Obradovic returns to Panathinaikos after 14 years

Obradovic returns to Panathinaikos in a project that seeks to heal open wounds. The Serbian coach, who managed the Athenian team between 1999 and 2012, winning five EuroLeagues, returns to a club that has never managed to fill the void left after his departure. The timing is peculiar: he arrives after resigning from Partizan in November when the team was struggling in the standings. Around him, the management has built a new roster with a clear message: this is a place to win.

The burden of a painful elimination

The 2025-26 season left a bittersweet taste in Athens. Panathinaikos finished seventh with 22 wins and 16 losses, overcame the play-in where TJ Shorts was named MVP of the round, and reached the quarterfinals against Valencia with realistic chances. They won the first two games on Valencia's territory — the second in overtime by 105-107 — and were one step away from the Final Four. Then they lost three in a row. Such an elimination costs coaching jobs, and that is what happened: Ergin Ataman, who won the EuroLeague in 2024, paid the price.

Individually, Kendrick Nunn was the standout, averaging 18.3 points per game and making the second-best team of the competition as the third top scorer. However, the team fell short when it mattered most. The reconstruction that Obradovic is now undertaking is partly a response to that frustration.

Deep changes in the perimeter

The most significant departure is TJ Shorts, who left for Valencia immediately after being the best in the play-in. Along with him, Cedi Osman went to PAOK, Marius Grigonis to Žalgiris, Kenneth Faried to Baskonia after passing through Puerto Rico, Vassilis Toliopoulos to Aris, and Alexandros Samodurov to U.S. college basketball. Above all, Ataman left, who had won the EuroLeague with the club.

To replace them, Panathinaikos has brought in six quality additions. The most valuable is Sylvain Francisco, coming from Žalgiris, where he was the second-highest assist leader in EuroLeague with 6.5 assists per game. The point guard was MVP for the month of October, twice MVP of the round, and a member of the best team of the competition. He is the direct replacement for Shorts and, on paper, represents a clear improvement.

Brancou Badio arrives from Valencia, where he was MVP of the fifth game in that series which eliminated Panathinaikos. He brings what Obradovic asks for first and foremost: perimeter defense. Along with these two, the club has repatriated two Greeks: Eleftherios Mantzoukas and Dimitris Moraitis return to Athens after playing for other teams.

Interior reinforcement from the NBA and Olympiacos

The interior game undergoes a large-scale transformation. Guerschon Yabusele returns to Europe from the NBA, while Moustapha Fall comes over from Olympiacos, a move that is not just any signing in Athens. The 2.18-meter pivot leaves the champions to join the eternal rivals, which speaks to the competitive intentions of the project.

Isaac Bonga arrives from Partizan and reunites with Obradovic, who had already coached him in Belgrade. With Fall measuring 2.18 and Konstantinos Mitoglou 2.10, the team has considerable size in the paint. Yabusele, Bonga, and Nigel Hayes-Davis complete an interior arsenal that raises expectations regarding defensive play.

The Greek core remains intact. Kostas Sloukas, around 36 years old, continues as the reference and captain, accompanied by Panagiotis Kalaitzakis, Nikos Rogkavopoulos, and Mitoglou. The foreign players include Nunn, Jerian Grant, Hayes-Davis, and Juancho Hernangómez, the latter renewed until 2030. Nine continuities and six arrivals make up a project that seeks balance between experience and renewal.

The great unknowns of the project

Obradovic is the most decorated coach in EuroLeague history, but he is also the one who demands the most from his teams from day one. His last year at Partizan ended with a resignation in November when the team was struggling. That contrast between the legend and recent weariness is the major unknown of the project. Will he manage to reassert himself in a locker room that is not his and that comes from a painful elimination?

The reconstruction of the perimeter also presents a risk. Francisco and Badio replace Shorts and Osman, two players who knew Obradovic's system perfectly. It is a clear improvement in generation and defense, but it is also a break: the team is changing its offensive references for two who come from outside, with a coach who is also coming from outside.

The age of the core is another determining factor. Sloukas is around 36, Grant is 34. Nunn, Hayes-Davis, and Yabusele are at their performance peak. It is a roster built to win now, not in three seasons, which explains the significant spending this summer. The question is whether Obradovic will take weeks or months to impose his tactical idea, or if the locker room will take too long to assimilate the changes.

The interior size also raises doubts. With five players capable of playing the four and the five positions, there is plenty of body, but the unknown is whether the team will have enough rhythm with those profiles or if Obradovic will opt for smaller lineups, as he usually does when he wants to speed up the game.

Panathinaikos heads into the season alongside Olympiacos as one of the two Greek teams with a Final Four caliber roster. It has direction, defense, size, and a bench with more titles than anyone. It is reasonable to expect them among the top six, fighting for home-court advantage. From there, it all depends on how quickly Obradovic can impose his idea in a locker room that is not his. If the adjustment happens before January, they will be candidates to win the competition. If not, it will be another year of a good team and a bitter ending, which is precisely what the club has been trying to avoid since 2024.

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