than fatherhood challenges.

People like to call Spanoulis the Kobe of Europe.

This honorable comparison is based on his European basketball impact, skill, and clutchness. But most importantly, his attitude toward the game and the mentality he left behind by setting an example of greatness.

There is a reason why two of the best players in the world, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, idolized him as a role model.

Spanoulis might be even more obsessed with basketball.

Some call him a basketball robot. It's hard to find anyone who could match his curiosity about the game.

As he jokes with his close friends, he was born not in his mom's belly but in the basketball.

So even when traveling with his family during his year off after retiring, he never lost the pulse of the game. And now he is thrilled to make an impact in basketball again.

Spanoulis, 40, is so confident that he publicly said he knows he'll be a successful head coach. No, he's not looking down on others. There is genius knowledge, champion intuition, and unprecedented work ethic combined with passion behind such belief.

There will always be bumps in his basketball road, just like the one in Vilnius, where Rytas handed Peristeri their first loss of the Basketball Champions League season in a blowout game.

Spanoulis knows he is not a magician. He did not have a magic wand that won him three EuroLeague titles (including three Final Four MVP awards), EuroBasket gold, and World Cup silver (Spanoulis scored 22 to get Greece past the USA in the semifinal).

But he knows the way.

BasketNews invites you to go through the 15-minute journey with Spanoulis starting his new chapter with Peristeri Athens.

Vassilis, we're six official games into the season. Peristeri is 4-2 (the interview was before the game vs. Rytas). If Zeljko Obradovic and Duda Ivkovic watched all these games, what would they think of you, your job, and your team?I think they would like what they see and they would be proud. First of all, because I love the game of basketball, I'm passionate, and I do it with great motivation — something that is also important for them in basketball and outside basketball.

When Michael Jordan was asked why he didn't go coaching, he said his biggest problem was that the focus of today's athletes and where he saw the game and how competitively pursued it is totally different. How do you handle it?I can understand Michael Jordan (smiles). He is the greatest player in the history of basketball for me, and everybody can understand him.

In my opinion, it's a challenge for me to motivate this generation and these players to change their attitude and philosophy about basketball. For me, this is very important.

If I put myself over them, it's better not to do this job. For myself, the most important thing is to show patience and show younger and more experienced players the way to success.

Are you satisfied with your level of patience?Yes, I am. It's important to be patient and know how you have to go to success because it's not a magical thing. We're not magicians to go from one day to the other.

It needs time, a lot of hours of work on the court, a lot of hours in the video sessions, and in discussions with the players to be closer to players to make them understand you, that in some time of the year, all these things could work.

When you approached your first team speech in the huddle, what did you say to your players to set the tone for the work ahead of you?Motivation. The blessing that we play basketball. Willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team. And that hard work pays off.

What's the No. 1 rule in the Vassilis Spanoulis team?Be dedicated to basketball. To be focused. To have the willingness to work and improve. And to believe in our organization that we want to be a winning organization. This is very important.

To be a winning organization, you have to know also how to lose. It's part of our game and our life. Most importantly, to understand how we handle this situation.

When Georgios Bartzokas was asked about the advice he could give you as a starting head coach, he said that as bad as it may sound, sometimes the best thing that can happen to a coach is to get fired because then you can put things in order. What was the loss you've learned from the most?First of all, I don't believe you need to get fired to understand many things (laughs). But I respect coach Bartzokas.

I think the most important thing is to be patient and have the mental strength to handle difficult situations.

If you get fired, you get fired. But I don't believe you have to get fired to become a good coach.

Most importantly, to become a good coach, you need to work really hard to know how to handle good and bad situations and have a very strong stomach.

You repeatedly mention that you want to become an inspiring coach. First of all, to players, and then to fans, who would pack the gym to enjoy your teams basketball. Who gave the biggest inspiration spark in your career?I grew up with Michael Jordan and some big Greek legends of our nation of basketball, like Galis or Giannakis. I grew up in love with basketball with them.

As I told my close friends, I was born not in my mother's belly but in the basketball. I was born to play basketball, to be around basketball, and to be in basketball.

Some coaches, for example, Andrea Trinchieri, urge their players to watch the highest-level games on TV. Which EuroLeague team would you put on the screen for your players to watch and learn from to get better?I don't have a specific team that I want to see. I watch all the games in BCL, EuroLeague, Greek League, and ACB. It depends on how much time I have. But I try to watch many things from different coaches and teams.

I want to have my philosophy and put these ideas altogether. It's important to be open-minded and take many ideas from different things. But at the same time, set the filter in your mind to understand what you must keep and put into building your character and philosophy.

If you had to build the EuroLeague team and all the players were free agents, who would be your No. 1 signing representing the character and style of the team you want to express?There are so many players that I would like to have from EuroLeague (smiles). But I'm very happy with the players I have now on my team.

From now on, my players are the best I can have. We must work with them, improve them, and trust them. We want to make them trust us and the process.

Miro Bilan and Leonidas Kaselakis were your first signings for Peristeri. What players did you want to sign to express your philosophy on the court?Before I took the team, I had a picture in my mind. Everything happened very quickly. I want to thank the organization and the front office for correctly handling the situation.

The idea was to have a mix of experienced and young guys, to try to play at different tempos. To have players that can play set offense and quicker modern basketball. More quick hitters, more transition. I had to have both options to be ready for every situation.

The No. 1 for me was the character of the players. It's very important to have good characters. We will have difficult moments, so the players' character and the atmosphere in the locker room are very important to pass through these situations.

Second is work ethic and motivation. The third is individual talent.

As a new coaching generation representative, what new things do you want to bring into coaching?Basketball changes, and you have to play at a higher tempo. I think it's important to let players express themselves. Years before, there were very successful coaches who very correctly had a bigger impact on players and the game. They had everything how they wanted.

But now, with the game's tempo and how basketball is going so fast, sometimes you just need to put the rules and let players express themselves.

Credit FIBA

The way European coaches impact the game and coach status in Europe was one of the biggest question marks regarding European coaches' potential to be successful in the NBA, which is known as a players-league.

Players usually set goals to play on the highest level, which is the NBA. With European coaches, it might be different. But having this different approach than old-school European coaches and also having three best NBA players coming from Europe, what do you think of the idea of coaching in the NBA one day?That's true. But this is something that can't be on my mind now because I'm so fresh in coaching. But it's very nice to see European coaches go to the NBA.

My opinion is that we have to understand there's another world there. If I say that European basketball has changed and players play more from their instinct and talent, which means you can't have such an impact as a coach like before, in the NBA, this is ten times more.

For me, the most important thing is to find chemistry and the right players. Also, it's individual talent, more than one vs. one instinct, and less impact in the game from the coaches. But more influence outside of the game on their personalities, work ethic, inspiration, and team chemistry. On these things, the coach is more important, I think.

Do you think Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Nikola Jokic can build the bridge to the NBA for the European coaches? For instance, if you, as a European coach, have Giannis as your star player on the team, he would help to set the tone for the rest of the group to make your transition smooth.For sure, it's something that can happen in the future. First of all, we're very proud we have Giannis as one of the best and maybe the best player with Luka and Jokic in the NBA right now.

Okay, we don't put out Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and all the other superstars, but we're proud that Europeans are franchise players and lead their teams in the NBA.

Maybe this could be a bridge for more European coaches going there in the future.

BasketNews+ community member Georgios Katsimpas wanted to hear your pick on the best clutch EuroLeague player ever.I don't know (laughs). There were so many big players. I'm not good at answering this question by picking one player because there were so many great ones. It would be unfair to some others.

You said you always loved to play for underdogs. That was also a big part of your decision to switch from Panathinaikos to Olympiacos. What three main components connected your underdog teams that achieved incredible results?First, motivation to prove to everybody you can be at another level.

Second, improvement and work ethic during the season. Teams that improve more during the season, work hard and know where and what to work on, have bigger possibilities to succeed. Everybody works, but it's important to work on specifics and precisely what you want.

Third, nobody expects you to succeed. So this is the biggest advantage for these teams.

Everybody says you talk so much about basketball that you also think of basketball when you're asleep. If you had a chance to have a long basketball conversation at dinner with anybody, dead or alive, who would be that person?My hero and my idol when I was young. Michael Jordan (smiles).

BasketNews video interview with Vassilis Spanoulis:

Audio interview with Vassilis Spanoulis:

BasketNews story on Nikos Galis:

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