By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The search of Panathinaikos Aktor for injury relief following Mathias Lessort sustaining a fractured left fibula landed on Wenyen Gabriel, who officially signed with the Greek powerhouse until the end of the 2024-25 season.
Earlier on Tuesday, Panathinaikos president Dimitris Giannakopoulos confirmed the deal on his IG and also added that two more contracts of the team will be extended.
After head coach Ergin Ataman confirmed Gabriel among potential options, the former NBA player is set to move from Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv to the Greens. He is expected to arrive in Athens by Christmas, on Wednesday.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t want to let him go,” Maccabi head coach Oded Kattash commented on speculation regarding the future of Gabriel following a losing effort versus Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in Round 11 of Israel’s Winner League Regular Season on Sunday.
Despite the reluctance of Kattash, the Yellows will deregister the player from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague roster before the deadline on Wednesday. Therefore, Gabriel will be eligible to play with the defending champions in the second half of the Regular Season.
So far in the 2024-25 edition of Europe’s premier club continental competition, the 27-year-old forward/center started in seven of his nine appearances. After sitting out the first seven rounds of the Regular Season due to a preseason knee injury, he tallied 5.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. A hand injury forced him to miss Round 17.
A former Kentucky standout, he is a veteran of 152 NBA games over the last four seasons, spread between the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, and Brooklyn Nets.
Representing South Sudan, international action includes the 2024 Olympic Games and the 2023 FIBA World Cup.