Itoudis: “Yiannis does not want to be treated differently compared to others”

For the situation that prevails when he is in the Greek national team with him Giannis Antetokounmpo spoke on a podcast in Italy o Dimitris Itoudis.

Among other things, he emphasized that the “Greek Freak” does not want to be treated as such different in relation to those who play in Europe, while he added that every time six people come from Milwaukee to monitor his condition.

“I notice the difference in the calculus from the outside, especially when I coach Antetokounmpo with Greece. He also wants to be coached by a European coach who doesn’t know the dynamics of the NBA. However, he comes to training and doesn’t want to be treated any differently to everyone else playing in Europe. The thing is, he’s got 6 guys from Milwaukee who are following him 24/7 and they’re asking us to let him rest, let him play for a limited number of minutes. It’s a matter of compromise. How can I afford to only be able to coach him for X minutes per game and not upset his franchise?” he initially reported.

He was also asked about those who leave Europe for the NBA and referred to Vassilis Spanoulis, saying: “I’ve been in this situation several times, starting with Spanoulis leaving for Houston. In the summer of 2006 coach Jeff Van Gundy spoke highly of Vasilis’ qualities, but then considered using him as an outbound shooter when the ball was in the hands of Yao Ming or Tracy McGrady. It was clear that he would not have the same situation as he had at Panathinaikos, but he told me “Coach, I want to live my dream”. Who are we to stop a man from fulfilling his ambitions?’