By Bilal Baran Yardimci / info@eurohoops.net
BERLIN– What’s the secret to getting a bottom-placed team to the top? Panathinaikos Athens coach Ergin Ataman has the answer, since he did that with Anadolu Efes too, but he won’t be just revealing his tricks like that.
“If the bottom teams of the NBA wonder what is the secret, I’m here,” Ataman told Eurohoops when asked about his recipe and being told that this doesn’t happen very often in both the EuroLeague and the NBA. “Let them reach out. I shouldn’t explain the secret here. Let them reach out to me. Then, we can get a team from the bottom and carry it to the top over there too. It’s not that hard.”
Ataman joined Panathinaikos this season after the team finished 17th in the 2022-23 EuroLeague. After several strong additions, such as Kostas Sloukas, Mathias Lessort and Kendrick Nunn after the season began, the team finished with the second seed, made the Final Four for the first time since 2012 and will play in the EuroLeague championship game Sunday against Real Madrid.