This was not a surprise for him, since Panathinaikos also talked with him in the summer of 2023: “I know that the year before, the assistant coach of Panathinaikos told me that Panathinaikos wanted me. We kind of had a contact. The first time he told me was when we beat Turkey in the pre-Olympic qualifiers. He kind of told me ‘We want to bring you back,’ but I signed with Golden State that year.”