The veteran big man had a key role in Olympiacos’s road win in Round 1
Nikola Milutinov dominated like his old self on opening night
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 1 of 38
Regular Season
Baskonia Vitoria-GasteizBKN
96102
Olympiacos PiraeusOLY
Overview
l
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Olympiacos Piraeus escaped Vitoria-Gasteiz with a 96-102 win in a shootout, and to do so it needed a team effort.
The type of an effort in which Tyler Dorsey had 21 points, after averaging just 10 minutes per game last season. Or Thomas Walkup orchestrating the offense to the tune of 8 assists. Or Nikola Milutinov and Sasha Vezenkov each collecting a double-double, making sure Olympiacos outrebounded Baskonia by 8 boards for the night.
Or the type of calm and focus where the team made its first 30 free throws, before Dorsey missed one in final seconds when the game was already decided.
“We have so many good players on this team, and we need everybody to win games”, Milutinov said after the win. “Every team this year has so much quality, there will not be one easy game. We really need all 12 players.”
One of those players certainly is Milutinov, who stepped up on the opening night of the 2025-26 campaign with 12 points and 14 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive end.
Game Videos
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U-BT Cluj-Napoca-Bahcesehir College Istanbul | Round 1 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroCup
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-Olympiacos Piraeus | Round 1 Highlights | 2025-26 EuroLeague
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Defense to offense for Baskonia! Motorola Magic Moment
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Catch the first episode of this season's Fantasy Challenge Podcast
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Top plays of 2024-25: Olympiacos
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Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos | Round 23 | EuroLeague classic games 2023-24
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens | 3rd Place Game Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Mic'd Up: Alpha Diallo and Thomas Walkup | 2025 EuroLeague Semifinals
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Olympiacos Piraeus-AS Monaco | Semifinal Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Fall with a monster slam! Motorola Magic Moment
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At the Final Four: Saben Lee, Olympiacos Piraeus
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Playoffs MVP Sasha Vezenkov joins the pre-Final Four EuroLeague & Friends podcast
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Kostas Papanikolaou: 'We want to go all the way'
- 01:18
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Evan Fournier: 'We're getting closer to our goal'
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Real Madrid-Olympiacos Piraeus | Playoffs Game 4 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:29
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Vezenkov hits a crucial three! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 00:16
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Hezonja dunks off the baseline! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:21
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Peters’s dunk on the break! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:05
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Fall monster dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
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Real Madrid-Olympiacos Piraeus | Playoffs Game 3 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:23
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Wright rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:13
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Lee’s two-handed slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 01:24
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Nikola Milutinov: 'We know Real Madrid is capable of coming back from 0-2'
- 00:31
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'We go to finish the series on Tuesday'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Real Madrid | PO Game 2 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Milutinov rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:50
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Nikola Milutinov: 'We have to stay humble'
- 00:45
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Sasha Vezenkov: 'Real Madrid will come ready to play in Game 2'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Real Madrid | PO Game-1 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:12
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McKissic skies for a ferocious slam! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Fall detonates the dunk! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:12
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Milutinov rocks the rim! Motorola Magic Moment
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EA7 Emporio Armani Milan-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Moses Wright: 'It's great to be back on the court'
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Olympiacos Piraeus-Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv | RS Round 34 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:48
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Markus Howard: 'We owe everything to our fans'
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Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz-LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:32
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Donta Hall posterizes Neal Sako! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
- 01:37
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Alec Peters: 'Career high, but what's sticking with me are the zero rebounds'
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ALBA Berlin-Olympiacos Piraeus | RS Round 33 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
- 00:21
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Howard, Hall link up for alley-oop! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:18
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Forrest extra effort results in Howard three! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:10
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Donta Hall posterizes Neal Sako! Motorola Magic Moment
- 00:07
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Forrest rejects Maledon on the first play! Motorola Magic Moment
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Trent Forrest: 'EuroLeague fans are very into the game'
- 00:36
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TLC slams it home in transition! Motorola Magic Moment of the Night
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Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul - Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Olympiacos Piraeus-AS Monaco | RS Round 32 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul-Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz | RS Round 31 Highlights | 2024-25 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
“He is one of the best centers in the EuroLeague, he is crucial for us”, Sasha Vezenkov praised Milutinov.
What is especially significant for the Reds is that this Milutinov’s performance comes with Moustapha Fall facing a long absence after suffering a bad injury late last season.
Olympiacos acquired Donta Hall over the summer, and he chipped in with 8 points in 16 minutes on the floor on this night when he returned to city where he played last season, but once the ball was tipped off, it was Milutinov who was in the spotlight.
Milutinov started this game, after starting just 8 games over the last two seasons since returning to Piraeus from CSKA Moscow. It was also the first time he grabbed at least 10 rebounds since Game 5 of the 2024 EuroLeague playoffs.
This was a performance fully reminiscent of the days when Milutinov dominated under the rims. The knowledge that Milutinov looks like that old, dominant self, is probably what Olympiacos and its fans will love the most about the opening night of the new season.