His double-double was key in stopping the Greens' three-game road losing streak
Kenneth Faried delivers vintage 'Manimal' effort in Panathinaikos debut
Отчеты о матчах
3 Минутное чтение
Regular Season
Round 10 of 38
Regular Season
Paris BasketballPBB
95101
Panathinaikos AKTOR AthensPAO
Overview
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Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens’s visit to Accor Arena was a highly anticipated one.
First, it marked TJ Shorts’s first game against Paris Basketball since he made history with his former club over just two remarkable seasons.
Second, Panathinaikos returned to the same court where it captured its first European title – the first star on its logo – back in 1996.
Amid all this, Kenneth Faried’s EuroLeague return was almost a footnote in the game’s storyline. But the veteran forward made sure his presence couldn’t be ignored, giving Panathinaikos fans plenty of reasons to celebrate his signing.
Faried wasn’t expected to make such an impact. Back in the early 2010s, he was one of the NBA’s most exciting players, earning the nickname “Manimal” for his relentless energy and intensity.
A 2014 FIBA World Cup champion with Team USA, Faried’s career since 2019 has taken him across Puerto Rico, China, the G League, Mexico, Italy, and Taiwan, with a brief stint at CSKA Moscow. There, he averaged just 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in seven EuroLeague appearances during the 2021–22 season.
Still, his enthusiasm was evident from day one.
“I’m always ready to play. I love basketball,” Faried said after his first practice with the team. “I try to stay in the best shape possible all the time, year-round. When my number’s called – if it’s called – I’m ready. I was watching the EuroLeague, watching teams do their thing, and watching Pana because of Juancho [Hernangomez] and Marius [Grigonis], my two guys over here.
“This is an opportunity. This is what I signed up for. I didn’t know how many minutes Coach [Ergin Ataman] would give me, but I just wanted to come out, play, and show that I can still perform at this level – that I’ve still got it at 35, going on 36.”
Faried started the game and immediately made an impact, recording 7 points, 3 rebounds, a steal, and 2 blocks in the first quarter alone. With his powerful frame, trademark energy, and hairstyle, he even resembled teammate Mathias Lessort – enough that some fans might have momentarily thought Lessort was back on the court.
His hustle was equally impressive. Midway through the first quarter, Faried lost a shoe during a defensive play. He still managed to block a shot, sprint down the court wearing just one shoe, grab an offensive rebound, and draw a foul. Shorts, who had tossed the shoe off the court moments earlier, sprinted back to hand it to him. Yet even shoeless, Faried never stopped fighting.
Panathinaikos eventually found its rhythm, with Shorts, Kostas Sloukas and Kendrick Nunn – the team’s trio of left-handed guards – sharing the floor late in the game. Trailing 84–79 with seven minutes remaining, Coach Ataman called a timeout and brought Nunn back in. The adjustment paid off immediately, sparking a 12–3 run that put the Greens ahead 91–87. With Faried resting on the bench, Juancho Hernangomez and Konstantinos Mitoglou stepped up down the stretch.
Faried finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds (including 7 offensive boards), 3 blocks and a performance index rating (PIR) of 26, already surpassing his total production from his entire stint at CSKA (16 points, 12 PIR).
“I’m satisfied,” Faried told EuroLeague TV after the Paris game. “I don’t really care about my stats, it’s not a big deal. We got the win, and that’s all that matters. Paris is a resilient team; they don’t quit. They keep pressuring you and trying to score fast. They had their runs, but we settled down, locked in, and figured out how to stop them. We were able to escape with the win tonight.”
As for Shorts, his return to Paris was a memorable one. He finished with 13 points, 6 assists and a PIR of 13.
“It always feels good to get a win,” Shorts said. “Everyone knows we haven’t been playing our best basketball and are still figuring things out. I’ve had some injuries too, so getting this win feels great. Coming back to a place that’s so familiar and winning in front of the people I spent the last two years with, it means a lot.”
It wasn’t a flawless performance. Paris dominated the offensive glass, pulling down 20 offensive rebounds and pushing the tempo with 76 field-goal and 23 free-throw attempts. But Panathinaikos responded with composure, dishing out 27 assists – 12 more than Paris – while committing the same number of turnovers (10). Shorts, Sloukas, and Nunn combined for 19 assists and just 4 turnovers.
Faried’s outstanding debut opens up intriguing options for Coach Ataman. Signed on a two-month deal, Faried has spent most of his NBA career at power forward, often thriving alongside big centers like Kosta Koufos, Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic during his best years in Denver.
It remains to be seen if he can sustain that same energy against elite EuroLeague frontcourts. Fans won’t have to wait long to find out – Panathinaikos visits Real Madrid, featuring Walter Tavares and Alex Len, in Round 11 on Thursday.
“We’re going to Madrid with confidence,” Faried said. “I feel like I can play at this level, especially after tonight. So I’m going in with my head held high, my teammates’ heads held high, and we’re focused.”
