The Turkish coach achieved exactly what he said he was going to do… again
Tribute to the Champs: Ergin Ataman
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Love him or hate him, Ergin Ataman knows how to win the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championship. After leading Anadolu Efes Istanbul to back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022, the Turkish tactician brought his talents to Greece as he looked to revive a Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens side that finished 17th in the 2022-23 season. One year on, Ataman guided the Greens to a seventh EuroLeague trophy.
That is not to say that it was all plain sailing, especially at the beginning of the season. Panathinaikos, which made a plethora of new signings last summer, started the campaign with a 2-4 record and doubts started to be raised. Four straight wins followed to improve the Greens to a 6-4 mark, but then came three consecutive defeats as Panathinaikos dropped to 6-7 and was struggling to find consistency.
From Round 14 onwards, though, Ataman’s magic started to shine through. Panathinaikos went 8-1 over the next nine games to move to 14-8, which provided an even bigger boost in confidence for Ataman, who declared at every possible moment that Greens fans should book their tickets for Berlin.
One of the keys to Ataman’s success with Panathinaikos was an incredible home record, with his team winning their last nine games at OAKA. Even on the road, the Greens were able to become the first team to beat Real Madrid at WiZink Center in 2023-24, winning 86-97 in Round 27, and also had a crucial triumph at Virtus Segafredo Bologna, 79-81 in Round 32, on Kendrick Nunn’s game-winner to put themselves in a position to secure the second seed.
The confidence that Ataman instilled in Panathinaikos allowed the Greek team to get over the line and finish second in the standings. Even when the Greens lost Game 1 at home to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in the playoffs, Ataman used his motivational techniques to try and get his troops back on track, saying he would leave Panathinaikos if it did not reach the Final Four. It took until Game 5, but Ataman had done it again. Another Final Four trip was imminent.
Ataman had made the championship game in three out of the last four editions, so confidence was high. Then, once Panathinaikos had knocked off Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the semifinals, 73-57, the inevitable seemed on the cards. Despite Real Madrid having a historic season in the EuroLeague, setting a new record for regular-season wins with 27, sweeping Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in the playoffs and advancing past Olympiacos Piraeus in the semifinals, facing Ataman’s Greens would be a different proposition altogether.
Real Madrid was able to take a 54-49 lead into the halftime break of the championship game, but Ataman stayed calm. As he always does. In the second half, the reigning EuroLeague champions were restricted to just 26 points compared to 46 for Panathinaikos as the Greens went on to win 80-95 and secure a seventh star. Afterward, Ataman recalled how Kostas Sloukas had told his teammates to follow Ataman and they would get to the Final Four, and what did they do? They reached the Final Four and won the whole thing.
Much like marmite, Ataman divides opinion. But what can’t be denied is the fact that he is a winning machine. After turning 16th-placed Efes into a Final Four team the next year back in 2019, he’s gone and done the same at Panathinaikos. For that, Ataman – now a three-time EuroLeague champion – deserves enormous credit.