By George Adamopoulos / gadamopoulos@eurohoops.net
Dimitris Itoudis, the head coach of Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv, sat down with Eurohoops to discuss his EuroLeague return and the future of Europe’s top-tier club competition.
“We are on the right path, with a solid basketball and human structure. I mean, how we build this team, considering our selections for the squad, I think we are on the right path, and are also enjoying wins,” he went into a solid start to the 2025-26 Regular Season with the Israeli club.
“Twenty teams have increased existing competitiveness in the EuroLeague. On a related note, I think we should be more ready as EuroLeague, so when we add teams to perhaps shape a different format, meaning about the teams advancing to the Playoffs,” he continued, resurfacing his view on combining the expansion of the playing field to additional postseason berths.
“EuroLeague is brutal. I think teams need a deep roster, which we have,” added the 55-year-old Greek tactician.
“30 teams”
Revisiting the ongoing talks about possibly introducing a new top-tier league in the Old Continent, Itoudis confirmed his projections about ending up with 30 teams in such a competition.
“This is my dream, all three sitting at the same table, and for us to have an undivided league,” he referred to Euroleague Basketball, the NBA, and FIBA, replying to a question about the NBA Europe project.
“My dream is to have a European league, a EuroLeague, with 30 teams. I believe we can achieve this. There are viable plans. We don’t have time to talk about all of them. We can easily have an interview with this being the only topic,” he explained.
“I think basketball needs a boost,” continued Itoudis, “For me, and obviously for you, this is the most beautiful sport. It is among the most beautiful interactive sports. Every player must make decisions in one second in difficult conditions, with the defense looking to stop him. So, I think our sport deserves a boost from people willing to invest.”
“Sport unites”
At 8-3, his side is tied with Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet in first place in the EuroLeague standings.
“The first objective was to bring Hapoel to the top league. We did this by winning the EuroCup. This was huge. This was answered by solid support from management and owners. They invested a lot of money and have high expectations. They are right to have these expectations, which meet mine as well. The next step is to create a team, because we have indeed brought in many quality players, but they have to learn to co-exist. We are currently at this point,” said the two-time EuroLeague champion as a head coach, describing the path for Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Addressing military and political conflicts involving Israel, Itoudis once more stressed how sport unites, and Hapoel’s approach and constructive impact as well.
“Building this roster was not as easy as other teams. We knew we had to enter the market early, which we did, but also needed to talk directly with each player, be honest with our situation, to be able to create the best possible roster,” he talked about difficulties in pursuing available options during the offseason.
“To avoid taking the conversation into politics, the coaches have been assigned an unrelated job. This team generates only positive energy, and sport unites in general. On my staff, we have about 12 different nationalities, from physios, trainers, coaches, players, and more. We can work with each other effectively, and we are all together behind a common goal,” mentioned Itoudis.
Resuming action in Round 12 of the EuroLeague Regular Season, the Tel Aviv outfit visits EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in Unipol Forum on Thursday.