The Panathinaikos point guard is in position to rewrite the Final Four history books in Abu Dhabi
Kostas Sloukas sets his sights on Final Four records
Stats
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When a player is playing in his 11th Final Four – more than all but one player in the history of the competition, and as one of the main protagonists in each one of those – it is not much of a surprise that he is flirting with all kinds of Final Four records.
In Abu Dhabi, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens playmaker Kostas Sloukas will have a chance to truly rewrite the history books.
First and foremost, last year’s Final Four MVP will aim to become the first player this century to win five EuroLeague championships. He climbed the throne with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013, he lifted the crown with Fenerbahce in 2017, and then did so with Panathinaikos last season.
If Panathinaikos ends up going back-to-back, the only players who would have more titles than Sloukas in the history of the competition would be Dino Meneghin with seven (titles won between 1970 and 1988) and Clifford Luyk (all from 1964 to 1978).
Eyeing top spot
But Sloukas also has a realistic chance to reach the mountaintop in as many as four different Final Four statistical categories.
Sloukas enters this Final Four in second place in accumulated PIR with 203. Victor Khryapa is the leader with 208. Sloukas is also ranked second with 57 free throws made, while Nando De Colo is the leader with 59. With three free throws made at the Final Four, Sloukas would be first overall all-time.
The Panathinaikos playmaker ranks third with 67 assists, behind only Sergio Llull (71) and Sergio Rodriguez (76). Sloukas also arrives in Abu Dhabi ranked fourth in scoring at Final Fours this century with 191 points. Above him are JR Holden (194 points), Rodriguez (209) and Llull (213).
So, with 23 points in two games, Sloukas would claim the top spot, which Llull has occupied since 2023. It’s worth remembering that Nikos Galis is the scoring leader in Final Four era with 231 points, achieved at the Final Fours played between 1988 and 1994. Sloukas would need to score 40 points in Abu Dhabi to catch Galis.
Moreover, with his next appearance in a Final Four game, Sloukas will move into second place all-time with 21 Final Four games played, behind only Khryapa (23 Final Four appearances).
There is another player in Abu Dhabi who is set to move into the Top 10 in terms of appearances – Sloukas's former teammate, Olympiacos Piraeus team captain Kostas Papanikolaou. He is currently 11th, with one fewer Final Four game played than Milos Teodosic and Andrey Vorontsevich, who are tied in ninth place with 15 appearances. In Abu Dhabi, Papanikolaou – playing at his eighth Final Four – can also move past them and catch Holden, who sits in eighth place with 16 Final Four games played.
Interestingly, Sloukas and Papanikolaou are tied just outside the Top 10 in Final Fours this century in two categories.
They sit in 11th place with 20 three-point shots made apiece, with Jaycee Carroll and David Blu tied for ninth with 21 triples apiece, while Saras Jasikevicius and Vassilis Spanoulis are tied for seventh having made 22 threes each. Sloukas and Papanikolaou are also tied in 12th place with 37 defensive rebounds. Teodosic and Mike Batiste are tied in 10th place with 38 defensive rebounds apiece.
Sloukas is set to move up the two-pointers made list, where he ranks eighth with 37 shots made, behind Holden in seventh with 39 and Llull in sixth with 40 two-pointers made.
McKissic leading the steals race
Sloukas is also tied for 18th place in Final Fours this century with 9 steals, needing four more to get into the Top 10. However, there are three other players in Abu Dhabi who have more steals in Final Four games than Sloukas.
Shaquielle McKissic ranks in 12th place in Final Fours this century with 12 steals, which is more than any other player at this Final Four. This figure is even more impressive when you consider that McKissic has only played six Final Four games in his career. With his next steal, he will equal Mike Batiste, Kyle Hines and Nikola Mirotic, who are all tied in ninth place with 13 steals apiece.
Behind McKissic sits AS Monaco's Nick Calathes, who is the EuroLeague’s all-time leader in steals with 459, but only 11 of those came in the Final Fours, which ranks him in 13th place. Papanikolaou is also ahead of Sloukas, having stolen 10 balls, for 14th place.
Papanikolaou and Calathes moving up
Papanikolaou and Calathes are the only other players in Abu Dhabi who are already in the Top 10 in several categories, with an opportunity to move up some more.
Calathes, the EuroLeague’s all-time leader in assists, ranks fifth in Final Fours in that category with 48 assists. He needs 11 more to catch fourth-placed Theo Papaloukas.
Papanikolaou has 12 starts in Final Four games this century, tied for the third-most. Khryapa is second with 13 starts, and Holden is the leader with 15 starts in Final Four games. Calathes has nine starts in Final Four games this century, currently tied for 13th, but if he starts one game in Abu Dhabi he would enter the Top 10. If he starts both, Calathes would be alone in sixth place in this category.
Papanikolaou ranks in ninth place with 55 rebounds, behind Batiste (58) and seventh-placed Mirotic (59). Jan Vesely is sixth with 64 rebounds in Final Fours this century. In this same category, Calathes is in 19th with 43 rebounds and needs 10 in Abu Dhabi to catch 10th-placed Ioannis Bourousis (53).
Papanikolaou needs a single offensive rebound to move into the Top 10, while Calathes requires one defensive rebound to enter the Top 15 in that category in Final Fours this century.