Lessort shares what he thought about Giannakopoulos after first talk / News - Basketnews.com

Lessort shared that he found Giannakopoulos to be similar to him - straightforward, open, honest, and driven by emotions.

Credit: Vangelis Stolis, Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic Credit Vangelis Stolis, Partizan Mozzart Bet/Dragana Stjepanovic

After two years with Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, French center Mathias Lessort moved to Panathinaikos Athens, a club that's rebuilt the vast majority of its roster this summer.

Mathias Lessort

Position:CAge:27Height:206 cmWeight:113 kgBirth place:Martinique, FranceProfileNewsStatistics

PAO are being owned by the eccentric Dimitris Giannakopoulos. He's known to speak his mind loudly and clearly. As such, he's accrued millions in fines from the EuroLeague throughout the years.

In an interview with Georgios Zakkas from SDNA, Lessort revealed what he thought about DPG, as Giannakopoulos is commonly called in Greece.

"I spoke with Dimitris before I signed. We had a phone conversation with him, we haven't met in person yet, but it was a very good conversation. Some may have their opinions about him but I wanted to talk to him and see who he is. When we talked, I found a man who was very open, straight and honest, clear," the player shared.

"I really liked it, I appreciated it because I'm like that as well. We are people driven by our emotions, and we want to bring out our best selves. We are 100% real and sometimes we don't think about what we are going to do, but we do it because we think it is the right choice at that particular moment," Lessort explained. "I think Dimitris is like that too. He is himself, he is 100% clear, and I like to be around people like that. I was also honest with him and will continue to be."

Lessort was one of the first PAO signings this offseason. The club has since added Kostas Antetokounmpo, Kyle Guy, Dinos Mitoglou, Jerian Grant, Dimitris Moraitis, Ioannis Papapetrou, and most importantly - Kostas Sloukas.

During the interview, the big man also shared the lessons he learned from Zeljko Obradovic, named the teammate he had the best relationship with in Partizan, and evaluated the Sloukas' move to Panathinaikos that shook the European basketball world.

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