Lithuania GM Linas Kleiza faces Greece in the EuroBasket 2025 quarterfinals with mixed emotions, praising Giannis Antetokounmpo’s dominance while declaring his love for Olympiacos.
Linas Kleiza is back in the spotlight — this time not as a scorer, but as the general manager of Lithuania’s national team.
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On Tuesday night, Lithuania face Greece in the EuroBasket 2025 quarterfinals in Riga, and Kleiza is living the moment with a mix of professional focus and personal nostalgia. Because Greece is not just another opponent for Kleiza. It is the country that welcomed him after his NBA stint with the Denver Nuggets, the place where he wore the red jersey of Olympiacos Piraeus and became one of the most beloved imports in the Greek club's history.
As he walked past Greek reporters at practice, he couldn’t hold back: “Olympiacos! I love Olympiacos!” he shouted, smiling, before stopping to reflect on that chapter of his career.
“Of course I love Olympiacos,” he told Greek reporters. “It’s my big love. Greece reminds me of that team, and I have so many good memories from that time. I love Greece, the club, the fans. It was a very special period in my life.”
Kleiza only spent one season with Olympiacos, but it was unforgettable — he won the Alphonso Ford Trophy as the EuroLeague’s top scorer in 2009–10 and became a cult hero for the Piraeus faithful. Now, his focus is on Greece from the other side of the court. And he knows what awaits: Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“It will be a very tough battle,” Kleiza admitted.
“You guys have a great team and a huge superstar, one of the best, if not the best, player in the world. It’s a big challenge for us. We have to give everything, work hard, play hard, and then see where it goes. But Greece definitely has a great team.”
Pressed about how Lithuania plan to contain Giannis, Kleiza laughed.
“I don’t know. We’ll see tomorrow. Hopefully he just has a bad game. That’s all you can hope for. We’ll do our best, but that’s why he’s the MVP. How do you stop him?”
On Lithuania’s own ambitions, Kleiza preferred humility over bold proclamations.
“We don’t set goals. We just work hard and wait for the basketball gods to reward us. We go game by game and give everything on the court. It’s a very competitive tournament, but we feel good and we’re ready to fight.”
And when asked about another Greek icon, Vassilis Spanoulis, now head coach of the national team, Kleiza had only praise.
“He is already a great coach,” Kleiza said.
“He lost to the best coach in Europe, Sarunas Jasikevicius, in the EuroLeague final. But he’s still so young, and he’s already at the highest level. It took Saras years to finally win a Final Four. It’s very hard to win the EuroLeague, but the future is bright for both of them as coaches.”
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