Vassilis Spanoulis spoke to the media for the first time as the new head coach of Aris, addressing several interesting topics.
As a reminder, his previous job was with Monaco, which ended on a disappointing note, and he is now the leading figure at Aris, a club that plans to invest significantly in raising its competitive level not only in Greece but also in the EuroCup.
“It’s really nice to see so many people here. I really thank the people yesterday, but as I said yesterday, I don’t see this welcome just for me. I see it as the beginning of the effort of the Aris organization. Aris is a very big club, not only in Greece or in Europe.
It brought basketball into the homes of Greeks and inspired many generations. I want to say a huge thank you to Nikos who played a big role in my decision. To build something on a solid foundation that will last, you need people who have the same goal, values and way of thinking.
This is very important to me and I have it here, especially with Nikos and the trust of the ownership. I don’t like big words. I don’t like making promises. I know basketball very well, it’s my life, my germ.
Nothing is given to you. It takes discipline, goal, dedication and consistency in the plan. That’s what I want for my team. I want to build a team that will have many and strong foundations. I want to make the people of Aris proud.”
“Earthquake” in Thessaloniki: 5.000 fans greet Vassilis Spanoulis at the airport
On whether the stadium roof filled with trophies and Nikos Galis’ jersey creates pressure:
“I don’t feel any pressure, no weight. Only awe. When you enter a stadium that inspired such great generations, you are in awe. We grew up with them. I don’t feel pressure, I have motivation, a plan and a vision. I don’t like words.
Talking about trophies won’t do any good now. If there wasn’t the ability to build something, there wouldn’t be the investment from ownership. Consistency on solid foundations, so that we can make the world proud of what we see.” said Vassilis Spanoulis.
On his collaboration with Nikos Zisis:
“Nikos and I have been talking about basketball every day for the last 20–25 years. We always discuss, we help each other, we exchange opinions. When I left Monaco, there was a first conversation that bordered on joking.
I wanted to go back to see my family, I wasn’t thinking about teams. Nikos, in a very proper way, started presenting it to me in a proper way. He never pressured me, I never felt uncomfortable. It’s one thing to speak professionally, another to speak as a friend.
I didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding and we discussed it from the beginning. I understood the vision and the plan when I spoke to the ownership. All of this motivates me. I’m not afraid to fail, I get motivated by everything and I want us to achieve our goals.
Without having agreed with Nikos, we started talking about players. No one believed that this would happen, but we talked about players until the morning. I want to apologize to his wife for keeping him up all night.
I have great confidence in what Nikos tells me. I also have great confidence in the new ownership, with vision, plan and passion. They will make mistakes, there is no one who does not make mistakes.
There is no perfect team, there is no team that has won something without losing, without staying up all night. There are difficulties everywhere, you have to emerge victorious every day. There are difficulties, wars.” Vassilis Spanoulis told.
With Vassilis Spanoulis aka Kill Bill taking over Aris, a club whose colors perfectly match Quentin Tarantino’s iconic movie poster, this crossover simply had to happen.🎬🟡⚫️😅@ARISBCgr pic.twitter.com/tK4hWXEJe2
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) June 14, 2026
On his relationship with Aris:
“As I said at the beginning, Aris is a very big, historic basketball club not only in Greece but throughout Europe, so that’s definitely on my mind.
Of course it’s a great team, and we all know that Aris has many years to achieve something, and that’s on my mind.
There is anticipation, hope, which is very beautiful. It’s nice to see people have a vision and hope being born, but all these things take time to be built on solid foundations. At the same time, they also need results, because people are thirsty.
The team has a very big vision, but we must understand that all this is being built; it cannot be done overnight. You have strong rivals in Greece and Europe, and we must build everything to achieve what we all dream of.”
On what we will see from his Aris Betsson team:
“I adapt depending on what I have. You have to be flexible. What characterizes me and modern trends is athleticism and players who play on both ends of the court.
Teams don’t play systems, they read the game. We focus more on athleticism and less on IQ in isolation. We take cues from the NBA, where you have to be an athlete first. You have to combine that with experienced players.” Vassilis Spanoulis concluded.
