After going to five games in last season's playoffs, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos hold their first re-encounter of the new season on Thursday.
Fenerbahce vs. Olympiacos: Many crossed paths
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Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul hosts Olympiacos Piraeus in Round 6 in a game with multiple storylines.
Mainly, this is the first time Fenerbahce and Olympiacos meet in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague since last season's playoffs. In an exciting series, both teams won at home and on the road to force a do-or-die Game 5 in which Olympiacos prevailed, 84-72. Kostas Sloukas buried a game-winning three-pointer in Game 3 that gave Olympiacos a 71-72 win, regaining the home-court advantage in the series, and had 22 points in Game 5. Sloukas, who has played for both Fenerbahce and Olympiacos, is now with the Reds' archrivals Panathinaikos Athens.
2017 finalists meet again
Olympiacos has a 16-15 winning record against Fenerbahce since the EuroLeague started with the new millennium. Fenerbahce claimed the biggest victory in the series, conquering its only continental title by topping Olympiacos 80-64 in the EuroLeague Championship Game in Istanbul. It was the first-ever EuroLeague title for a Turkish team and Fenerbahce's only continental crown to this date.
Team captain Melih Mahmutoglu is the only current Fenerbahce player who was also there in 2017. In fact, he had the honor to lift the trophy. Nikola Milutinov and Kostas Papanikolaou were then and now with the Reds, too.
This game is also a chance to see arguably the two most successful Greek coaches of the 21st century go face to face. Georgios Bartzokas and Dimitris Itoudis are the only coaches from their country ever win the EuroLeague. Bartzokas did it with Olympiacos in 2013 and Itoudis won two titles as head coach with CSKA Moscow in 2016 and 2019, as well as five as an assistant with Panathinaikos between 2000 and 2012.
Dorsey faces his former team
There are more crossed paths, of course. Fenerbahce sharp shooter Tyler Dorsey played for Olympiacos in the past. In his first season with the Reds, Dorsey started in all 38 games he took part of, averaging 12.8 points and helping Olympiacos make it to the Final Four, losing there against Fenerbahce's rivals Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
Dorsey is one of 11 players who have worn the jerseys of both teams this century. Two of them, Sloukas and Pero Antic, won EuroLeague titles with both Olympiacos and Fenerbahce. The list also includes three players who reach the Final Four with one of these teams: Lynn Greer (Olympiacos 2009), Erick Green (Fenerbahce 2019) and Linas Kleiza (Olympiacos 2010).
Fenerbahce arrives to Thursday's showdown on a three-game winning streak. Olympiacos has won its last two games and will look for its second road victory of the EuroLeague season, after beating Panathinaikos 78-88 in overtime in the season opener. Both coaches know each other well and last season's fantastic playoffs series only made this sports rivalry even better.