His buzzer-beater to stun his former team, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, in Game 3 last week was far from the first time that Kostas Sloukas of Olympiacos Piraeus has stepped up in the closing moments of a game to either force overtime or secure a win for his teams. Check out the other times that Sloukas has dropped the mic in a EuroLeague game.
Mic drops by Kostas Sloukas
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Fenerbahce vs. Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv: April 5, 2019
As their series reaches a conclusion with Game 5 on Tuesday, it's worth remembering that Sloukas spent five years with Fenerbahce between 2015 and 2020. In his third year with the team, in Round 30 of the 2018-19 regular-season, Sloukas sent the Fenerbahce fans into raptures by scoring a game-winner against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv. After initially fumbling the ball, he got it back from Melih Mahmutoglu before draining a triple over current NBA star Deni Avdija and being mobbed by his teammates.
LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne vs. Olympiacos: January 19, 2021
Sloukas returned to Olympiacos in the summer of 2020, and a few months later – in Round 10 of the 2020-21 season – reminded the Reds' supporters of what they had been missing. Against LCLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, in the empty Astroballe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Olympiacos was down 86-83 with 9.9 seconds remaining, more than enough time for Sloukas to work his magic. He received the ball from Vezenkov under his own basket, carried it up the court and then sought a mismatch against Kevarrius Hayes, before shooting over the ASVEL big man to send the game to overtime. Olympiacos went on to win the game 93-101.
Olympiacos vs. Fenerbahce: October 28, 2021
Later that year, Sloukas was able to took the roof off Peace and Friendship Stadium with a game-winner against his old team, Fenerbahce, in Round 7 of the 2021-22 season. Sloukas more than made up for giving up a three-point play to Achille Polonara that tied the game at 65-65 with 39.4 left. About 10 seconds later, after a Fenerbahce miss, grabbed the rebound off and slowly took the ball up court, taking time off the clock. With 8.0 seconds remaining, he made his move, driving to his left. Fenerbahce was forced to switch defenders Marko Guduric to 2019 EuroLeague MVP Jan Vesely, both his former teammates. Sloukas drove hard before stopping on a dime to make a mid-range jumper over Vesely to put Olympiacos ahead with 2.0 seconds to play. Guduric would subsequently miss a three-pointer on the buzzer that left Sloukas to soak up the cheers from the Olympiacos crowd.
Olympiacos vs. Efes: February 10, 2022
A few months later, Sloukas had another legendary game-winning shot, this time in overtime against defending champion Efes in Round 26. The score was tied at 75-75 at the end of regulation, with Sloukas having scored a game-high 20 points through the first 40 minutes, but he made sure to have the final say in overtime. Olympiacos was down 84-85 with 29.5 seconds left and Efes had the ball with a 5.5-second differential between the shot clock and the game clock. Vasilije Micic drove to the rim for Efes, but missed his layup. Sloukas got the rebound with 9.3 seconds remaining and took it the length of the court. He crossed the middle through traffic and passed to Shaquielle McKissic, who then returned the ball to Sloukas in the right corner. Sloukas pump -faked to avoid a block attempt from Adrien Moerman and then sent up a three-pointer to beat the buzzer for another memorable game-winner.
Real Madrid vs. Olympiacos: October 19, 2022
In Round 3 this season, Sloukas ensured that Olympiacos started the campaign 3-0 by working his magic late against Real Madrid at WiZink Center. After his free throws gave Olympiacos an 85-87 lead with 32.7 seconds to go, Real's Sergio Llull hit back with a layup to tie with 19.9 seconds left. Now, it was Sloukas time. With the shock clock turned off, he used a screen by Moustapha Fall to shake Fabien Causeur before driving at Walter Tavares, the two-time Best Defender. Using all of his experience, Sloukas used a pump fake to send Tavares flying but then calmly scored a layup to put Olympiacos up 87-89 with 3.0 seconds remaining. Tavares's subsequent shot to tie was off the mark, so once again, Sloukas had wrapped up an important victory for his team.
Fenerbahce vs. Olympiacos: October 19, 2022
In Game 3 of this season's playoffs, with his team facing the imminent possibility of going down 1-2 in its series against Fenerbahce, Sloukas hit arguably his most important buzzer-beater yet. Having provided the assist for Sasha Vezenkov's game-tying triple with early in the final minute, Sloukas was nonetheless called on to be the hero after Fenerbahce took a two-point lead, 71-69, on Marko Guduric's jump shot with 3.9 seconds left. Out of a timeout, Sloukas got free from Nick Calathes to receive the inbounds pass before dribbling away from Dyshawn Pierre and hitting a three-pointer over the outstretched arm of Nigel Hayes-Davis. When it fell, Sloukas and his teammates charged down the tunnel in a moment that Olympiacos fans will cherish over and over again for years to come.