Stories with a Legend! (Part 4)
Eleven years, 103 team mates. The huge Vassilis Spanoulis is "presented" on olympiacosbc.gr through the eyes of all his Olympiacos' team mates.
Untold stories, good luck rituals, character elements and many moments that stayed with them from the career of the insurmountable gentleman with number 7 on his back… part 4.
SHAQUIELLE MCKISSIC (2019-): «What was unexpected, is how competitive Spanoulis was. In every practice, he would challenge you to be the best player you can be. He would always demand perfection and pride from every player on the floor. From the top to the last one. It's going to be weird without him, without him being there. A part of my heart just broke when I heard the news, because he wasn't seriously injured or anything like that, he retired absolutely healthy. If you challenged him at practice, the whole session would turn into a duel between him and you, a race to see who would win. We are definitely going to miss him! Also, he was really superstitious, many of them in the locker room. If you attempted getting off the bus before him, he would maybe hit you! Just saying…"
WILL CHERRY (2018-2020): «Vassilis is the greatest player in Europe in terms of taking the crucial shots and making them. There's no one else like him in that part. I would be watching him on TV making all these great shots and then I got to be his team mate. I understood why he got to be that great, but I also realized he's a great person too».
ALEKSEJ POKUSEVSKI (2018-2021): «I got to live next to Vassilis for almost three years on a daily basis. I will never forget that in every practice, in every game, he kept the same routine, stretching, exercising; he would be doing everything the same way, each time at 100%. He would be so focused that I thought there's no way he does exactly the same things next time. And he would. I had started believing after a certain point, that he wasn't human, but rather a robot. Whoever asks, I tell them how much influence he has had on me when I was starting out. He's a role model for me».
YOTAM HALPERIN (2010-2011): «Vassilis came to the team during my third season with Olympiacos. I was so excited because I had been eager to get to know him both as a person and a player. There was never one day that I didn't witness Vassilis giving his best. He had been an example for me, on a daily basis. There had been times he pushed me to excellence. I had the honor of playing with him for a whole season. I want to thank him for that season and for everything he has done for European basketball».
GIORGOS BOGRIS (2017-2019): «The greatness of Vassilis Spanoulis sums up to the feeling that even if your are losing big, no matter how many minutes are left in the game, you feel certain that everything will be Ok at the end. That was what Vassilis was making for us, a confidence for the victory. That confidence was obvious on his team mates, on the coach, on every fan. It was anything but random. Everything would be starting from his daily routine, each practice, each recovery, each time he would be talking to us on the phone. He would be taking our hand and pull us up, to becoming better, to be giving something more, to understanding that only as winners we would be finding meaning in our efforts. I had reached a point to want to impress Vassilis at practice instead of trying to impress the coach (laughing). Also, he is someone that would never leave anything to chance… I remember whenever we would be sharing a room, and because I snore, he would be calling me from the day before to have with me nasal sprays and breathing adhesive strips so I wouldn't be messing with his sleep (laughing again). However, apart from the fun part, all his competitiveness, his mentality and his work ethic, the most important thing for me has been his character. He's a model of a man, with values and respect for everyone. He would be saying that we might not be same, but we were all equal. He would always be the one to step forward. These are the elements that we need to appreciate the most about him, even more than his playing skills. I'm lucky to have played beside him, but even luckier to be his friend. So, thank you Vassilis for everything, the best is yet to come. Enjoy your magical family».
SHAWN JAMES (2015-2016): «I didn't have the chance to have much time with him, but even during the few months I did, I realized a lot. He's the GOAT and there will be a special chapter in history for his accomplishments».
DARIUS JOHNSON-ODOM (2015-2016): «I thought that by joining Olympiacos, I would be a problem for him since we were playing the same position. I was wrong. I had played with the Lakers, next to Kobe Bryant and indeed, Spanoulis is the closest to what I had witnessed in Kobe's mentality. I had heard a lot of stories about him and when I joined Olympiacos and got to see what they were talking about, I was really impressed. He was always physically and mentally ready for every battle. In every practice, the energy around him would force you to be better. He's a true Legend».
DIMITRIS KATSIVELIS (2010-2015): «I would like to congratulate Vassilis on everything he has accomplished in his huge career. Vassilis is no doubt one of greatest competitors in the history of the sport. I will never forget the final in London in 2013, the way he came in to play the second half. His mental strength and his focus were of the next level. He was born to play the big games, he never backed down and he craved responsibility. This attitude combined to an amazing work ethic and his love for what he was doing made him to what he is, a legend of the sport».
AXEL TOUPANE (2018-2019): «Vassilis is a Legend! I wish him the best. I absolutely have tremendous respect for him. He had been one of a kind both as a rival and a team mate and I wish him from the bottom of my heart that he achieves whatever he aims at in the new chapter of his career, whatever that may be».
HAKIM WARRICK (2016): «I will never forget in my life the 2016 finals against Panathinaikos. I would say that this series should be called the Spanoulis' series; it had his signature from the first to the last game. I had watched him making big shots in lots of YouTube videos, but I got to see them live in that series. Shooting consecutive shots and making them. He's one of the very few players I know that so stubbornly refuse to lose».
*In parenthesis, the year they had been team mates with Olympiacos.