Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens proprietor Dimitris Giannakopoulos has revealed his bold purpose of signing Nikola Jokic, saying he already made a critical try to deliver the Denver Nuggets celebrity to Greece.
“There may be one participant who stays a dream of mine, whom I haven’t signed but, however I’ll signal subsequent yr. It’s Jokic, one of the best participant on the planet,” Giannakopoulos mentioned on the Euro Insiders podcast.
“Don’t chortle in any respect. If I don’t signal Jokic, I’m not going anyplace,” he added.
Giannakopoulos revealed that Panathinaikos approached each Jokic and Denver this yr.
“This yr, I attempted to make a proposal. … Persons are going to say, ‘OK, now he’s joking’. I did make a really critical proposal this yr, each to his staff and to him. I obtained a rejection,” he mentioned.
He additionally explored shopping for out the remaining portion of Jokic’s contract, however Denver rapidly dismissed the chance.
“After I requested, he had a sure contract operating. This was his final yr. I attempted to purchase out his final yr. They didn’t even… It took them a couple of seconds to say, ‘Who? Greece? The place? What? Bye’ from his staff,” Giannakopoulos recalled.
“Let’s wait till subsequent yr.”
Signing Jokic would stay extraordinarily tough financially. The three-time MVP may develop into eligible for a projected five-year, $359.5 million extension with Denver in 2027 and has indicated that he intends to stay with the Nuggets.
Regardless of these obstacles, Giannakopoulos says he isn’t giving up on his purpose of bringing Jokic to Panathinaikos.
He intends to attempt once more subsequent yr: https://t.co/3x50omDN9r
— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) August 10, 2026
