Their teams may be arch-rivals in one of the biggest derbies in all of sports, but their coaches have plenty in common.
Ataman, Bartzokas chat across the red-green divide
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A pair of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title-winning head coaches who now occupy the benches of heated rivals, Georgios Bartzokas of Olympiacos Piraeus and Ergin Ataman of Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, took advantage of a rare quiet moment in their season to discuss the basketball themes that unite them.
Sitting down over a coffee in the Greek capital, they compared notes on the mutual challenges they have faced, overcome in the past, and continue to work on, season by season.
Ergin is one of the highest-level European coaches. I believe that his basic weapon is how he handles the game."
Winning philosophies
Bartzokas won the EuroLeague with Olympiacos back in 2013, beating Real Madrid in comeback fashion, but lost the title to the same team last year on the final shot.
"If you ask me what you need to create a championship team, you need time," Bartzokas observes. "So you need one, two or three years to create a core of players that can know how to play together."
Ataman turned around Anadolu Efes Istanbul in one season, going from last place to the championship game, then perfected that formula with many of the same players to win the EuroLeague back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.
"The consistency of the team is very important," the Panathinaikos boss said. "Even if you transfer 10 star players, it's very difficult to make an altogether consistent team."
Learning from each other
Having faced each other 17 times in the EuroLeague over the last decade, they've found much to admire in each other.
"Ergin is one of the highest-level European coaches. I believe that his basic weapon is how he handles the game. He doesn't hesitate to make the right move," Bartzokas says. "Even if it's the most expensive player that he has, if he doesn't play well, he will bench him immediately."
"For me," says Ataman, "It's very exciting that Coach Bartzokas has this system that I believe gives the confidence to his players. So everybody knows what to do. This is very important."
For me, it's very exciting that Coach Bartzokas has this system that I believe gives the confidence to his players."
Local rivals for the first time
Ataman is new to Greece, but already he understands what basketball means there.
"When I walk on the street, everybody is following basketball, everybody knows basketball. The people have a big passion for basketball," he says. "Everybody on the street, they ask me more to beat Olympiacos. They don't ask me more to win the EuroLeague."
Bartzokas has left Greece and returned since winning that EuroLeague title in 2013 and has experienced great rivalries in other countries.
"Olympiacos is like a religion for our fans. And winning or losing is something more than just a win or just a loss. And somehow we need to calm down," he says, "because sports needs to be something that is making us happy."