In their first season together, Kostas Sloukas and Ergin Ataman deliver Panathinaikos the EuroLeague championship

The 2023 EuroLeague championship game ended with Kostas Sloukas missing a potential game-winning buzzer-beater against Real Madrid. Los Blancos completed a fourth-quarter comeback for the ages. Then, in a sense, the 2023-24 EuroLeague season began with Sloukas transferring from Olympiacos to arch-rivals Panathinaikos. The transfer shook the European basketball world, it was the equivalent of Luis Figo’s transfer from Barcelona to Real Madrid. To describe it in one word, would be Judas.

Sloukas was one of many transfers for Panathinaikos this summer. New head coach Ergin Ataman was given the freedom to rebuild Panathinaikos from the ground up following their 17th-place finish the previous season. 

The early days were not the brightest. The Greens sputtered out of the gate, losing the season opener at home to Olympiacos. Kendrick Nunn officially joined early in the season and in due time, Panathinaikos separated themselves from the rest of the EuroLeague pack. 

Sloukas and Nunn grew as a dynamic duo throughout the season, becoming arguably the most formidable offensive force in EuroLeague. Jerian Grant was the perfect third option — capable of adding scoring on nights where Nunn and Sloukas struggled, or happily embracing a 3-and-D role when the two of them were rolling. Mathias Lessort did what he does best, imposing himself on the game physically in a way that allows him to control the paint. Others — Marius Grigonis, Dinos Mitoglou, Luca Vildoza, and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis answered the call when needed. 

Tonight’s game was a microcosm of Panathinaikos season. They struggled at the jump. They went down 10-3 early due to a surprising eight-point burst from Eli N’Diaye. Real’s offense continued to dictate the game. Panathinaikos met pick and rolls at the level but in the early stages, their defense was not cohesive enough on its execution. Campazzo beat defenders and worked into the lane to either finish or dish to shooters, Tavares was able to catch lobs, and corner help was always late on rotations. Real ended the quarter up 36-25 and looked destined for another rout, but Panathinaikos had other plans. 

With roughly 6 minutes to go in the game and three fouls, Kendrick Nunn was substituted for Luca Vildoza. The Argentinian guard has not had a good season, vacillating between fourth guard and complete afterthought, reaching his nadir with a DNP-CD in yesterday’s semifinal. But Ataman was out of options, he gave Vildoza an opportunity to step up, and he did. His stat sheet was light - 3 points, 1 rebound, and a turnover - but his ability to cover ground on the defensive end proved crucial. After trailing by as much as 14 in the second quarter, a Lessort surge sparked a Panathinaikos run while Edy Tavares sat on the bench with foul trouble. Vildoza hit his three with two-and-half minutes until the half to make it a one-point game. 

“I am always ready to be on the court even if I am not playing the last three or four games,” Vildoza told FanSided postgame. “I’m always preparing myself, warming up, being ready for whatever the coach needs and today I had the chance to play in the Final and that’s just an amazing feeling.”

Real’s offense was completely stalled, and Chus Mateo opted for a lineup featuring Sergio Llull, Sergio Rodriguez, and Rudy Fernandez that could not meet the challenge at both ends of the floor tonight. The second half opened with a 3-pointer from Sloukas, Panathinaikos picked up where they left off and only got stronger as the game wore on. Sloukas had all the confidence in the world and had asserted his imprint on the game. 

Real Madrid was searching for an answer. Tavares picked up a third foul early in the third quarter, Panathinaikos went to their signature three-guard lineups, and again — Llull, Rodriguez, and Fernandez shared the floor. The absence of Gabriel Deck was felt in this game, but without significant lineup tweaks, Real Madrid’s problems persisted. 

“After halftime we started to lose control because we didn’t play so disciplined like we did at the beginning of the game,” Mateo told FanSided post-game. “We started to be a little bit confused trying to score from outside instead of keeping the same aggressiveness with our offense that we had in the first half. We need to create from inside to outside, not only moving the ball outside.”

They went completely cold from 3 — shooting only 11-of-36 on the night — and a Nunn 3 gave Panathinaikos the lead with just over six minutes to go in the third. The Greens never looked back. Any time Real Madrid even hinted at a comeback they had an answer, from Nunn, and mainly Sloukas, but also Mitoglou. The Greek forward was tasked with center minutes early in the fourth quarter and ended up punishing Real Madrid’s drop defense with Tavares. 

“It was nothing,” Mitoglou told FanSided post-game. “Coach told me before the game to be ready, you’re going to play a little bit of five. We used it a lot in Greece and other EuroLeague games and it worked. I’m happy it worked. I came in very decisive and I took the shots, and I made them.”

When Real made a final push with a zone defense in the fourth, Sloukas answered with back-to-back threes. There was no losing this game, it was their destiny. Panathinaikos fully pulled away and in style in the closing stretch. As the game came to a close, the Panathinaikos fans sang Sloukas’ name. A scene unimaginable a year ago had become reality. Sloukas’ summer gamble had paid off.

“Last year is last year,” Sloukas told FanSided post-game. “It was another team. It was a bad moment. This year, we suffered a lot. This is my family here because we suffered a lot and together we improved on the court, with video, with tape, and I’m very happy that we did something historical.”

Panathinaikos now have their seventh EuroLeague title, they are back on top after 11 years away. Ergin Ataman is the undisputed best coach in EuroLeague — he’s won three of the last four titles and done it with two different clubs. According to Giannis Antetokounmpo, he is the best coach in the world. The throne is his, Sloukas’, and Panathinaikos — potentially for a long time.