What Happened To Greek Basketball? (THE DOWNFALL)
I know what you’re thinking downfall a Greek player has won the NBA MVP twice in a row added the championship a year later and both Greek Euro league clubs are thriving this season that’s BS but that’s just a few positives in the sea of problems Greek basketball is facing
Right now to uncover why Greece has been on a medal drought in the international competitions and its clubs haven’t won the Euro league in the last 11 years I spoke with basket news journalist yorgos kiriakidis y joh harsh words uh but nevertheless there is a crisis in in
Greek basketball that’s the case when I asked exactly what the crisis was yorgos told me it comes down to three factors first of them being not producing top level players he believes it’s one of the roots for the lack of success Greece national team has had and the cause is
The way the country’s basketball system operates knowing the importance of winning in European basketball and how results influence the budget and vice versa fewer and fewer organiz ganizations and coaches are willing to give playing time to the upand comers but of course that has been the case for
As long as we can remember yet still generational talents like Vil panes Demitrius deonis or Tio papalas were able to establish themselves and become EUR League Legends which ultimately leads to the young players themselves yorgos points to the mentality of the new generation as the problem saying
Kids are getting more and more attached to screens and less interested in sports activities that results in fewer schools focusing on Sports and a gradually decreasing number of kids attending basketball acmy in Greece there’s definitely some true to that but to me it seems like that’s not the issue the
Whole world is experiencing the so-called new glute to the screens generation but some countries are able to stay successful regardless because their developmental systems are just functioning better yanis Tumo is a perfect example of it as The Greek Freak really only earned the freak part part of his nickname after leaving Greece and
Moving to the United States when I asked yorgos if he considers yanis a product of the Greek basketball school he had this to say if we look at his development I wouldn’t say so because when yanis entered the Greek let’s say basketball system with with atleticos was playing in the second division the
Yanis that we’ve been seeing for for the past I mean seven six seven years I would say a world basketball star can can barely be attributed to to to the Greek basketball system per se it’s mostly a PR of his own work ethic of what the
The Milwaukee bags have um have made of him I would say that gree overall hasn’t facilitated Yan’s attempts to be a basketball Mega star not to mention a human being in in in a certain respect before we talk about the next major point the finances of Greek basketball I
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Yourself okay so we figured out that clearly something isn’t working within the Greek basetable system but to understand what it is we need to dive into the second factor which is troubled economy it was perhaps the longest part of the interview which makes me believe it’s the most significant the Greek
Economy has been hurt by its structural weaknesses most notably during the worldwide crisis back in 2008 Greece’s public depth skyrocketed after 2008 and has only been causing unemployment social unrest and even poverty ever since although for basketball the effect of the crisis was delayed for a few
Years it was no exception as there automatically was less money for schools andies and to answer the question that resulted in the struggles of Player Development Greek basketball sees today at the same time we saw a major shift in the European basketball landscape as Greek clubs were facing the same
Financial challenges too fortunately for the powerhouses olympos and pananos the impact came even later and they managed to somehow navigate the situation and stay at the highest level competitively mostly due to their Rich families owning the club of course there were clubs who weren’t as fortunate I’m talking teams
Like pook Aris marusi makedonikos AEK that were a significant part of European basketball in the ’90s and 2000s began falling in depths reduced their budgets and essentially after 2012 macedonicus was dissolved While others have been struggling in the European competitions The Only Exception being aak winning the
FBA Champions leak in 2018 but as if those economic problems weren’t enough in 2020 the co pandemic deepened the wounds even more to tell you the truth it is no secret that apart from the powerhouses Greek League teams are at least three 00,000 in deficit every year
And there doesn’t seem to be much hope for that to change especially since the Euro league has become more and more closed which in turn means that investors aren’t willing to invest in these smaller clubs when there are no guarantees that winning the Greek League
Or the Euro Cup would secure them a spot in the Euro league now perhaps that wouldn’t be a big problem and it could be just a matter of adapting to the situation creating a sustainable structure that other clubs with little money have done but yoro sees a bigger
Problem Greeks being stuck in the past more specifically it is the attachment to their previous achievements in sports and that’s not just the fans but the team owners media and the basketball society as a whole instead of accepting the new reality and building something longlasting Executives fans and everyone
Involved have false expectations of trophies and big wins that they were used to in the past those big wins and major successes are the driving force for this mentality so let’s take a quick look at ad them as yorgos put it Greece’s love for basketball was ignited
In 1987 when their national team won the Euro basket gold [Applause] oh if we disregard that bronze medal in 1949 or as I would like to call it something that happened in the Stone Age up until 1987 Greece wasn’t even close to making the semi-finals after coming first the whole country saw basketball
Courts being installed all over schools and basketball becoming the second sport after football what surprised me the most yorgo stated that on some occasions for instance in the 1993 94 season the Greek League was arguably stronger than the Euro league itself as I mentioned before the golden days for Greek Club
Started in the ’90s and esper yorgo’s calculations from 91 to ’98 there were 11 Greek teams that made European competition finals galile slipped up ahead Monaro optic glass it’s swed Away by frankovic one last shot take it in they put it up and that is it a wild
Finish at the buzzer panthan iOS are the European Club Champions he also thinks that the end of an era came in 2021 when for the first time in 30 years both Po and Olympia cost missed the Euro League playoffs although I would argue it ended in the early 2010s with the last Euro
League trophy from either of those clubs we’re talking about nine Euro League titles combined from 1996 to 2013 but as of 2024 the last one was 11 years ago to come back to the national team after 1987 their most successful period was in the 2005 to 2009 in 2005 the Greeks
Clinched gold at the Euro basket then shocked Team USA in the 2006 World Cup semi-final and came second to Spain and finally won the bronze medals in the 2009 Euro basket but now back to reality unfor Ely for the Greeks they are yet to win a medal in the Olympic Games in fact
Greece has never qualified for any Olympics whose qualifying tournament wasn’t held in Greece like in 2008 overall they have zero medals in the last decade reaching only as high as fifth place in Euro basket and Ninth in the World Cup before I wrap this up with
What the future holds for Greece I would like to remind you that you need to subscribe for a Yannis and Tuma Jersey that we’re giving away once we hit 150,000 subs and select a random winner now I really wanted to see some light at the end of the tunnel in this story but
When I asked about the future perspective Soros wasn’t too excited I wouldn’t be very optimistic because it’s about the the players if you have the quality if you have the roster um to fill in the gaps it’s very very difficult to to predict how um that will
Evolve but right now it seems that Greece have uh terms of uh aiming for success in the next two three years I’m not sure and he’s right jannis is turning 30 in 2024 most of the other core players of the national team are already in their 30s and new top level
Centers or guards don’t really come out when it comes to the clubs well more specifically the powerhouses he thinks the situation could be the opposite ptin cost owner Demitri yopos has been continuing to invest big sums of money into the team mostly because po has acquired rights to aaka Arena which
Could be consider considered the most important factor increasing club’s revenue and igniting the Renaissance of the team that we see today Olympiacos on the other hand almost never relied on a big budget and are reliant on making the right decisions when signing personnel which has worked wonders for them in the
Last 3 to 4 years yorgos also believes that it’s only a matter of time until Olympia cost gets the ownership of the peace and friendship Stadium but again that’s the two powerhouses we’re talking about underneath them the rest of the Greek clubs are suffering partially because the money isn’t distributed
Evenly and the Gap is progressively getting bigger but also as I mentioned before the mentality of being sustainable has not yet established itself in Greek Club basketball so while coming out of these tough times for basketball in gree seems like a very difficult Mission I do see some hope if
And only if the attitude towards success will change from focusing on trophies and medals to focusing on long-term plans and systems that might take some time but it might as well be worth trying what do you think about the current situation of Greek basketball perhaps you disagree and see it
Completely differently or have your own solutions to the problems I went through in this video make sure you’re subscribe for that yanis Jersey also like this video and check out our breakdown on the biggest man the Euro league has ever seen
The glorious days of Greek basketball seem to be in the rearview mirror. While Giannis Antetokounmpo is perhaps the best basketball player in the world at the moment, there are many problems that have pushed Greece out of basketball elite. In this video, Gytis chats with BasketNews journalist Giorgos Kyriakidis to uncover why Greek basketball has been on a downfall in the recent decade.
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90s Greek Basketball Championship was the best championship ever existed in Europe,no other championship could even be compared with that era.
The downfall is in every aspect of the country, starting from the economy, it is not about basketball. Investing stopped for every sport. Basketball clubs are funded from owners and not the state. Owners stopped spending money in sports (except the 2 big clubs). This explains 95% of the problem. If the economy grows again, the domestic league will start to be competitive again and local talent will be produced again. The infrastructure still exist (there is a basketball court in every neighborhood) and the Greeks still love the game.
This could be the US team before the end of the decade
Seems as a surprise to me that PAOK (my team) and Aris where mentioned in this video as they are long forgotten in their turmoil 😢 So the main factor is one and is the foreigners in the league, as 6 are allowed there is not much room in the playing time – development of greek players and furthermore the stockpiling of Greek talent in the Eternal ones seems as the last blow in the development of Greek talent (see Toliopoulos rise especially this season since he was a bench warmer in his Olympiacos days)
As a Greek i must tell you, there is 0 hope that Greek basketball will get any better, simply because there is 0 chance that ANYTHING is this f*ing 3rd world country will EVER get any better.
What about the other 3 Euroleague finals of Olympiacos and the consecutive final 4s? Why keep ignoring from last time we won the euroleague?
As a greek i believe one of the main reasons is that we focus more on football (in which we suck, a lot) instead of focusing on basketball which we are by far better.
Go fuck yourself. Next time Diamantidis in front in your picture
Gianis is not Greek
It's what has happened to every country following the New World Order, maybe except Serbia: we allowed non-Greeks to do what they want with our team.
I disagree with Giorgos’ assessment. Our youth system is the problem 100%, but it has nothing to do with screens. The last time Greece won a medal was in 2009. From 2010 onwards we have the rise of basketball analytics which proved the value of the three point shot. Greek youth coaching system didn’t get the memo. Modern basketball is build around spacing and the three point shot and Greek coaches historically DISCOURAGED kids from honing their shooting skills. It’s all about training tactics and discipline. We are left in 2009. We don’t know how to shoot threes or defend against them. That’s the true issue behind the decline of the Greek national team. For the clubs, especially AEK, it’s more pedestrian. The lack of access to euroleague basketball (we are talking a team that participated in final fours starting from the 1960s all the way to ‘00s) kills the interest of fans. Closed euroleague is detrimental to European basketball imho.
The game is different now and we haven't adopted.
i can also confirm the current status, but i am optimistic that a new flare will ignite new talent inrush in the future.
geriau pasidairom po lietuviska krepsini ir uzduodam sau klausima,o kaip pas mus ugdomos busimos zvaigzdes?pamazu musu krepsinis tampa vis labiau apgailetinas…tiek ziniu
You are delusional, man!
It's the same situation as was always… 2 big teams: either Olympiacos vs Pao or Aries vs Paok.
1 great talent: Galis and Spanoulis later.
The main reason is we produce defensive players and noone promotes scorers here… Coaches in young teams want "soldiers" that focus on tactics, defense instead of scoring and showing talent thats the main problem
there are many reasons behind basketball downfall in Greece. in my opinion the main reason is that only Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are getting to play in Euroleague, so other teams are not appealing for investors. also the fact that everybody knows from the start that only those 2 teams will fight for championship makes fans uninterested, so the stadiums aren't filled with supporters. the gap between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos and the rest teams is so big, that makes everybody stay away form watching the Greek league
Mentioning AEK after Marousi and Makedonikos was based af 😛
Olympiakos and Panathinaikos have never been developing talent. All the talent came from the northern Greece teams that have been struggling financially for 25 years. It was inevitable that the fountains producing the talented players would dry up eventually.
Fantastic analysis, even better from a greek journalist specialized in basketball!
We don’t have the system to build high-quality players outside of Athens. If you want to play you got to pay
Actually, Dimitris Giannakopoulos for the last 2-3 years had abandoned the team. That is why the team was nowhere near as we knew it. This year he decided to come back and to invest money. He spent lots of money because when you don't compete for 3 years you need to overpay players in order to join the team. Olympiacos,yes, they have built a good team, but before Giannakopoulos abandoned the team they were always losing to us. Also, don't forget that Bertomeu and his missionaries have been slaughtered Panathinaikos for the past years. Regarding basketball in general, Euroleague being a league for few definitely plays a huge role in people not investing in basketball. You can't really blame them. This has to change. It needs to become something like champions league in football. Economic crisis definitely played a role, but not a major one. There is also no FFP in euroleague. Teams like Barca and Real depend on their football clubs money. They can invest as much money as they want. The second most important reason is that there is not an actual plan for young kids in terms of academies, facilities etc. There are people with knowledge who want to work on it, but there are others who don't let them…
Intersting video. Could same be said for some other countries like Italy and Croatia? Honest question since I live in Indiana.
The thumbnail is racist yo 😂
we had the 3 best guards the eurleague had ever seen PLAYING TOGETHER!!
i highly doubt such an era will come back any time soon.
but here is a little kid named neoklis avdalas aged 18 that shows some potential. maybe more will rise alongside with him and we can do something within the next decade.
i also trust in spanoulis as a coach. he knows how to win. i be he will get better resuts than all the previous teams, he knows the way
Let's start with the basics. Apart from the two "so called powerhouses", which are really just vampires sucking the life out of Greek basketball, the only other Greek team that has seen success the last 25 years, is AEK:
International Competitions:
Winner:
Saporta Cup – 2000
BCL – 2018
Intercontinental – 2018
Runners Up:
Euroleague – 1998
BCL – 2020
Final 4:
Euroleague – 2001
Domestic:
Champion: 2002
Cup: 2000, 2001,2018,2020
Nowhere near the vampires, but still notable
AEK had invested in youths. The 2000-2002 team produced players that won titles and achieved fame in other major clubs like CSKA, Barcelona etc.
The roster of the 2000-2003 team of AEK played in consecutive Euroleague final fours for for about 15 years:
2003: Holden, Kakiouzis
2004: Holden, Kakiouzis
2005: Betts, Dikoudis, Holden
2006: Holden, Kakiouzis
2007: Dikoudis, Holden
2008: Holden, Zisis
2009: Bourousis, Zisis, Holden
2010: Holden, Bourousis
2011: Zisis
2012: Antic
2013: Antic
2014: Bourousis
2015: Bourousis, Zisis
2016: Bourousis, Antic
Kakiouzis was the captain of the national team in 2006 etc etc
Even in the more recent years layers like Larentzakis, Moraitis, Rogavopoulos became famous via AEK ..
The downfall of Greek basketball started and continues with the downfall of AEK.
Not teams of the previous century like Aris and Paok, and for sure not because of Makedonikos… Where on earth did u find out of that team that appeared and disappeared in a period of 3 years… Come on!
AEK was a founder member of ULEB in 2000/2001. However the two vampires having more riches bought there way into the modern Euroleague, and sucked the life out of AEK…
They continuously cheat in Greece, imposing a "never lose' dictatorship… Just watch how AEK lost away in both games with the vampires…
In 2018 in 6 formal games against them AEK had a record of 3-3 and won the cup… And the BCL… With players like Punter, Hunter and Larentzakis… But no funding for AEK. AEK could not play in the euroleague hence losing all the best players one after the other…
The two vampires lure Greek stars like Larentzakis and Moraitis, chew on them and spit them back out… Destroyed… If AEK does not become the 3rd pole again, no future for Greek basketball… The two vampires don't care about Greek basketball, just about themselves .. and as long as the euroleague is a private club, Greek basketball will only go downhill
PS: no disrespect for Aris and Paok. They were the powerhouses of the 80s. Like AEK was again the powerhouses of the 60s with a cup winner cups and the first "euroleague f4" in 1968 and 1966 respectively. The above comments just focus on the achievements of the last 25 years: 1998-2023
Greece is 10m people pass very difficult moments with the financial crisis. All our players are made because some coaches trusted the young players. Giannis was lucky to go to Filathlitikos, and worked hard.
Greek basketball died when an African became their best player ever.
First of all I consider being in the Final 4 a great success, so Olympiakos not winning the Euroleague since 2013 is not as disastrous as you make it sound considering all those appearances in recent Final 4s. However, this does not reflect the state of greek basketball in general. Society has changed and sports follow. Kids don't play sports as much as they used to and when they do the mentality in the academies is to train winners, not complete basketball players, focusing on tactics and giving fewer and fewer chances to younger players. As far as national team goes, having Giannis does some damage, as everyone expects Greece to win medals when the rest of the roster is nowhere near as good as it used to be, creating expectations where they shouldn't be and not giving the team a chance to build something that might require time. However, I am optimistic that the following generations, inspired by Giannis, Spanoulis, Diamantidis etc will produce higher quality players.
Good try to analyse the situation
There is talent but a Greek league of 7 foreign players will not lead nowhere
Financial crisis was a problem for professional teams in my opinion but not for national team
5 teams in Greece could play in Euroleague Aris Paok Panathinaikos and Olympiakos but euroleague has a fucking system that reduced the interest of Basket and investors
Aris has the most basketball fans, many years has more tickets than olympiakos and panathinaikos and it is no way to play in Euroleague so attracts fake investors
From 1987 till 2001 in Greece basket was more popular than soccer just to correct you and the Greek league for 10 years at least was stronger than Euroleague and the tv contracts for Greek teams were bigger than all other Euroleague teams combined
With closed Euroleague no one will invest in Greek league
A very rich basketball fan of Aris wanted to become owner and he was waiting the unification of basketball so Euroleague will open for more teams that didn’t happen so he said that he is not interested at all
These happened to Paok Aek Iraklis etc
Look at the football league where panathinaikos and olympiakos are in many cases below AEK PAOK and ARIS but football is an open European project
I believe there is the same problem in Lithuanian basketball clubs
Big countries where excluded from Euroleague in the past
Italy France Croatia Slovenia Russia one team
Sorry Euroleague for many years is a circus and very weak that’s sad
Euroleague of 80s generate more money for the teams with basic organisation
Aris when playing in Euroleague of 8 teams was generating 2 billion drachmas that means 22 million dollars!!!! For 80s!!! For 22- 24 games maximum
As fan of Aris I am really mad with Euroleague I do not watch not a game the last 10 years from the last time that Aris participated 😂
It’s impossible the team that was the first professional basketball team in Greece and formed the national team of 1987 to be excluded from Euroleague 😡😡😡
It’s impossible a basketball city like Thessaloniki not to be able to participate
One note here Makedonikos didn’t dissolve its one of the oldest Thessaloniki teams just they are playing somewhere in 5th division 😅
Now for our national team things are really bad I do not see any future and that’s bad
Greece needs few national successes to generate players and interest
I could say that Greek basketball has collapsed that’s a pity
We hope that spanoulis will recover the team
Greece could have success only through strategy talent is the lowest from 1985 that I remember my self to watch basketball 🏀
The only true basketball capital that Greece is top now is coaching
Future will show
The current Greek generation which comes to an end still has a formidble squad – Calathes, Sloukas, Papanikolau, Mitoglu,Papagianis,Larentzakis, Antetokoumpo Bros and several others are as legit as it can get. Greece needs to focus on youth even more and use its resources better as their system is still good. Look at Spain and Argentina , 2 powerhouses going through a downfall. Its inevitable after all. Spain will bounce back as their youth teams are dominating , Argentina puts lots of young players in Spain to get developed too . There are ups and downs. Germany after Nowitzki had a very average performances now they are powerhouse. If Greece plays its card better, good times shall come. Its natural to have ups and downs.
I partially agree with this ….but talent is there…. although there is a slight decrease in young children going to basketball clubs and academies the number is still high and from my knowledge all Child and youngsters Greek national teams have had some good results plus clubs in youth championships are always in good form…..all they need is to be trusted by big Greek club's to get some quality playing time to improve
Giannis can't play alone that's all the national team needs some chemistry like the older times that they had multiple stars on the national team
He is not greek
He is a nigerian with a greek passport
10:35 yooo, that's my hometown team Karditsa, we made it into BasketNews! 😀
Sadly, the crisis of Greek basketball is only just beginning. Players like Sloukas, Calathes, Papanikolaou, and Thanasis are going to retire in 2-3 years, and Giannis will probably retire from the National team around that time. We don't have the personnel to replace any of these players. No, not even Thanasis.
The root causes of this problem are many. Like you said in the vid, Greek players don't get a lot of playing time in Greek teams, Karditsa has 18 y.o..Neoklis Avdalas which some American scouts called "the Greek Doncic" (they're exaggerating, but he's great) and he only gets 11 mins of playing time our team that's near the bottom of the standings. Our small town team often runs 5 Americans instead of playing any Greeks, young or otherwise!
But the problems start at a younger age. For players in high school, it's often the parents that get to dictate how much their son will play instead of the coach, because they nag the coaches all the time, so kids that aren't as good get more playing time over better players who don't get to develop properly.
Also, our coaching style doesn't emphasize shooting that much, which in today's style of basketball is simply unacceptable. And dribbling is almost a cardinal sin here.
Lastly, and this is a rumor I've heard so take it with a grain of salt, player agents are only in it for a quick buck. So they don't care if the young player they're representing gets no playing time in a powerhouse team, as long as the player gets a fat contract and therefore the agent gets a big cut off that contract as well, which is all they care for.
Congratulations for the excellent study and presentation of the topic. I am 50 years old and I have been a basketball coach in Greek academies from 1993 to 2008, from the good times to the bad times and I experienced the gradual degradation which in my opinion in the basketball development part is due to the following reasons: 1) Reduction of financial assistance from the state, 2) footballization of basketball clubs, 3) chasing the result using zones in defense and many screens in offence, leaving the learning of the basics of basketball second, 4) display of basketball managers and children's trade of players, 5) weakening of local small basketball clubs due to the transfer of small players to the academies of big teams such as Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Aris, Paok, etc. 6) the consecutive failures of national and collective teams abroad 7) the overpromotion of football in the country, 8) the mentality of the new generation of easy result and the excessive use of new technology. Keep up the very good work you are doing. We always follow you with interest. Nikos – Athens.
The whole country suffers from the complete absence of any plan for the future. Basktetball as well..
Great analysis!! Cudos for your work!!!
The 2005-2009 National Team was the most talented of all time…. Diamantidis Spanoulis and Papaloukas together….. not even metntion the rest of the team…..if 1987 was the rise, the 2005-2009 was the peak…
The problem is that now the kids are like pokemon, they are to short without love for the sports
You wanna know what really happened?
Read this carefully.
Firstly , yes I do agree that kids are attached to screens and there is numerous negatives. Yes I do remember myself playing basketball all day at my backyard and that’s a rare phenomenon nowadays. In addition even kids that are registered to youth academies and participate to practices etc are really struggling to concentrate and face various difficulties.
The reasons above play a role but the most significant one is economy.
At the 90s and 20s you could make a fortune playing for even Division C team. I remember my teammates had 35,000€-40,000€ salary on a division C team plus housing and everything.
So there was professionalism even at low divisions and more and more kids were attracted by that fact that they can make it.
In todays era , salaries are 10,000-20,000€ for most Greek players playing Division 1.
With the rise of the Division 2 , Elite league , we might see a boost to those salaries the majority of Greek guys I would say 80% of them have contracts at this range.
We are talking about top division right? It’s unacceptable. Now if you make it to the top3-4 teams yes you might have an extremely good salary but that percentage is too low.
Also , studies and basketball are two things that are much different in Greece , you cannot combine them and be professional player at a very high level. So most kids and young guys are caught in the middle of that. Some don’t study at all and chase the dream , some try to combine them but they don’t have the progress that they thought.
So to conclude , what will save Greek basketball once and forever?
Make Greek league a closed league with contracts and everything. Whoever wants to be in top division must have a 1 million budget.
Secondly , set a salary standard for example the lowest yearly salary for a Division A should be 16,000€
Thirdly in order to promote young talents the closed league is great thing because there is no risk developing players. In addition teams that use for example players under 23 should get a bonus at the end of the year by the Greek national federation.
Last but not least we need better infrastructure and more modern gyms and facilities to work better on youth development
The main factor for the current situation the last 10 years are; finance and structural corruption, consequently followed by non-productive investments in team rosters aiming at foreign players reselling abroad, lack of development strategy resulting in unattended/unguided coaches in practically all youth teams unde 17y.o, suspiciousness, to say the least, for everything not derived from similar minded staff in every administrative level. Apart all these Greek basket ball retains the ability to return, but after 3-5 years in national level, Euroleague is another story it is show-biz and sooner or later it' ll become like a bad NBA copy, no matter if it's more competitive.
as a greek i can tell that all the three reasons you said are right. but the main problem in our country will always be the brain wash in really young ages. every father thinks he posseses the next galis,diamantidis or spanoulis and when the time comes for the youngsters to step up the pressure is unbearable. we destroy our prodiges in both basketball and football cause we cant provide them a safe built. If you see in other sports our athletes conquer the world look miltos tedoglou or lefteris petrounias or katerina stefanidi for example, those guys thankfully are not part of the toxic greek enviroment so they thrive !!! For all greeks reading my comment please dont be like our fathers when it goes to this !!!!
We didn't do well to the world basket because 6 of our important players were missing, and we were playing with substitutes, which is the reason we reached until round of 16 (which is also good for a substitute team). I am sure that in the future we are going to win a title, as we have the players for it and we deserve it, and if we had all our important players we would have reached the final,or even won USA.
It is true we don’t produce top players sloukas and papanikolaou are the last of the kind