Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the Greek international forward, said he is looking forward to a new challenge in his career after joining Aris B.C. in Thessaloniki. Speaking to the club's in-house channel ARIS BC about the coming season, he said he wants the team to produce something special enough to make everyone proud.
He said he generally dislikes the word ceiling, because he believes it puts limits on a person. He said he hopes the team will show something so special that it makes everyone proud, and that every time fans leave the stadium they feel proud to support the club.
His role on the team
Antetokounmpo said playing time is not what matters to him, only what the team needs. He said he understood that this is simply who he is: the player who comes to help the group achieve what it needs to achieve, whether he plays a lot or only a little.
He pointed to energy, atmosphere, quality and demands as the things he focuses on. He said he demands that the team give everything, dive for loose balls and play at a high level, adding that it helps that there is something special about Thessaloniki and about the Aris fan base.
The Antetokounmpo family
Asked about the Antetokounmpo family, he said they are very proud of him and his brothers, but that the most important thing is that wherever they go, they win. He said he does not know how they manage it, but that it happens wherever they go.
Thanasis is the older brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA star who has spent his career with the Milwaukee Bucks. Both grew up in Greece before building basketball careers that have taken them across Europe and the United States. Aris B.C. is one of Greece's oldest basketball clubs, based in Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city.
Reception at the Panionios game
Antetokounmpo also spoke about the welcome the team received at its game against Panionios. He said that when he and his family arrived and saw the match and the reception given to them and to Giannis, it made everyone realize how much the fan base deserves a team built not only on high-quality, high-level players but on athletes who fight like, in his words, commandos.
On his message to Aris supporters, he said that people usually talk about keeping the ball low and having patience, but that what he really wants is for fans to leave the arena happy, knowing the team gave everything on the court. He said the most important thing is that they are starting a journey, one that they will look back on in years to come and remember as a time worth having lived through.
