By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague great Dimitris Diamantidis revealed the team he hated losing to the most, the player who fell “victim” of his worst trash-talking and who he considered to be the “worst” coach on Panathinaikos during the post-Zeljko Obradovic era (2012 and onward).
Here’s what Diamantidis, a three-time (2007, 2009, 2011) EuroLeague champion with Panathinaikos and former season (2007) and Final Four (2007, 2011) MVP, said in a video interview with Betarades.gr on:
The worst coach in the post-Obradovic era:
“Dusko Ivanovic”
The stingiest teammate ever:
“Steve Bucknall”
The most superstitious:
“Vassilis Spanoulis. He had a lot of things. His slippers. Specific things his way.”
The biggest drinker:
“Sarunas Jasikevicius”
The worst trash-talk he ever did:
“To my teammate Romain Sato when he played with Siena. The things I said to him can’t be said [again]. He’s an amazing guy. It was my fault. When he came to Panathinaikos you can’t imagine how much of an amazing guy he is. I regretted it. You see a guy who is amazing off the court, a great guy and he’s transformed on the court. It makes you want to beat him and a different part of you comes out.”
The opponent he hated losing to:
“Baskonia. One team we couldn’t beat. When it comes to players, I’ll say Arvydas Macijauskas. We couldn’t guard him. We didn’t want to lose to him but we did. Because we couldn’t find a way to guard him.”
The player he wanted to be a teammate with:
“Juan Carlos Navarro.”
Best Greek player:
Vassilis Spanoulis. Nick Calathes and Kostas Sloukas. I don’t mention Giannis Antetokounmpo because he’s out of the discussion.
The player he had the best chemistry with:
“Not only one but many. If I have to mention names, I’ll say Stephane Lasme, James Gist, Mike Batiste, Sarunas Jasikevicius. I had good chemistry with Spanoulis. Fragkiskos Alvertis. Overall, Panathinaikos had a good chemistry because everybody knew each other.”
Top plays in his career:
“The game-winning 3-pointer against France in the 2005 EuroBasket semifinal. With Panathinaikos, the block over Alex Acker in the 2007 Greek League Finals.”