By Aris Barkas barkas@eurohoops.net
Currently serving as the president of the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia, Pero Antic visited Eurohoops Dome snatching the opportunity to work with youngsters at the state-of-the-art facilities. In addition, he talked to Eurohoops about Nikola Jokic, former teams, and more.
“He plays with heart. He doesn’t care about money,” he commented on his close friend, Jokic, the franchise player of the Denver Nuggets and reigning back-to-back season MVP of the NBA.
“If you have talent and work hard, the money will come. He loves and enjoys the game. Luka Doncic the same,” he added to his advice for young European upstarts looking to break out to the NBA, “So, those are pure examples of how the kids should approach the game.”
“Ten out of ten,” Antic rated the Joker, “What can I say? MVP. I think he’s playing with 50%. If he puts 100%, who can imagine what could happen.”
Antic, 40, moved to Fenerbahce Beko and Olympiacos praising head coaches Dimitris Itoudis and Giorgos Bartzokas to players such as Nick Calathes and Sasha Vezenkov. Similar to the Turkish and Greek giants, another former team from his playing days, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet is also seeking an extended run in the 2022-23 edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
“I hope for Fener, Olympiacos, Red Star my teams go all the way,” he expressed his wish for the remainder of the season.
Wrapping up the interview with Eurohoops, he recalled shared experiences with his former Fener teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic, currently playing for the Atlanta Hawks, his own NBA home from 2013 to 2015.
Pero Antic on Eurohoops TV
Photo Credit: Antic Pero Official Instagram