By Dimitris Minaretzis/ info@eurohoops.net
Dimitris Giannakopoulos sat down with Serbian website Mozzart Sport.
In his interview, the Panathinaikos Aktor owner opened up about his strong desire to bring Nikola Jokic to the team, Zeljko Obradovic‘s return, and his past thoughts on investing in Partizan Mozzart Bet.
This was not the first time Giannakopoulos has publicly shared his plans for the Joker.
“For me, I stopped watching the NBA the day that Jordan stopped bouncing the ball. I started watching a bit of the NBA again when Jokic went there,” he said, addressing the situation.
“I believe he’s top ten players of all time. I would love to see him in a Panathinaikos jersey, and I’m going to do whatever I can to try and do it. The politics are difficult. I don’t think it’s a matter of teams. I think it’s a matter of the NBA maybe not allowing such a huge star to come here,” added the 52-year-old Greek businessman.
The conversation shifted to the legendary Zeljko Obradovic and his historic return after a 14-year absence.
“I knew inside me that one day this would happen. It’s fate,” he stressed. “I am very happy that it happened this year. Hopefully, we will have successful results. But as I said in the press conference as well, for me, this season is already a success.
History has shown it’s not only how you assemble the team. There are many things that play roles in winning at the end of the season. To have good health. To be lucky sometimes.
Yes, coach Zeljko always gives you a competitive advantage. Having a good team gives you a competitive advantage. Now, I would not like to make a prediction, but I think Panathinaikos is going to be one of the contenders.”
When asked to pick one standout out of the long list of Serbian players who have left their mark on the Greens, Giannakopoulos looked to the broader region.
“It has to be Serbian? Can’t it be ex-Yugoslavia? Stojan Vrankovic! He is forever, forever, and forever in my heart!”
He then touched upon players who famously wore both the Panathinaikos and Partizan jerseys, like Pekovic, Tomasevic, or Kecman.
“Tomasevic. He played with his mind. And I respect players who use their minds more than their physical abilities.”
Finally, Giannakopoulos recalled a time when he seriously considered a major investment.
“I remember there was a time when Partizan had huge financial difficulties. This was about 10-15 years ago. There were some discussions,” he recalled. “It was a thought. But why didn’t it go through? Because I understood you can’t only get the basketball. You have to take the swimming, the polo, and the entire club. And then it was totally different.”
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