By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Confirming reports and recent deductions, Daniel Theis is a new player at AS Monaco.
The 32-year-old German center signed a contract until the end of the 2025-26 season, La Roca Team announced on Monday.
“Monaco has built something big in recent years by reaching the Final Four and currently ranking among the top four in the EuroLeague standings,” Theis began an interview published on the official portal of Monaco by explaining his decision to join the back-to-back Betclic Elite champions over other offers, “I wanted to be part of this adventure, to win, to have a chance to conquer EuroLeague, to be competitive.”
“Coach Spanoulis played a big role in my decision,” he referred to head coach Vassilis Spanoulis, “We connected pretty quickly. He called me. We talked about what I can bring and he liked the way I compete to win.”
Theis is returning to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague after eight years and 455 appearances in the NBA.
“For most of the time, I had a good experience with successful runs. I went to the Finals with the Boston Celtics. I played in the Eastern Conference Finals several times. I played with great players. I met a lot of friends,” he mentioned, “It remains a great chapter in my professional career.”
Before moving his talents to the NBA, the native of Salzgitter logged 54 appearances in Europe’s premier club continental competition, as a member of Brose Bamberg and working under assistant coach Ilias Kantzouris, a current member of the staff of Spanoulis.
“In the NBA you play more than 80 games and if you lose one or two, it is easy to catch up and recover. In the EuroLeague, even with 34 games, every loss counts,” he talked about some differences between the two leagues, “The NBA is probably faster and more athletic, but I think the EuroLeague emphasizes more on tactics. I think because of the rules, you can also play more physical defense.”
Photo Credit: FIBA