By Antonis Stroggylakis / info@eurohoops.net
Panathinaikos Athens center Mathias Lessort attended a game of his team for the first time since the leg injury he suffered in December, visiting OAKA to witness the Greens beat Real Madrid 85 – 70.
As Lessort’s teammates admitted, his vocal and lively presence next to the bench spurred them even further to take the win over the Spanish side.
“It’s encouraging,” Panathinaikos star Kendrick Nunn said to EuroLeague TV. “One thing about him, he never gets discouraged about anything. He has a very strong personality. You can’t even really tell he’s injured. But we want for him to stay off for a little bit more just to make sure he’s well.”
“It’s great,” Jerian Grant added. “He brought the energy. He was talking to everybody getting us excited. He helped us.”
Nunn finished with a team-high 18 points, five assists and five rebounds. Grant paced Panathinaikos with nine assists to go with his 11 points and two steals while putting on tremendous defensive effort as usual.
While Nunn heard the usual MVP chants from the Panathinaikos crowd, he gave Grant his flowers for the overall two-way impact he delivers to the squad.
“He [Grant] is [the MVP],” Nunn mentioned. “Sh–t… the way he plays defense for us? It takes us to a whole another level. He can play 1 vs. 1 late in the shot clock. He can do it all.”
Grant himself appeciated Nunn’s MVP praise. “My teammates know what I bring to the team. It really makes me happy to know that I can help.”