This week’s Rivalry Series game is a must-watch
Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos: Brace yourself for a special night
Game Preview
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 8 of 34
Group Regular Season
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Anyone who likes basketball will know about the Greek derby between Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Olympiacos Piraeus. And this latest edition of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s Rivalry Series game has all the makings of a heavyweight bout between Greece’s two biggest clubs.
With 10 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague championships between them, of which seven have come this century, success is always associated with this rivalry. Panathinaikos ended its 13-year wait to become the EuroLeague champion again last season, but the Greens are arguably even stronger this year, and the same can certainly be said about Olympiacos.
There are stars everywhere you look.
On the benches, there are two of the best in the business – Panathinaikos’s Ergin Ataman and Olympiacos Piraues’s Georgios Bartzokas.
Then on the court, the Greens boast the deepest backcourt in the league with Kendrick Nunn, ex-Red Kostas Sloukas, Jerian Grant and Lorenzo Brown.
The Reds have incredible options at the forward positions, led by 2022-23 EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov and NBA veteran Evan Fournier, as well as the reigning EuroLeague Best Defender Thomas Walkup at point guard.
In the paint, Panathinaikos’s Mathias Lessort can make a strong case to be the best center in the league, but Olympiacos’s three-pronged monster of Nikola Milutinov, Moustapha Fall and Moses Wright will look to make life very difficult for the back-to-back All-EuroLeague First Team big man.
The 4-3 Olympiacos comes into this derby having won its last six EuroLeague games against the 5-2 Panathinaikos, with the Reds holding a 14-7 advantage over the Greens in the EuroLeague this century, but there really is little to split the two teams heading into their mammoth clash at OAKA.
Coach Ataman’s squad managed to come out on top against Coach Bartzokas’s men when they last met in the Greek League on October 27, and Panathinaikos is in the midst of a three-game winning streak in the EuroLeague that has featured wins at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, as well as a home triumph over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne.
Last week saw Olympiacos show what it is capable of by beating Real Madrid and then FC Barcelona in the double-round week, both at SEF, but the Reds have a big blot on its record: while they are 4-0 at home this season, they are 0-3 on the road. Panathinaikos, meanwhile, is 2-0 on its home floor.
From 19:30 CET, you can watch all the build up to the Greek derby by checking out the pregame show for free on the EuroLeague’s YouTube channel. Then follow all the action from 20:15 CET on EuroLeague TV before heading back to YouTube for the postgame show straight after the final buzzer.
Brace yourself, folks. It’s going to be a special night.