Panathinaikos finally broke an eight-year drought in Vitoria, pulling off a dramatic road victory over Baskonia. The game came down to the wire, with Kendrick Nunn delivering a clutch, game-winning buzzer-beater that sealed the win.
Despite the historic result, head coach Ergin Ataman made it clear he was far from satisfied with how his team performed.
“We won the game. Of course, I’m not 100% happy with how we played tonight. Except for Kendrick Nunn, our performance was terrible! With only one player, we can’t achieve any of our goals,” Ataman said after the contest.
“It’s a very dangerous situation because, honestly, I don’t like this basketball we play with only one player scoring and the others not using the ball properly, missing shots, missing layups, losing everything. This is not big-team basketball; we were lucky that in the last seconds, Nunn scored. He deserved it because he played exceptionally. I am very upset with the basketball we are playing, and we played especially in the 4th quarter tonight.”
Ataman continued by pointing out that the team’s mentality was his biggest concern.
“It is definitely a victory, but it is what I told you, you cannot win with such a roster with only one player, it is a very dangerous situation that we have now, and we will try to solve it. With this roster and this team, we cannot play like this. Everyone was giving the ball to Nunn.
“I did not like our mentality. Nobody wants to take responsibility. We missed layups, we missed open shots, and we gave them offensive rebounds. It’s a weak mentality. I didn’t like the mentality of the team. Everybody escaped from taking responsibility and only watched Kendrick Nunn scoring.”
Later in the press conference, he elaborated further, saying the collapse in the final period underscored the issue.
“Until the fourth period, we had control, we were turning the ball over. In the fourth period, we lost control, we did not take responsibility, except for Nunn. Everyone tried to give the ball to Nunn. We missed some stupid shots and layups. In the end, we got the win with a shot at the end. Nunn played an amazing game, Osman played well, Hernangomez played not badly, but the rest of them didn’t give anything.
“This is dangerous for our future because we have big goals. I don’t think we relaxed. Nobody wanted to take responsibility. We missed layups, we missed free throws, and they got offensive rebounds. We had a weak mentality. When you are a big team and you concede 15 points at the end, that’s a problem. I don’t like the mentality of the team; everyone wanted to escape responsibility, and they gave the ball to Nunn to score.”
For Ataman, the win may have snapped a long losing streak in Vitoria, but it also highlighted deeper problems.
Ergin Ataman wants to see more of his players stepping up:
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) October 9, 2025
"Nobody wants to take responsibility….
I didn't like the mentality of the team. Everybody escaped from taking responsibility and only watched Kendrick Nunn scoring"https://t.co/YFlQhxQuXF
