Kostas talks about his life story (Part I)
In our renewed site - which is now incorporated within WeAreOlympiacos - Kostas Sloukas breaks ground with an autobiographical unfiltered interview of 8,000 words! And since he talks about everything, it's going to be a two part interview…
He was born with the champion gene!
On January 15, 1990, Giannis and Matoula Sloukas welcomed their first child, Kostas, into the world, while three years later (January 21, 1993), their second one, Anastasia. Both inherited the champions' gene from their dad…
"I grew up in a regular family. My father had been a police officer and my mom a sales person of women's clothing. I can't say I had a difficult childhood. On the contrary. My parents tried to give me and my sister the most they could. We were a middle class family, but my dad was also an athlete. He used to play football at a young age and he then got into weight lifting, becoming a national champion. So he was the one to urge me get into sports, and he did the same with my sister".
Strangely enough, he had a non existent relationship to weight lifting. "I never got to try it. I hadn't wanted to, but neither did my father, because it's a very difficult sport that causes a lot of health issues. He mostly encouraged me to turn to football and basketball. I think that I kind of influenced my sister a little more into taking up basketball".
The first round … deity he 'flirted' with was black and white. "I originally got into football, mainly due to my father's desire. I used to play as a left middle-fielder. There was a time I would be doing both, basketball and football; however, both for financial reasons, as well as for saving time, my parents asked me to pick one sport. I chose basketball because I liked it better. I was also quite influenced by my cousin who was also playing basketball. I'm talking about Giannis Mitsakis. I began with a team affiliated to Sunday schools, it was called AEN, then I joined Megas Alexandros and then Mandoulides. The reason I changed so many teams at such a young age has to do with moving and the distances were hard to cover. Also, Megas Alexandros was a bigger club, better organized".
Kostas Sloukas stood out early on in sports, but also at school. At some point though, the good student and the good athlete were to face off… "I was an overall good student. I used to study a lot up until a certain age. Until up the end of 9th grade I was an A- student. But then, basketball won me over. I had also earned the right to choose any University department I liked without taking an exam thanks to the National team, so I focused on my practices. I used to have double practices and the truth is my studies were kind of left behind".
The jump start point for a young athlete to start dreaming big is usually someone else's success. That's what happened in the case of Olympiacos guard. "I remember David Rivers and the European trophy Olympiacos won in 1997. I also remember the National team, that hadn't won something, but was in every big competition. And of course I remember 2005, when the National team won the European Championship. I had gone to the White Tower of Thessalonki (i.e. meeting point in the city for fans for all major sposts achievements) to celebrate". His real motive though, to dedicate his focus on basketball and succeed, had been his personal 'wants'. "The more I got involved with basketball, I would realize that it was what I really liked and loved. I used to be kind of chubby when I was young, I was a little overweight, and that's why my dad would push me to practice more. To be exact, he would wake me up at seven in the morning to go running together. That I started doing at the age of 14. My father had always been straight with me and would be telling me that I was heavy and needed to gain speed. I understood he was right and that he was telling me all that to help me, despite being very blunt about it, so I took up running. Through that process, I would realize that I would be eventually getting better, so I took a liking in it".
Success, mainly through the junior National teams, 'struck' his door early on, however, despite his huge visibility, his feet stayed firmly on the ground. "I had some talent, it also happened that the teams I would be playing for were such that would allow me to stand out. Then the successes with the National teams came, but I never felt some kind of pressure from all of that. On the contrary, I loved the fact that the teams I would be playing for were at the forefront. My father instilled me with a certain philosophy: That I should be working, because someone else, somewhere else, would be working more than I did, so I had to be winning each day and become better every day. He would also stress that if I were patient, results were to follow through hard work. Of course luck is needed too, I'm talking about not suffering injuries etc., however, the most important thing is to work right. It's important to have a program when training".
At Olympiacos with a Presidential … decree!
Success was not the only thing to his door at an early stage. One of the biggest clubs in Europe did the same in 2008.
"When I joined Olympiacos, I was 17 going 18 years old. I came to Piraeus alone. The Presidents made it clear that they really wanted me here. Truth is, I was hesitant at first about coming or not, because on one hand, I definitely wanted to join Olympiacos, but I would look at the fact that I was an athlete competing in the C' category at the time, joining a team that was aspiring to be a Euroleague Champion. I knew I would not have a role and I was thinking that I wouldn't even be getting to practice with the team. Nevertheless, the Presidents showed just how much they wanted me and I eventually got signed. Indeed, my two first seasons here had been very difficult, because practically, I wouldn't even be practicing. I was with a championing team, but I was a spectator. I didn't get to participate, just barely practicing".
That period would also be the biggest challenge in his career, since, according to how he explains: "That had been a very difficult part, not only because I was in the margins… When you are 18 years old, have left your home and you have money, mind can wander a little. And it kind of did in my case… For about three or four months, my thinking would be a little off, but I eventually recovered, because I really knew what it was I wanted to do: I wanted to play basketball. I would be practicing at the time, but the 18 year old me would be thinking… Should I be going out? Should I meet with friends for a cup of coffee? I would also be recognizable enough thanks to success with the junior National teams… However, at some point I told myself:"You are not practicing with the big team, why don't you take advantage of the time and improve your body?" So, I started a personal program, without the team knowing about it. I would be running outdoors, I would be going to a private gym. I tried to work on my own. The reasons were the ones I explained before. I got the kick start from Thodoris Papaloukas. He came in the locker room one day and told me I had gained weight. I told him I hadn't. He insisted and then had me get on the scales and I saw that I had indeed gained 3 or 4 kilos. That made me feel bad and got me taking care of my nutrition even more. I think that I started taking better care of my body at that point and getting better as a player, not only competition wise, but also from an athletic point of view".
For the 2008 Kostas Sloukas, Thodoris Papaloukas was not just an athlete he had immeasurable admiration for. He had been a kind of mentor… "Thodoris was the one who believed in me and would help me. He had seen something in me, despite being a bit overweight. We had also been room mates during pre-season camp. I would be feeling very strange at the time. I would be sharing the room with a player, that 2 or 3 months back, I, as a C' category player, would be seeing on TV playing with the National team. With a player that had won everything and had won Euroleague MVP honors, he had so many accolades in his career, and I would be sleeping in a bed next to him. I would be so nervous that I wouldn't be able to sleep at all at times! But it's only true that Teo helped me a lot and had faith in me. We are still in touch and talk on a frequent basis".
It wasn't only Teo Papaloukas that he would be looking up in awe… "During my initial time with Olympiacos, I had been greatly impressed by the players that I had only watched on TV up to that time. All of them were now in front of me and it was something of a fairytale. I was also impressed by the high level of organization of the team, practices were also of very high quality and very competitive. I also remember that I would be struggling at first to make it through the whole practice session. Even the smallest thing, that we would be going for a fifteen day pre-season camp would be making a huge impression on me. The whole experience would be a great shock to me. I'm going to say it again; from playing for the third national category I became a member of a Euroleague team that was going to challenge the title… We had Childress; we had players of really huge caliber".
The first Final Four of his career (Paris: season 2009-10) found him in civvies, in the end of the bench. Logic says that anyone else in his shoes would be dreaming for the next season to find him at the same level, but on the court. But not him though… "I believed at the time that that wasn't the stepping stone… I mean I wasn't under the illusion that suddenly something would happen that would have me playing for Olympiacos in a Final Four. I had realized that I have left stepping stones behind me not climbed. During those two years, I would be trying to do extra work by myself and gain something through it. If I weren't to make basketball gains, because the truth is I didn't have any games and there were other players at my age that would be playing for other teams and were ahead of me competition wise, then I would try to improve my body, my speed… Things that would definitely benefit me later, when I would be called to play. I knew that the coach wasn't going to just put me in and play for Olympiacos, that would be extremely hard to happen".
The stepping stone he was looking for came in 2010 and it was Aris of Thessaloniki. "The fact that they allowed me to go for one season to Aris on loan was really helpful, because the coach did not include me in his plans at the time anyway. And it was only logical, because the team had a huge budget that season and there were many good players on the roster. There was no room for me. There was Papaloukas, Spanoulis, Teodosic, Gordon… So, I went to Aris, where I also did not have an easy time. Sharon Drucker had been the coach at the time. I wasn't really playing at first, then I got to have forty minute games, but then the coach changed and Slobodan Subotic came in and then I again wasn't playing! I finally got to win him over with each passing day and I got to have forty minute games once again. We have had a really good team at the time. We have had P.J. Tucker, Bobbie Brown, Dunston, Charalampidis, Chatzivrettas, Tapoutos… We have had a very good team. We finished the league at the fourth place. I have had a very good season on a personal level and had been voted as the best young player of the league".
When the universe conspires…
With the title of best young player and the ambition that the time had come for him to claim his spot in the 'reds' roster, he returned to Piraeus in the summer of 2011.
"The truth is the administration had a special appreciation for me and it was a mutual feeling. The Presidents believed in my talent. Also, it was the last season in my contract, Olympiacos was trying to create a Greek core and for me, well I had passed the Aris level. So, what I was supposed to do? Stayed there? I thought that the best choice would be to come back and give it a shot, since I had a steady footing, I would be fighting for a spot in the final cut and the team".
It took a lot of fighting, and a little help from luck (or bad luck for others) to be given a chance… "It's well known that I hadn't been among coach Ivkovic' choices. I don't know what it is he didn't like. But generally, I hadn't been included in his plans. I had been voted best young player of the league in 2010. So, I had come with the ambition to be able to do something… The coach would be talking to each one player on a personal level. I was the last one he came to talk to and he told me: "I don't have minutes for you". I appreciated that, because I like an honest talk. I replied that he would get to do what he felt like doing, but the only thing I would be asking would be that I wasn't taken out from practices half-time through. And that was what happened, I would be finishing the whole practice session. That had been our conversation that September. Three months passed by that I didn't get to play at all, only in some really easy games, until it was December, if my memory serves me well. We were about to go to France and I would be classically would not make the roster. However, on the eve of our departure, Spanoulis got hurt and if I'm not mistaken, Katsivelis had also been out, so I made the final 12. Just like I said before, all that time I would be practicing by myself also, because I knew that something would be happening that would be giving me the chance to show my worth. So, I had been really ready and very well trained at the time. During that time against Nancy, Mantzaris suffered a torn muscle, the same happened with Lucas (Gordon) and if I'm not mistaken Pelekanos received an elbow and was out. I got on the floor, probably because there was also no other options. I was good and we won. Then there was a two months time when I would be playing very well and was on the rotation because we had too many injuries, but when they started coming back and they added Acie Law, I gradually began been excluded from the rotation. Nevertheless, I had proved I could keep my ground, without having done anything spectacular and the Presidents renewed my contract for another three years, on their own initiative. We won the Euroleague and the Championship at the end and we were all happy".
For history reasons, we need to mention that the breakthrough game for Kostas Sloukas had been Nancy - Olympiacos 74-79, when he got to play 18:20'', scored 8 points (2/2 free throws, 3/4 2p., 0/2 3p.), got one rebound, dished one assist and blocked one ball.
The 2012 title in Istanbul had been a real team feat. The 'kiddies' turned the game around, the veterans sealed the game and Kostas Sloukas experienced absolute vindication. "CSKA was ahead by 19 points in the final and the coach, I don't know why, maybe to turn the game into 'rodeo', threw us on the floor. We said, let's go play the next twelve minutes and whatever it is to be, will be. The game was already lost in theory, we were trailing by 19 against a far superior team. In my mind though, nothing had been lost. We played one play at a time. We decided to play freely and let the dice roll. And with three back to back threes the game turned around and came where it should have been, at 4-5 points. We had done our job up to that point and then Spanoulis and Printezis came in and being more experienced and level headed finished the game".
No one had in mind something like that could happen when the season was beginning. We were all talking about taking one step at a time. But it proved that the more you eat, the hungrier you get… We made the TOP-8, qualified for the Final Four and from there on, I think it had been a plus that we were the outsiders. No one was expecting us there and we were already successful. But we knew our potential! I felt immense gratification, great joy, it was something that I was thinking I might not get to experience again! It's the greatest European title you can win at a Club competition level and I did that really early in my career, just like many of my team mates. There are so many great players and icons of Greek basketball that did not have the chance to experience it. I had already celebrated a Euroleague title at 21. It was unbelievable! It wasn't easy to take it in. Even now, when I think about what we have experienced, I get moved. These moments, especially with a Greek team, are indescribable. It's unique to watch people in the streets celebrating; the return from Istanbul is something I'm never going to forget. It's something that touches you to your core and I don't think that anyone has the words to describe it".
However though, even during these moments of absolute glory, he remained grounded. "I'm looking at the moment. I'm looking at personal wins. What was that I had said? That I had wanted to be a member of that team. I was a member of that team. I had later made a goal to be an active member of that team. I was an active member of that team. That's what I usually do. I don't look far ahead. I set small goals that I can achieve. I'm not flying in the skies, thinking I'm going to be the best player in Europe and I will be playing for a final four all of a sudden. I knew when I was 18 that I wouldn't just find myself on a final four court the way I was. That's what I think has carried me all along. For certainly though, it was a personal vindication and extra joy because the season started and I had been off the roster and then the final four came and I was among the quintet that turned the game around. In the locker rooms and on the floor, each one has their own role, the foreigners knew theirs, we had a solid group, not heavy on talent, but one that would fight and was tough to bring down".
Dusan Ivkovic left Piraeus and Giorgos Bartzokas succeeded him and despite winning the second Euroleague title in a row, Kostas Sloukas did not feel he had completely found his role in the team. "For me, the change of the coach did not practically change something for me. Everyone would see me as the second guard behind Vassilis (Spanoulis), that I could not play the point. I though that to be a mistake and I think that I have proved by now that I am a point guard. So, since, they would not think of me as a point guard and given that Vassilis was the best player in Europe, I would not be getting many minutes. I would be getting 10 to 15 minutes max. So, during those 15 minutes I would be trying to give the best I had for the team and prove my worth. It was a very difficult time. Nevertheless, I would be trying to find my role any way I could, and mainly I would be trying to not let any opportunity slip by. I continued extra practicing, I continued running on my own… That season, Mantzaris suffered a serious injury, the team brought in Perkins to replace him, however, he did not fit in with coach Bartzokas' plan and he used me to play the point. We played together with Vassilis and won the title in London. Law had been with me running the point and Spanoulis moved up to shooting guard".
The Back2Back winning of the Euroleague had been a herculean task, but also another personal vindication for Kostas Sloukas. "It was something that almost no one had done! Only Maccabi… We had been in great shape at the time, we had won CSKA, that had been the favorite once again and we had beat them by … 20. So there was confidence and faith in our abilities. We were thinking that since we had done it the year before, why not do it this year as well? There was no anxiety because we knew that had once again made the final four and the final. The game was on, just like it had begun in Istanbul, when we were trailing by many in the first quarter, so the team was with their backs against the wall and had to once again fight and play with everything it got left. And we did it in the next thirty minutes and scored 100 points and beat Real Madrid by 10, a Real Madrid that was in really good place at the time".
For yet another season, the baton was passed in the Olympiacos' bench. Giorgos Bartzokas left in the beginning of the 2013-14 season and Giannis Sfairopoulos took over. "I have deep appreciation for Sfairopoulos, both as a coach and as a person. He took a team that was already structured. Mantzaris had been the main point guard, Vassilis (Spanoulis) had been playing the '2', I was as usual playing the '2' behind Spanoulis, again ten to 15 minutes. But I felt and knew that I deserved a lot more. It didn't matter if I had been ahead of Vassilis in the junior National teams. What mattered is that the team had elements that fit better with Spanoulis. It's not a matter of who's better or worse. At that time, coaches thought that Vangelis' (Mantzaris) skill-set were a better fit to that of Vassilis, so he was getting to play next to Vassilis. I was not OK with that, but because I always keep my feet to the ground and I understand basketball, I knew that Vassilis was a better match to Vangelis. Despite believing that if I were to play, I would also be able to bring results, just like it happened in London".
Saying "goodbye" despite the Presidents huge effort
The playing plan and his limited time were what finally drove him out of the door…
"It was only my playing time that I had in my mind. I never thought about money. I actually never had in mind about leaving Greece, but the way things turned out… We went to the final four that year, got the championship, I had been pretty good, I made the League's best starting five and at the end of the season I'm having a talk with the coach and he's very sincere with me, which I really appreciate, that he doesn't think of me as a point guard, at least the way he thought a point guard should be. He told me: "You have the role I believe you can have". But I wasn't happy with that. I was looking for a step forward. I wanted to do something else, climb the step I always aim to climb. And what was that at the time? I had never thought about leaving up to then, there was no other team for me, only Olympiacos… I sat to think about it for many nights and I decided I had to leave because I thought I deserved much more than my role had been with the team".
A lot were said and written during the summer of 2015. That's why he wants to clarify what happened. "People don't know the truth. What had happened? I was a free agent that summer, my contract had expired. I had wanted to extend it during the season, but the team's tactic was to avoid early renewals. It's not a matter if it was right or wrong, because there are times when players renew and it proves to be a mistake. So, the end of the season came and I was a free agent. I could sign anywhere I wanted to, I had no commitment whatsoever. Nevertheless, I hadn't done anything behind Olympiacos' back the way some people said. I'm talking with the administration that had indeed wanted me to stay; however, I'm always putting the financial aspect in second place. I'm talking with the coach, who wants me on the team, but in the role that had been established for me, which I felt did not cover me. I wanted to play as a point guard. I mean that I talked both with the administration and the coach. I wasn't happy that I wasn't going to play as a point guard. Then, the best coach in Europe according to my opinion, calls me and says: "I know you are a free agent, I want to talk with you'. I never had any other contact with Fenerbahce then, only the call from Zeljko Obradovic. So, he told me in that call that he was in Athens and wanted to meet up and talk. What's more normal than a player talking with a coach that wants him? I had a twenty minute meeting with him, we talked five minutes about the team and the other fifteen he would be telling me about Greece, Chalkididki, Mykonos and such. In these five minutes though, he told me two things: 'You are the point guard I want and you are going to be playing'. We didn't even get to talk about money. I replied: "Here's my home, my family, I've been with Olympiacos for seven years, I have bonded with the team, I have celebrated titles… I'm at home and I'm in a really good place. What I want to know is, if I leave all that behind, will I be playing? And he said, yes, you will be playing. From there on, I had nothing more to hear… I did not agree there, I just knew inside that this was going to be my next step".
Another appointment followed. "I went to tell the Presidents about my decision, because they deserved an honest conversation with me. And I have to say that at the end, the Presidents would be offering me an incredible amount of money to keep me. That proves how much they believed in me and how much they wanted to keep me. It was an emotionally strained meeting because the Presidents had helped me a lot with my career. However, I told them in that meeting that no matter how much money they were going to offer, I was not going to sign because I was looking for motivation. Money was not the one for me. I'm motivated by potential… So I'm telling them that I'm going to Fenerbahce".
Fener, the return to the SEF and the vindication
Each beginning is hard and in some weird way, this had always been the case with his career, since his first year in Turkey was not only accompanied by an injury but also from doubting and challenge.
"The first year outside Greece had been very difficult. For seven years with Olympiacos, everything was on automatic pilot… For instance, the car would be driving itself to the SEF and the routine was predetermined. And then, in only a few months, I would be changing coach, team mates, locker rooms, gym, country, city, demands, everything… All the more, I would be playing as a foreigner there. There's constant criticism. Also, I suffered quite a lot of injuries. I was being doubt a lot, especially in the beginning, but there was also trust from the coach and my team mates. We made the Euroleague final in the first season, lost to CSKA in the overtime, won the Turkish League, won the Turkish Cup and had a successful season. On a personal level, I had a very mediocre season with too many injuries". Nevertheless, it never crossed his mind returning to … safety. "As a rule, the decisions I make, I never regret them, because I make them after really thinking them out. To be precise, I believe there is no one correct choice. There is a choice you make with your mind, when you put all the date in front of you, you decide and then you give 100% and let it play out. There are no second thoughts. So it never crossed my mind returning to a familiar environment. I said that's what I chose and I'll roll with it".
One of his most difficult moments as a member of the Turkish team had been his return to the SEF. "It was really hard. For me, Olympiacos had been my home for seven years, we had brought success for the club. I was a Greek player that had fought for the team colors, had loved the team, was feeling for the team, and would not be sleeping at night when we would be losing… It really got to me when coming back and although I had been team mates with Pero (Antic) in Fenerbahce as well, he received applause and heard his name sang, while although having spent seven years with the team and being Greek, I got booed. I need to make clear that I have nothing against Antic. On the contrary, for two years he played here, he gave his soul for Olympiacos. But I was hurt. I'm not judging the fans; they hadn't known what had happened and what my thoughts had been. Fans have their own opinions and that's fine. I listen to criticism, but it doesn’t affect me. What I care about are people that are close to me. My family and the people I have worked with, I care about what they think of me. That's the main thing. But it still hurt. I think the fans were influenced. That time, the atmosphere was much more explosive than it should have been. It might be though that being among the fans' favorites, they got upset I left".
In Fenerbahce, Kostas Sloukas collaborated with Zeljko Obradovic, for who he has a deep appreciation: "Zeljko Obradovic was the only one to believe that much in me and my abilities. I had never before been a coach's favorite. Maybe in elementary school or up ninth grade? I can't say that our relationship outside the court was more than formal. We had a very good relationship though, but he was my coach and we had to have it balanced out. He was the coach and I was the player. I gained so much from working together".
In his first season with Fenerbahce he approached the fountain, but was not able to quench his thirst. In his second one though, he tasted the sweet taste of success, winning the 3rd Euroleague title of his career. "The second season was a little bit better. I again went through an injury, so I hadn't been ready at the end of the season. I barely made the playoffs and the final four. I hadn't been ready. But the team succeeded in its main goal, which had been winning the Euroleague title. I will also not forget that something similar happened that season with Olympiacos. We got in shape at the right moment in the playoffs against Panathinaikos, sweeping them with three victories, although with a home court disadvantage. If I'm not mistaken, we won 20 games in a row after that and won the Euroleague, but also the Turkish Championship. The joy was immense, as well as gratification, because Turkey had never experienced something like that before. No Turkish team had every won the Euroleague before. And it's certainly amazing to experience reward for the effort you have put during the whole season. For me, it was my third Euroleague title. It's only natural that I really enjoyed it and was moved by it, however, the Euroleague title won with Olympiacos was still more special. Because it was my home, my country, my team. It's a different feeling to win with a Greek team.
Read the first part of the Kostas Sloukas' interview
Sloukas: «I was imagining us coming out in a packed SEF» (Part II)