Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has confirmed it has parted ways with head coach Ergin Ataman, the club announced on Monday, ending a brief but trophy-filled tenure that included domestic silverware and a EuroLeague Final Four appearance. The decision comes just days after the club fell to Olympiacos in the Greek League finals.
The departure was confirmed in a club-produced video featuring Ataman alongside president Dimitris Giannakopoulos, marking a coordinated and public conclusion to a partnership that began in 2023. The timing follows a volatile end to the season, with Panathinaikos losing the domestic championship series to its archrival after already exiting the EuroLeague title chase.
Ataman arrived in Athens in 2023 after a highly decorated run with Anadolu Efes, where he won back-to-back EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022. His move to Panathinaikos immediately delivered results, including the 2024 EuroLeague and Greek League championships and consecutive Greek Cup victories in 2025 and 2026.
Across his broader career, Ataman established himself as one of European basketball’s most accomplished modern coaches, winning three EuroLeague titles (2021, 2022, 2024), alongside domestic success in Turkey with Efes and Galatasaray, and earlier continental trophies including the EuroCup (2016) and FIBA EuroChallenge (2012).
Panathinaikos finished the 2025–26 EuroLeague regular season 7th with a 22–16 record. The team advanced into the postseason bracket but was eliminated in a tightly contested quarterfinal series against Valencia, which stretched to five games before a 3–2 defeat.
Offensively, the roster was anchored by Kendrick Nunn, who led the team at 18.2 points per game on 50.4% shooting, including 38.0% from three-point range. Kostas Sloukas orchestrated the offense with 5.1 assists per game, while Cedi Osman and Nigel Hayes-Davis provided consistent wing scoring and spacing throughout the campaign.
Ataman’s coaching résumé spans more than three decades, beginning as an assistant at Efes Pilsen in the early 1990s and including head coaching roles in Turkey, Italy, and Greece. His career includes six Turkish Super League titles, multiple domestic cups, and repeated European-level success across different eras and roster constructions.
