The Turkish forward returns to Europe after seven years in the NBA
Cedi Osman joins Panathinaikos
Article
3 Mins read
Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has confirmed the signing of NBA veteran Cedi Osman on a one-year deal, the club confirmed on Saturday.
Osman (2.01 meters, 29 years old) has spent the last seven years in the NBA. Last season, his first campaign away from the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Turkish international averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists across 72 games as a bench player for the San Antonio Spurs.
Overall, Osman has played 495 games in the NBA over the last seven seasons, with 423 coming in a Cleveland jersey. In his first season in the association, he was part of the Cavaliers squad – alongside the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith – that reached the 2018 NBA Finals.
His best NBA campaign came in the 2018-19 season, the first after James’s departure, as he averaged career highs in points (13.0 ppg.) and rebounds (4.7 rpg.) in 76 regular-season games as a full-time starter. Osman remained a key player for the Cavs throughout the rest of his time in Cleveland, although he was a regular bench player in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
By moving to Panathinaikos, Osman not only returns to Europe but also to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Having come through at Anadolu Efes Istanbul, the 29-year-old made his EuroLeague debut for the club in the 2013-14 campaign before going on to feature 13 times for the club that year. He averaged 3.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11:38 minutes per night.
The following season, he helped Efes reach the EuroLeague Playoffs, posting 6.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 27 games. Efes ended up losing in four games to Real in the playoffs. In 2015-16, Osman averaged 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 23 appearances for Efes, but the team failed to make the playoffs.
His final year in the EuroLeague before heading to the United States saw Efes return to the playoffs, with Osman averaging 7.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 35 games. However, Efes lost in a five-game series to Olympiacos Piraeus.
At Panathinaikos, he joins a side that is looking to win back-to-back EuroLeague titles after the Greens ended their 13-year wait to become European champion last season. Osman is Panathinaikos's second signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Lorenzo Brown and Omer Yurtseven.