By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
He came to Olympiacos at the start of 2012, a move that initially wasn’t on his mind, or the team’s plans. Then coach Dusan Ivkovic had chosen Rasic, who was playing for Lietuvos Rytas, there was a deal with the Lithuanian club, but suddenly Acie Law came to Greece.
That transfer proved to be one of the most important ever made in the history of Olympiacos. Just 18 months later the Reds had won Euroleague twice and also the Greek championship title of 2012.
In every big game of this run, Law was a key player. He exploded in London’s Final Four and he did the damage to Panathinaikos during the 2012 Greek league finals. Even in the Euroleague final of 2012 against CSKA, when he was ready to play despite his semifinal injury, his example was an inspiration for the rest of the team and one more reason for the Reds to stay together and fight until the end.
Before that, in the Spring of 2012 in the first quarterfinal game against Siena, Law was the man who led Olympiacos to the break, when Spanoulis and Dorsey had foul troubles.
Olympiacos management understood who was the player and the personality they had in their roster and during the summer of 2013 they signed him with a two seasons deal. However, usually nothing goes as planned in real life. Law was injured once more and this time he missed the most crucial part of the season. He is still rehabilitating and just days ago he was released by Olympiacos.
Acie Law, or Captain Clutch, as he was named since his college days in the States, because he was always there when the ball was heavy – you can even ask Kevin Durant about that – speaks to Eurohoops about a unique chapter of his career, the days of Olympiacos.
The titles, the historic moments, the band of friends in which he was a member and no one wanted to see it break up. He speaks about the hardships, his love for the team, his bitterness about the way he was treated and his future. He spoke to us via Skype, while holding on his hands his son. It was a trip down the memory lane in his 2.5 years in Greece. So let’s get started.
How did he end up in Olympiacos?
“I paid and I came”!
“It was a quick deal. I didn’t enjoy life in Serbia. I didn’t want to return to Partizan after the holiday break and I said to my agent that I wanted to remain in the States. He told me that Olympiacos was interested on me and that was the best news I could get. I wanted to play in a high level team. I didn’t though about it much. I wanted the name and the prestige of Olympiacos.
Partizan didn’t want to let me go and they asked us to pay the buy out in my contract. I paid 55.000 US dollars in order to be released and I signed to Olympiacos for 30.000 US dollars per month. I was new in Europe, I asked around about the club and Athens, I heard only good things and that’s how I came”!
How did he adapt to the team?
“Coach Ivkovic tried to put me in the team without any rush. Joey Dorsey was also a new face, so we work in a new system with new players during the season. That was hard, but the important thing was the we enjoyed it very much. We created a good chemistry and the right moment we were ready for every challenge, despite our ups and downs. Ivkovic always challenged me. In the first game of the play offs, he said to me that McCalebb was the best and it would be very hard for me to stop him. Dorsey and Vasilis were in foul trouble. Still we had great finishes, we played really smart and we got the break. That was the moment we understood that we can do many good things in the near future”.
Final For 2012. Istanbul…
“We had a complete semifinal game, we stopped Navarro and we deserved to win. I was hurt. I couldn’t step on my foot, I was using crutches. I wasn’t supposed to play in the final, but I just couldn’t be left out. I explained to the coach and to the doctors that I had to get into uniform and be active for the team. I had never won a title until then. I couldn’t just pass this opportunity. I told them that I wanted to give it a try. I wanted to be there. To support my team. Do you know how I lost the championship title in high school? We missed a free throw and one of our opponents made a half court shot at the buzzer! I couldn’t miss that game”.
Even today nobody can explain to me with basketball terms what happened against CSKA. Can you?
“It was destiny! They had incredible talent. Krstic, Teodosic, Kirilenko, Shved and many more. Our guys like Papanikolaou, Hines, Sloukas and Matzaris did a great job. We have lost to them by 30 a while ago. We we down by 19, but we were calm and we had faith. I was like watching a sports movie. We found the way and we were closing the gap point by point. We put pressure on them. Some can react at pressure, some others can’t”.
What were your feelings on the bench during the free throws of Siskauskas and the buzzer beat of Printezis?
“I just felt that it was about to happen. We trusted Billy in the last possession and he created the shot for Printezis. When Siskauskas missed the second shot, I felt that it was meant to be. I was sitting next to Keselj on the bench. Marko said that he would miss one shot, we both knew he was a high percentage shooter and he finally missed them both!
When he made his great by his own style shot Giorgos, I just went crazy! I remember myself running around left and right, limping! We had overcome every adversity! Every possible obstacle! CSKA was the last one”.
Finals 2012
After Istanbul, Olympiacos had to faced Panathinaikos in the Greek league finals. That proved to be the only Greek league title the Reds have won all those years.
“We felt that we were better. They got experience and they were the team that always found the way to survive, but they couldn’t keep up with us. We always heard from our coaches that we had to run. In the crucial juncture of Game 5 we did what we had to do in order to win the title”.
When Panathinaikos got into striking distance, Law answered with two straight shots and 5 points in total. It was his way to draw a line.
“I like to play under pressure. I am always aggressive when the game is on the line. The bigger the challenge, the more I feel eager. Since high school I understood that I like to have the ball on my hands in crunch time”.
So how he decided since an early age to change his shooting hand and become a lefty?
“I had broken my hand. I started to use my left hand during my rehabilitation. Then it just happened. I can’t remember my self shooting with my right hand (laughs). I still eat using my right hand and I also do many other things with it. I also like to drive with my right hand. I feel comfortable using both”.
The decision to stay
It was a dream season. Acie was a free agent during the summer of 2012, there were rumors about Dallas watching him and the NBA was ready to call him back. He decided to stay in Greece.
“My decision to stay was a result of many factors. I felt really well in Olympiacos. I had found again my passion for the game. I wanted to have an important role and decide the outcome of big games and championships. I wanted to stay”.
But Duda Ivkovic was already past…
“What impressed me the most on this man? I would say that he is that hard of a man. He was quite loose. If you say the photo after the made shot by Printezis, you can understand everything about Ivkovic. Every one went crazy and he was there, calm, without any expression on his face! That photo shows exactly who he is and how he is coaching. He was always encouraging us”.
The Odyssey of back to back
Olympiacos hired Giorgos Bartzokas as the new head coach and kept the same team with the only addition being Perperoglou who replaced Keselj. It was a crazy season, but in the last 200 meters and specially in the finish line at London, Olympiacos was the basketball version of Bolt!
“You know what was the story with us? We had chemistry and character. We were a real unit. We know how to react when things were hard. We had done it many times in the past and some defeats really helped us. Even in order to get to the Final For, we had to mount a come back in the last game against Anadolu Efes. In the semifinal against CSKA we played good and they played bad.
The night before the Final, when I lay down on my bed, I was thinking that it would not be bad to not have a good start and then accelerate. They wanted to play fast, but we had a great night. In general my role was not to score, but when Billy couldn’t do damage, I had to step up and help. When Billy had trouble against defenses, I had to take over. We played two years together and we enjoyed every moment. We were a great duo, really great…
During the first half, they contained him and I knew what to do. I had to score, until everything was clicking again. We got back in the game before half time. And then? Billy was sizzling! He made three three pointers and Real couldn’t understand what was happening. Man, that gives great energy and self confidence. Everything was changed. We got the momentum. We got tremendous energy. The second Euroleague title was the most important for me, because my family was there”.
Coming back to Earth
During the Greek finals of 2013, Olympiacos was the big favorite, having also the home court advantage. However Panathinaikos got the title with a sweep and two road wins.
“It’s clear to me. They did to us what we did to them in 2012. We switched in the pick and rolls and made things hard from them. They did exactly the same. And they beat us. We didn’t have a low post threat, except Printezis. They switched in every screen and they created trouble for us. The tables were turned. Panathinaikos answered us using exactly the same way”.
Acie meanwhile had a food poisoning. “It was crazy. Every time we played with Panathinaikos, something happened with me. Every time something was wrong. I got a food poisoning. I was released from the hospital at four in the morning and I was feeling terrible. I called the doctors and asked them to come to my home and help me. I don’t think I had done something wrong, or I had eaten something bad for my body. I was just still under the food poisoning”.
The same summer Spanoulis, Hines and Law were free agents.
“I wanted and we wanted very much to stay together. Kyle just wanted from the club to be fair with him. He wanted to stay for many years in Olympiacos and he was worried not only for himself, but for everyone. He was a big part of our success. The team didn’t want to spend much money, or to re-sign him during the season.
We spoke every day in order to get sure that we will stay together. We were also in very frequent contact with Vasilis”. Finally Acie signed for two seasons and as he was saying at the time, he hoped to stay for many years in Olympiacos.
Τhe hardships
“Everything went wrong since the first preseason days, when I sustained many injuries. Some days I was hurting on my knee. There was something there, getting bigger and bigger, it bothered me and I have to get it out. There was damage. I was not the same player any more. I said to the team that I was hurting. Then we were trying to find the best possible solution. Since December I believed that I might needed a surgery. There were different opinions between Olympiacos’ doctors and the doctors of my choice. We lost time, trying to get an understanding”.
The complain
“I want to be honest. I don’t like the way I was treated by the club. At the games against Panathinaikos and KAOD I understood that I couldn’t do this any more. I needed surgery, the pain was worse. From the moment Olympiacos realised that unfortunately the season was over for me, I felt that every move they did, every though they had, was only about the money involved in my case.
I expected a different approach on a personal level. I never had any contact with the owners of the club since that moment until the termination of my contract. I was angry by some e-mails I got by the GM of Olympiacos. I was only in contact with him (ed.note: Christos Stavropoulos) and my agent with vicepresident mr. Skindilias.
What I know is that we won two Euroleague titles and one championship during 12 months. I gave my soul for this team, because I felt good at Olympiacos and I was treated amazingly by the fans. However, both in life and in business, there are also bad moments. Not only good ones.
I was bitter, because when they understood that I was out, they started to speak and care mainly about money. I didn’t felt any support or interest on personal level. I understand that professional basketball is business, but I expected a different approach from the team during my hardships. I still keep the amazing moments we lived together and Olympiacos will always be something special for me and my family”.
When does he believe that he will be back on action?
“I had surgery at the start of February. My doctors told me that I will need from 6 to 9 months in order to play again. I have work really hard, I still have way to go and it will be hard. I believe that I will be ready in September to get into practice. My doctors are optimistic, but I will handle it maturely. I will wait until I am 100% ready in order to play again the way I want to play. I have great confidence on my doctors and on myself. My knee is better. I can’t predict the exact date, but next winter I will be back at 100%”.
The fans of Olympiacos have shown all this time their support and love to Law in ways they don’t use to. Fans tend to easily forget. In this case, Olympiacos’ supporters prove everyday that they can’t forget Acie.
“It’s true! They are amazing. They have given me a lot of strength… I have seen how cruel they can be. They create pressure. You can’t win easily their respect. They obviously appreciated what I offered to the team. Many times I feel depressed. I have mixed feelings. I was watching the games against Real Madrid and Panathinaikos and I wanted to get on the court, jumping on my lap top.
I was feeling so bounded with the fans and my teammates. And on the other hand, I also felt that I didn’t want to give anything else to this team, even if I was completely healthy. I was a weird, mixed feeling”.
Does he still keeps any contacts with the team?
“I speak with Andreas (ed.note: conditioning coach), with Marios (ed.note: trainer), with many of my teammates and also with coach Marmarinos. I am also in contract with Vasilis”.
Which were his closest friends: “Spanoulis, Papanikolaou and Printezis! And of course, Pero Antic. He was the funniest. He was really smart and talented. A truly good teammate and I was unhappy to see him go”.
And of course, his fellow countryman…
“Of course, Kyle! That guy brought tremendous things to our team. Energy, passion, fighting spirit! When things were hard on the court, you just looked at Kyle and you felt that everything will be fine! When you have players that make your team so unique, you have to keep them happy and of course you have to keep them. I believe that he got tired, waiting all this time. I was very close to Kyle. If there was one player that I never believed he would leave Olympiacos, he was the one”.
It’s obvious that one of the secrets of the back to back Euroleague champions was the brotherhood created by the players, no matter their passports, quality and role.
Acie Law is now past for Olympiacos, but what he lived during his stay at the port of Piraeus will always stay alive on his memory, carved in a special place of his heart.
Like a sweet note, locked on a drawer, which will not fade away as time goes by…
