The Reds guaranteed a top-six finish by beating archrival Panathinaikos in Round 29
Olympiacos is the first team to reach the playoffs
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For the fourth season in a row, Olympiacos Piraeus fans will get to see their team compete in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Playoffs.
The Reds beat Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens 76-74 in Round 29 on Friday night to move to a 22-7 record and remain at the top of the EuroLeague standings.
This is the 16th time that Olympiacos has made it to the current playoff format, which has been in place since the 2004-05 season.
The cream of the crop
It took a new-look Olympiacos a little while to get going early in the season as it looked to reintegrate 2022-23 EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov, back after a year in the NBA, and get fellow new signing Evan Fournier up to speed with the team's offense. Georgios Bartzokas's men sat at 2-3 after five games, but few people doubted Olympiacos; it just needed to iron out some kinks.
The Reds then went on a six-game winning run to improve to 8-3, with the run beginning with notable victories over three powerhouses in Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Panathinaikos. Despite stumbling between Rounds 12 and 15, going 1-3, a run of seven straight wins allowed the Greek side to take command of first place with a 16-6 record.
Olympiacos is now in the midst of another period of six consecutive wins, having responded to a surprise home defeat to Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul by beating Paris Basketball and Barcelona on the road before downing Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and Panathinaikos at home.
Coach Bartzokas's team currently ranks first in PIR (104.2) and assists (21.1 APG), while they are second in scoring (87.4 PPG). MVP candidate Vezenkov is also first in PIR (24.5) and second in points (20.0 PPG) among all players.
How has Olympiacos historically fared in the playoffs?
Since the 2004-05 season, Olympiacos has gone 9-6 in the 15 playoff series it has played to date. It holds a 23-8 record in playoff games held at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, but in road games it has been a different story, having posted a 10-21 record on its travels.
In fact, Olympiacos made history last year by advancing to the Final Four for the third year in a row, something it had never done before. Its Final Four appearances are as follows: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024. It will be hoping to keep writing history in 2025.
Now that Olympiacos has locked up a top-six finish, its next objective will be to finish in the top four and thus will guarantee home-court advantage in the playoffs, with Games 1, 2 and 5 taking place at the higher-seeded team's court.