No place like home in Ioannis Papapetrou's 'amazing journey' to the EuroLeague title

For one Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens player, the journey to green glory started when he was born and his father was wearing the same uniform.

He was the first of the new champions to cross the Greek divide, leaving Olympiacos Piraeus after five seasons and two runner-up EuroLeague finishes to join Panathinaikos Athens in 2018.

But Ioannis Papapetrou trading red for green was not quite seen as betrayal. After all, his father Argiris had played a decade for the Greens, so Ioannis grew up around the club. If anything was surprising, it's how long he took to get home.

Alas, from 2018 to 2022, he and the Greens made the EuroLeague Playoffs just once, and in that case were swept. So, when another Panathinaikos legend, Zeljko Obradovic, came calling, Papapetrou left to play for Partizan Belgrade in the summer of 2022, only to lose Game 5 of the playoffs to Real Madrid last season.

If Papapetrou, 30, seemed cursed not to win a EuroLeague title by then, two things changed that narrative.

First, he was called back to Panathinaikos by new head coach Ergin Ataman. And second, after an injury-plagued season, he played under 3 minutes as the Greens lost home-court advantage with a 87-91 defeat to Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv in Game 1 of the playoffs.

After that game, Papapetrou didn't go home and sulk. He stayed at OAKA, the club's cathedral, and spent time on shooting practice until almost midnight with his older brother, Georgios, feeding him passes.

"I was watching a lot of basketball, so I wanted to play," he explained later of the late-night, post-game, individual practice. "I went out to practice because I didn't play. You know, that's my philosophy all my career. Obviously, through ups and downs, I want to stay ready as much as I can, and I want to help."

To say that Papapetrou helped the Greens become champions is an understatement. He would average 12.5 over the last four games of that series, making 11 of 18 three-pointers – only Kendrick Nunn made more – at a rate of 61.1% – only Luca Vildoza was more accurate. He averaged 28 minutes as the Greens won three of the next four games to reach their first Final Four in 12 years.

Although he played somewhat less in the Final Four, having started the last two playoff games, Papapetrou would start both at the Final Four, too. Indeed, they were his only four starts of the entire season, but they were all do-or-die games that the Greens swept to lift the title.

For Papapetrou, the long-awaited moment of victory was the culmination of a lifetime of Panathinaikos pride, from the fans he joined in the stands as a kid, to the older brother still supporting him, to their father who wore green longer than the new champ.

"Fans know that my father, obviously, played for the club and they know my love for the club. My father didn't get one of these," he said, looking down at the player's individual replica of the EuroLeague trophy in his hand, "and I'm happy I'm bringing one home."