By George Adamopoulos/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Sfairopoulos working his way up from the lower divisions of Greece as a player and then coach to calling plays in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague landed him at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet. Confirming club progress since assuming head coaching duties, he recently extended his contract with the Belgrade outfit until the end of the 2026-27 season.
The Greek tactician sat down with Eurohoops, and the discussion expanded from his new contract to almost joining the coaching staff of the Denver Nuggets.
“It would be something different,” he confessed about the opportunity to work in the NBA, “I signed with Olympiacos in 2014. In 2015, we were champions in Greece with a 3-0 series against Panathinaikos, and we had played in the EuroLeague Final against Real Madrid in their home, unfortunately. I was then offered a contract extension by the team presidents, the Angelopoulos brothers. After this, Michael Malone approached and invited me to Denver to become his assistant. If I agreed, maybe I would still be there. But that’s not the point. The point is it was bad timing.”
“I didn’t even inform Olympiacos about the offer. I thought about it and declined. I haven’t regretted it because my experiences all these years between Olympiacos, Maccabi, and now Zvezda are unique,”he added.
“Spanoulis lives for basketball”
Sfairopoulos, 58, using both big wins and big losses to face future challenges, starts from the very top of his coaching career, back in 1986 with Apollon Kalamarias. Nearly four decades later, he strives on the same path, also extracting knowledge from standout players of his teams.
“I have learned a lot from working with star players. From basketball stuff about creating space and effective screens. You see these details in their approach and learn from them. Even from how they prepare for a game, practice,” he told Eurohoops.
“With Vassilis, we are really close. We bonded through our four years together at Olympiacos,” he focused on his relationship with his former player, the current head coach of AS Monaco and of the senior national team of Greece, Vassilis Spanoulis.
“Seeing him as a head coach makes me very happy,” continued Sfairopoulos, “He is a person who lives for basketball, even when he is sleeping. He had the same approach as a player. On many occasions, we talked about our game plan and what we could do better. Now, works in a similar way as a head coach.”
“Pressure and tension are the same”
With one game left in the 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season, Zvezda has built up an 18-15 record. Tied with Paris in ninth place of the standings, the continental campaign will expand to the Play-In Showdown or directly to the Playoffs.
“It is very important because Zvezda displays willingness for a stable plan to develop as a team, especially at the European level,” Sfairopoulos commented on signing a contract extension in early January.
“Overall, the pressure and tension are the same,” he went on to compare the Belgrade derby between his side and Partizan Mozzart Bet to his experience in clashes between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, “Fans inside and outside the country want to watch this derby. I feel very lucky we play these games, because these are games anybody would want to participate.”