The standoff is over, and Dubai won. Thomas Walkup has signed with the Emirati club on a multi-year contract, according to EuroLeague announcement, leaving behind five seasons at Olympiacos and a conflict that reached disciplinary proceedings.
The thank you that says it all
The most revealing phrase in the announcement comes from Dubai's general manager, Dejan Kamenjasevic, the same person whose public statements in August triggered the EuroLeague disciplinary process. In addition to calling Walkup a very important signing and a step forward for the club, he personally thanked Olympiacos management for the way the conversations were handled and their help in reaching an agreement.
That paragraph is an explicit gesture of peace. A week ago, the Greek club had sent a formal letter accusing Dubai of improper approach to a player under contract, EuroLeague opened a disciplinary procedure, and Piraeus maintained it had no intention of letting him leave. Ten days later, there is an agreement and mutual thanks.
What remains to be seen is what happens now with that disciplinary file. The resolution of the transfer does not cancel the investigation into the conduct of the Emirati club, and EuroLeague has not commented on it.
What Olympiacos loses
Walkup leaves Piraeus as one of the most beloved players in its recent history. He played 181 EuroLeague games with the club, the ninth figure in its history, and is second in assists (854) and steals (234), and tenth in both points (1,144) and rebounds (478).
In 2025-26 he averaged 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 0.9 steals in 37 EuroLeague games, figures that do not reflect his real weight in the team. In the final that gave Olympiacos the title against Real Madrid, he posted 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
His calling card has always been defense. He was EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24, and has won that same award in three different leagues: three times in Greece, three in Lithuania and one in Germany, in his only season there. With Olympiacos he has won four Greek League titles, three Cups and four Super Cups, plus the 2022-23 Finals MVP; with Zalgiris, three consecutive Lithuanian leagues and two Cups.
Dubai's sixth signing
Walkup is the sixth addition for the Emirati club this summer, after Jaron Blossomgame, Elie Okobo, Davion Mintz, Mamadi Diakite and Toko Shengelia. Two of them, Okobo and Blossomgame, came from Monaco following the Monegasque club's financial collapse; Shengelia, from Barcelona, by paying his release clause.
Dubai will be Walkup's third EuroLeague club in his career, after Zalgiris and Olympiacos. And he arrives just in time for the Abu Dhabi SuperCup, where both teams could face each other: Olympiacos plays the first semifinal and Dubai the second, against Real Madrid.