By Stefan Acevski/ info@eurohoops.net
Kenneth Faried returned unexpectedly from Taiwan to Europe and Greece for Panathinaikos and came to stay for more than the initial two months in his contract.
Ergin Ataman’s team was looking for a high-level center to fill the gap of many injured players in the “5” position and made a good choice, as “Manimal” is still capable, even at 36. The American center spoke on the “Man to Man” podcast powered by Stoiximan with George Adamopoulos.
At first, ex Denver Nuggets player spoke about the opportunity and trust from Panathinaikos:
“I was playing in Taiwan… I have nothing against Taiwan, but I wanted to play at a higher level and knew I could play at the top level. I’m happy that Panathinaikos believed I could still put up stats at this level, but I don’t think anyone knew how much I could truly achieve. But I knew, my family knew, and the people around me knew because they saw how much time, effort, and work I put in, not just on the court, but off the court, with my mind, body, how I eat, how I read, and the things I do.”
It is known that Greek derbies and matches against Olympiakos are very important for Panathinaikos fans. Faried also spoke about meeting his former teammates, Nikola Milutinov, Evan Fournier, and Kostas Papanikolaou.
“It will be interesting. I’m here to enjoy the moment, play basketball, and do my job. So, I mean, I still have love for my people, my folks over there, and we still, of course, communicate often. However, it will be ‘war,’ whatever happens on the court, with respect, because that’s how I play. I don’t play to lose.”
Kenneth Faried became a world champion in 2014 when the United States won gold at the championship in Spain. Faried was part of that team and had the opportunity to work with the legendary Mike Krzyzewski.
“He’s amazing! Especially the way he makes you leave your ego at the door… He would say ‘you are here for one goal and one dream, and that is to win a gold medal and have the American national anthem played at the end.’ Participating in the World Cup gave me an idea of how to play in Europe.”
“I was last Jokic’s assist in his first triple-double in NBA”
He was also a teammate of Nikola Jokic and was among the first to recognize the Serbian player’s talent. Additionally, Jokic assisted Faried for his first career triple-double.
“He got the name ‘Joker’ not because of his game, but because of the way he always joked, literally. Jokic is a happy person, always… It was great for me because my energy is the same. We were happy together and that made us connect, and I was his last assist in his first triple-double in the NBA!”
Kobe told me: “I love your game”
Faried also had the opportunity to play against Kobe Bryant, and he shared that Kobe approached him after a game and praised his play.
“In my first Playoffs, in 2012, I remember Kobe hitting me, helping me up, and saying ‘are you okay? You’re okay. Come on, get up’… The next thing I know is Kobe went ‘crazy,’ they beat us in the seventh game and sent us home. Kobe told me at the end something like ‘I love your game! Keep playing hard, as you do. I respect it. Keep doing what you’re doing.’”
On life with his gay mother and the discrimination he experienced:
“It was a very difficult period. People were not accepting. They didn’t really care, I guess, to know you had gay parents or even to know if one parent was gay or something like that. And people still viewed it as a crime or a disease or something like that… But it made me stronger and I don’t care anymore about people’s opinions.”