Can Nigel Hayes bring PAO another Euroleague crown?
Panathinaikos is the most successful Greek basketball club with 7 EuroLeague and 40 Greek League titles, and after going through a couple of tough years, the team started to regain its dominance with the hiring of Ergin Ataman as head coach in the summer of 2023. In the same summer, they signed some big names like Kostas Sloukas, Juancho Hernangomez, Matthias Lessort and Kendrick Nunn (arrived at the end of October), and at the end of the season the Greens won their 7th EuroLeague title defeating Real Madrid in the final, and they also secured another Greek League title against arch-rivals Olympiacos. The next season, PAO had another good year with Kendrick Nunn winning the EuroLeague MVP, but eventually the team failed to secure another EuroLeague trophy, losing to Fenerbahce in the semifinals.
The goal for this season is definitely winning the EuroLeague again, especially as the Final Four will take place at the OAKA. In order to strengthen the team further, PAO signed T.J. Shorts, who played at a superstar level in Paris, and after the injuries of Richaun Holmes and Omer Yurtseven, they also signed Kenneth Faried, who proved to be an excellent addition. However, the team still lacks consistency, and after losing 6 of their last 10 games, the Greek team is currently only in 9th place with a 16-12 record (tied with three other teams). As this EuroLeague season is very balanced, they can still easily climb up in the standings, and even with home-court advantage in the playoffs, coach Ataman’s team needs a good run in these final 10 rounds of the regular season. The first step to achieve this is the signing of Nigel Hayes-Davis, the 2025 EuroLeague Final Four MVP, who will give a huge offensive boost for Panathinaikos, and he is also an elite defender.
The remaining schedule is not easy: the Greens have some difficult away games at Piraeus, Dubai, Tel-Aviv (Hapoel), Barcelona and Valencia, but with the roster they have, and now with the addition of Hayes-Davis, they should win at least 7 of the remaining 10 games. It would be huge if they get home-court advantage in the playoffs, and if they qualify for the Final Four, it will be hard to defeat them at OAKA. The last time the Final Four was organised in Athens was in 2007, and Panathinaikos was crowned champion with Dimitris Diamantidis winning the Final Four MVP. Now the expectations cannot be less than adding an 8th EuroLeague title in front of their fans.
Imre Halasz
Photo credit: Arizona Sports
