Panathinaikos Aktor head coach Ergin Ataman touched on a wide range of subjects in a recent interview with Eurohoops, from his team’s offseason roster moves and basketball philosophy to the heated rivalry with Olympiacos and his reflections on the events that surrounded the 2025 Stoiximan GBL Finals in Greece.
Looking back at his arrival in Athens, Ataman explained that his early experiences in Greece were far smoother compared to what unfolded later.
“In the first year, everything was fine. When I came here against Olympiacos, everything was also for me was very fair,” the 59-year-old coach recalled of his first season in the Greek capital.
But tensions grew after Olympiacos fell short in the EuroLeague and the rivalry spilled into the domestic finals.
“After that, something changed against me,” Ataman noted, suggesting that the dynamic shifted once the Reds’ frustrations carried into their Greek League battles with Panathinaikos.
The Turkish coach drew on past experiences from his time with Anadolu Efes to prepare himself for the intensity of the Eternal Derby.
“For me, I expected this,” he said. “Even before I joined Panathinaikos, I had a lot of respect for Olympiacos. This is the reality. They played in the Final Four in the last five or six years. They have a great coach. He was one of the best coaches that I liked, [Giorgos] Bartzokas. His coaching is great. Olympiacos also finished the season in first position. But, OK, in the rivalry of the Greek teams, of course, the fans, the atmosphere, creates some high tension.”
Ataman admitted that circumstances forced him into confrontations he hadn’t anticipated.
“I believe that everything starts from what happened from the approach of the federation, of the referees for the games, and then the tension starts to be higher, and I was in the middle of this tension. I don’t like to be like this, but if you are a coach of Panathinaikos, you must fight with your club, and I fight with my club. I think that Olympiacos didn’t fight for their club, only Panathinaikos, but they started to fight also against me, against my country,” he explained.
“These things were strange for me. OK, I also reacted very aggressively to some things I didn’t accept. I didn’t expect this confrontation of the club against me, my country, and I reacted, but now I understand everything. They can make everything. I will be cool to win the Greek League again.”
Turning to the upcoming season, Ataman expressed confidence in the roster that Panathinaikos assembled over the summer.
“I believe that we did a great job in the transfer season,” he said. “We understood some mistakes from last year, in some positions, and we made these transfers, but of course, our main team is the same. The chemistry of the team is the same. All of these new players, I believe they will enjoy joining this winning team.”
With the 2026 EuroLeague Final Four set to take place in Athens, at the OAKA, Ataman brushed aside the idea that hosting the tournament would put additional pressure on his players. “I believe that this is something interesting for the media,” he remarked. “For us, it’s the same.”
Beyond Panathinaikos, the conversation touched on Ataman’s other roles and passions, including his work with the Turkish national team at EuroBasket 2025, his perspective on the cultural differences between Greek and Turkish basketball, his pride in his son Sarp beginning his own coaching career, and even his recent recognition as the best coach of the last decade.
"I was in the middle of this tension. I don’t like to be like this, but if you are a coach of Panathinaikos, you must fight with your club"
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) October 4, 2025
Ergin Ataman talks about last season's Greek league finals, this season's expectations, the EuroBasket, and morehttps://t.co/7cNUwqvffE
