Raja: “I regret hitting Giannakopoulos – I wonder what would have happened if I stayed with Obradovic”

THE Dino Raja speak to Meridian Sports about his tenure in Greece and the reason he left Panathinaikos “missing” the golden age of Zeljko Obradovic.

“I wanted to challenge for titles and I don’t regret at all that I left the NBA and went to Greece. I fell in love with this country, if I didn’t go I wouldn’t know what I was missing. The time I spent there is priceless. They are true Balkans, just like us Dalmatians in terms of madness, mentality and they love basketball“, emphasized the Croatian basketball legend.

However, despite winning two consecutive championships with the ‘cloverleaf’, he left the club before the arrival of Zeljko Obradovic and the golden years that followed with the winning of five European titles. “I hit the owner’s son, the current owner of the team. I am sorry“, said the Serbian website.

Even now he wonders what he could have achieved if he had stayed at Panathinaikos during “Zots”. “I’m still thinking about it. I knew since we were teammates and roommates that he would make a great coach. He used to come to training and fix us up. You never know how high someone will go, but for him I was sure he would be great. He is the last of the Mohicans. The man has won the Euroleague nine times, what are we talking about? When Zeliko speaks, we all have to pay attention!“, emphasized Raja, who one year after leaving Panathinaikos returned to Greece to play for one season at Olympiakos.