After leading the Greens to the championship, the Turkish tactician wants more
Ergin Ataman extends his stay at Panathinaikos until 2027
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens head coach Ergin Ataman has penned a new long-term contract at the club, which should keep him at OAKA until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Last season, Ataman's first in Athens, saw him lead the Greens to a seventh Turkish Airlines EuroLeague title — their first in 13 years. Then, Panathinaikos came back from 2-0 down in the Greek League Finals to beat archrival Olympiacos Piraeus 3-2.
Before this agreement, Ataman was heading into the final year of the two-year deal he signed in the summer of 2023. By renewing at Panathinaikos, he will look to bring even more glory to OAKA over the next three years.
Ataman now has three EuroLeague titles to his name after securing back-to-back championships with Anadolu Efes Istanbul in 2020-21 and 2021-22, then with Panathinaikos in 2023-24. Those three titles are the second most by a EuroLeague head coach this century, level with Ettore Messina. Zeljko Obradovic leads the way with five.
The 58-year-old has a 223-206 record in the EuroLeague this century. He also won the BKT EuroCup title with Galatasaray in 2015-16.
Ataman, the 2020-21 EuroLeague Coach of the Year, really turned Panathinaikos's fortunes around last year. The Greens finished 17th with a 9-23 record in 2022-23, but Ataman helped Panathinaikos come second in the regular season after posting a 23-11 mark.
Panathinaikos then beat Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 3-2 in the playoffs to reach the Final Four for the first time since 2012. Ataman's squad went on to defeat Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul in the semifinals and Real Madrid in the championship game, securing the Greens' first EuroLeague title since 2011 and seventh overall.