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sep 16 2026Zeljko Obradovic coached Panathinaikos from 1999 to 2012, winning five EuroLeagues with the club before departing and leaving a void in Athens that was never fully filled. Fourteen years later, he returns to the Olympic bench just eight months after resigning from Partizan with the team mired in the standings.
Around him, the club has built a new perimeter roster, reaching into the NBA, Olympiacos, and Valencia. Six signings, nine continuities, and a message that admits no nuance: we're here to win.
The Starting Point
The 2025-26 season left an odd taste. Panathinaikos finished seventh with 22 wins and 16 losses, advanced through the play-in—TJ Shorts was named MVP of that round—and reached the quarterfinals against Valencia.
There they won the first two games in Valencia, the second in overtime 105-107, and went up 2-0 with the Final Four within reach. They lost the next three. Getting eliminated after that is the kind of exit that costs a coach his job, and it cost Ergin Ataman his.
Individually, the season had standout names: Kendrick Nunn posted 18.3 points per game, the competition's third-leading scorer, and made the EuroLeague All-Second Team.
What's Leaving
The most significant departure is TJ Shorts, who moved to Valencia right after being the play-in's best player. Alongside him went Cedi Osman to PAOK, Marius Grigonis to Žalgiris, Kenneth Faried—who eventually landed at Baskonia after a stint in Puerto Rico—Vassilis Toliopoulos to Aris, and Alexandros Samodurov to U.S. college basketball.
And, above all, Ataman, who had won the EuroLeague with the club in 2024.
What's Arriving
Six signings, and none are filler.
The most valuable is Sylvain Francisco, who arrives after a huge season at Žalgiris: the EuroLeague's second-leading assist provider with 6.5 per game, October MVP, twice Matchday MVP, and a member of the competition's All-First Team. He's the direct replacement for Shorts and, on paper, an upgrade.
Alongside him, Brancou Badio arrives from Valencia, where he was MVP of Game 5 of that series that knocked out Panathinaikos itself. He brings what Obradovic always asks for first: perimeter defense.
The interior game changes scale. Guerschon Yabusele returns to Europe from the NBA, and Moustapha Fall crosses over from Olympiacos—a move that in Athens is no ordinary signing: the 2.18m center moves from the champion to their eternal rival.
Isaac Bonga arrives from Partizan and reunites with Obradovic, who already coached him in Belgrade. And the club has repatriated two Greeks, Eleftherios Mantzoukas and Dimitris Moraitis, who return to Athens.
Those Staying
The Greek core remains intact. Kostas Sloukas enters another season as the reference point and captain, and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Nikos Rogkavopoulos, and Konstantinos Mitoglou remain.
On the foreign contingent, Nunn, Jerian Grant, Nigel Hayes-Davis, and Juancho Hernangómez continue, the latter renewed through 2030.
The Keys
Obradovic against the clock. He's the most decorated coach in competition history and also the one who demands the most from his rosters from day one. His last season at Partizan ended with a resignation in November. That contrast—the legend and recent burnout—is the project's great unknown.
The perimeter rebuilt. Francisco and Badio for Shorts and Osman. On paper, it's a clear improvement in generation and defense, but it's also a break: Panathinaikos is replacing the players who best knew their system with two arrivals from outside, under a coach who also comes from outside.
Two towers for one post. Fall measures 2.18m and Mitoglou 2.10m. With Yabusele, Bonga, and Hayes-Davis covering the power forward spot, there's plenty of size. The question is whether the team will have enough pace with those profiles or if Obradovic will opt for smaller lineups, as he usually does.
The age of the core. Sloukas is approaching 36 and Grant is 34. Nunn, Hayes-Davis, and Yabusele are in their prime. This is a roster built to win now, not in three seasons, and that explains this summer's spending.
The Forecast
Panathinaikos is, along with Olympiacos, one of two Greek teams entering the season with a Final Four-caliber roster. It has direction, defense, size, and a bench with more titles than anyone.
Reasonably, expect them among the top six and fighting for home-court advantage. From there, everything depends on how quickly Obradovic imposes his ideas on a locker room that isn't his and that comes from a painful elimination.
If the adjustment comes before January, they'll be contenders. If not, it'll be another year of a good team and a bitter ending—exactly what the club has been trying to avoid since 2024.
Full Roster
Point Guards and Shooting Guards: Sylvain Francisco (1.85m), Kostas Sloukas (1.90m), Dimitris Moraitis (1.90m), Brancou Badio (1.91m), Kendrick Nunn (1.95m), Jerian Grant (1.96m), Panagiotis Kalaitzakis (2.00m)
Small Forwards: Guerschon Yabusele (2.01m), Nikos Rogkavopoulos (2.01m), Nigel Hayes-Davis (2.03m), Isaac Bonga (2.04m), Juancho Hernangómez (2.06m), Eleftherios Mantzoukas (2.07m)
Power Forwards and Centers: Konstantinos Mitoglou (2.10m), Moustapha Fall (2.18m)
