{"id":26414,"date":"2025-07-28T02:25:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T02:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/26414\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T02:25:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T02:25:08","slug":"phil-handy-if-i-were-in-nunns-shoes-i-dont-know-if-id-leave-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/26414\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil Handy: “If I were in Nunn’s shoes, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d leave Greece\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Eurohoops team\/\u00a0info@eurohoops.net<\/a><\/p>\n

Renowned NBA assistant coach Phil Handy, now part of the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>\u2019 staff, spoke to Eurohoops during his summer stay in Greece.<\/p>\n

The three-time NBA champion (with Cleveland in 2016, Toronto in 2019, and the Lakers<\/a> in 2020) shared insights on elite work ethic, player development, European basketball, and spoke about working with LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Kobe Bryant, but also touched on future collaboration with Cooper Flagg, Kendrick Nunn in Greece and his NBA prospects, and various other topics.<\/p>\n

Having coached superstars like Bryant, James, and Leonard, Handy pointed to three core traits that unite the game\u2019s greatest players.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all different players, but they have common denominators. Their work ethic is insane \u2014 no one can outwork them. Their commitment and dedication are incredible. And most of all, their basketball IQ is off the charts. They study the game, they see it, and understand it at a very high level. Combine that with their natural talent, and it\u2019s nearly impossible to compete with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Handy also spoke warmly about Kendrick Nunn, whom he coached during their time together with the Lakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember facing him in the 2020 NBA Finals when he was with Miami. He was hurt then \u2014 and I was actually glad he was hurt. He\u2019s that good. Injuries held him back with the Lakers, but make no mistake: Kendrick Nunn is a phenomenal basketball player. I\u2019m happy to see that he\u2019s found joy again here in Greece, playing for Panathinaikos<\/a>. The fans, the community, the organization \u2014 they\u2019ve embraced him. It\u2019s great to see him thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about Nunn\u2019s NBA prospects, Handy emphasized that the decision is personal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s his choice. But look, he came here, saw the level of play, the passion, the quality of life. Great weather, amazing fans, a strong team. If I were Kendrick, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d leave Greece. I might just finish my career here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Handy is now set to work with Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in this year\u2019s draft, and one of the most talked-about prospects in years:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo challenge at all \u2014 he\u2019s a great young talent. I haven\u2019t spent much time with him yet, but I\u2019m looking forward to building a relationship and helping him reach his potential. Right now, it looks like he has no ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about the league\u2019s so-called unicorns \u2014 rare players with unique combinations of size, skill, and versatility \u2014 Handy didn\u2019t hesitate to list names.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnthony Davis is a unicorn \u2014 when he\u2019s healthy, he\u2019s a problem. Giannis is special. LeBron is special. Steph Curry is special. These guys are generational talents. It\u2019s going to be interesting to see who the next one is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Handy also drew a clear contrast between the NBA and European basketball culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the NBA, it\u2019s a player-led league. Players have power and drive the brand \u2014 they earn the most, they hold influence. In Europe, coaches still hold real power. They control their teams, make key decisions, and players respect that. I love that about European basketball \u2014 the purity of the sport, the structure, the respect. Coaches here are still the kings<\/a>,\u201d Phil Handy concluded in an interview with Eurohoops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Eurohoops team\/\u00a0info@eurohoops.net Renowned NBA assistant coach Phil Handy, now part of the Dallas Mavericks\u2019 staff, spoke to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-26414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}