By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
An extremely tough challenge for Nikola Milutinov on the latest Eurohoops installment of ‘feeling awkward’ interviews with Nikos Pantelis.
In his own, comical, version of full-court press, the host introduced him as a draft pick of the San Antonio Spurs, despite Milutinov falling shy of playing in the NBA, a four-time EuroLeague Final Four participant without a championship, and also went into his same first name with Nikola Jokic, paving the way for more uncomfortable moments in the discussion with the 30-year-old Serbian center.
“They realized they wasted a draft pick,” said Milutinov, in an effort to explain how the Spurs moved on from selecting him 26th overall in the 2015 NBA draft.
He continued politely rejecting the term ‘holidays’, on which was better, Abu Dhabi or Riga, the hosting cities for the 2025 EuroLeague Final Four with Olympiacos and for the EuroBasket 2025 with the senior national team of Serbia.
Ensuing pressure produced a question about Panathinaikos Aktor offering him a contract during the offseason to simply disrupt the Reds, instead of actually considering him a valuable addition. “Ask them,” responded Milutinov.
Despite eventually completely lacking trust in the host, he also went from playing alongside Jokic to Greek singers and dog names, and was convinced to call himself the best big in Europe in Greek!
Be sure to check more ‘feeling awkward’ interviews across our social media channels, with various guests of Pantelis struggling to keep up.
Milutinov started his second spell with the Greek powerhouse in 2023, following a first run lasting between 2015 and 2020.