The Aris guard is fourth in the EuroCup in scoring (18.4 ppg.) so far this season
Vassilis Toliopoulos: 'Spanoulis taught me to be a better leader'
Player Spotlight
14 Mins read
Part of being a superstar is being a role model and inspiration for younger people. Vassilis Toliopoulos got to experience his idol Vassilis Spanoulis both as a teammate and head coach and that helped the Aris Midea Thessaloniki captain become a better leader for his team.
Toliopoulos was just 19 years old when he joined Olympiacos Piraeus in 2015 after playing with Ikaros Chalkidas and Kolossos Rhodos beforehand. Spanoulis was still one of the best in Europe back then at 33 years of age.
“I learned a lot from Vassilis. As a teammate, I was there for three and a half years. I didn’t have a chance to play with him a lot, but it was great just seeing him and how he was as a captain with Olympiacos, one of the best teams in Europe," said Toliopoulos, who was with Olympiacos until early 2019, which is when he moved to Aris for the first time.
"What he said in the locker room and how he pushes everybody to be their best version on the court and how competitive he was, even in practices and scrimmages that didn’t count. He never wanted to lose. That was something that helped build my mentality.”
Nine years after joining Spanoulis as a teammate, Toliopoulos got the chance to play for him. The three-time EuroLeague champion was installed as Greece national team coach in October 2023 and he called the sharpshooting Toliopoulos into his squad for his coaching debut in the February 2024 window of the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.
Toliopoulos, who had played for Greece in qualifying games in 2020 and 2021, scored 2 points in the first game of the window and then pulled off his best Spanoulis imitation in the second game. He totaled 26 points with 4 three-pointers, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals as well as the game-winning layup with 29 seconds left in a 74-72 win over the Netherlands.
“Having him call me to the national team – my idol and one of my favorite teammates – meant a lot to me. I really appreciate what he did for me and how he showed that he believed in me,” Toliopoulos said about the call-up from Spanoulis.
That wouldn’t be the last time the two former teammates hooked up for Greece in 2024. Spanoulis included Toliopoulos in his roster for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. It was the first major tournament for Toliopoulos, who is nicknamed “Pistoliopoulos”, and he averaged 8.3 points and 2.0 assists as Greece won the event and qualified for the Olympics. And that came on the court where he and Spanoulis played together – Olympiacos’s famed home, the famed Peace and Friendship Stadium.
“I really enjoyed the moment. I tried my best to help the team qualify,” said Toliopoulos, who also got to experience NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo as a teammate. “He’s such an amazing guy. He’s the hardest worker I have seen in my life. He really does everything to help the team. He talks in the locker room. He really pushes everybody on the court to be their best self. I am really such a lucky guy to have seen all those things from him and the other guys there.”
Winning the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) of course also meant a date for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“The Olympics are the best thing that can happen to an athlete. It’s an amazing dream that came true," he revealed. "I couldn’t believe after the OQT that it would really happen. I didn’t understand that until I was there at the opening ceremony. I will never forget that experience. It’s such an amazing experience and I hope that every athlete that dreams of it can live it.”
Toliopoulos averaged 10.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in Paris, where Greece lost to Germany in the quarterfinals.
The summer saw another big moment for Toliopoulos as he signed a two-year extension with Aris despite interest from clubs abroad, including Turk Telekom Ankara and others within Greece.
“It was nice to know that I had interest from abroad and also from Greece. I wanted to stay with the team, but first of all, I wanted the contract that I deserved after the last two great seasons,” said Toliopoulos, who played for Aris for the remainder of the 2018-19 season as well as since 2022.
"I am really happy the team understood what I brought to this club and how passionate I am to be here. They did everything they could to keep me in the team. It was really important to me that they showed how important I am to the team.”
Toliopoulos was honored for his excellent 2023-24 season by being named the Most Improved Player in the Greek League.
“That meant a lot to me because it shows all the work I put into my game and that everybody appreciated everything I did on the court. It gave me motivation to keep working and keep getting better,” he said.
Toliopoulos also helped Aris – which celebrated its last of 10 league championships in 1991 – make club history last season.
In the third and final game of the Greek League quarterfinal playoffs, Aris was down 2 points with 4.7 seconds left. Toliopoulos was on the free-throw line and missed his second foul shot, managed to grab the loose ball rebound, move beyond the three-point line and toss up a fall-away high arching three-pointer that fell to give Aris the victory over Promitheas Patras.
“That was one of the best moments in my career. Maybe the best,” he recalled.
The shot sent Aris to the Greek League semifinals for the first time since 2017.
“It was important for Aris to have this success, for me, for all the players.”
Toliopoulos and Aris have struggled thus far in the EuroCup with a 2-6 record, but the 28-year-old is doing his best to lead the team after learning important lessons from his idol, Vassilis Spanoulis.