The longest EuroLeague winning streak since 2014 will undergo a new tough examination in Athens where Olimpia faces the reigning champions of Panathinaikos, facing them from a higher-ranking position, though the current situation overall reflects an extraordinary balance of quality around the league. Panathinaikos lost heavily in the last round in Istanbul to Efes, but then made up for it by winning against Lavrio in the Greek league despite playing without Lorenzo Brown and Ioannis Papapetrou. It is an experienced team, which added Lorenzo Brown and Omer Yurtseven to the core that won the EuroLeague, who can score easily, has extraordinary physical power inside. In fact, it is first for the fewest rebounds allowed to its opponents. Olimpia in turn is the team that allows the fewest offensive rebounds, but against the physicality and competitiveness of Mathias Lessort they will be called upon to make a supreme effort. Looking at the numbers, Panathinaikos is struggling at defending the three-point line (16th with 38.6 percent allowed to the opponent), exactly the figure that has most enhanced Olimpia’s season, the only team above 40 percent from the arc. But a high-level defensive performance will be required against a team that has multiple offensive weapons to use. The degree of difficulty is sky high: the fact that Panathinaikos is not going through its best times probably makes that team even more dangerous. Olimpia is 1-5 in the EuroLeague when scoring less than 85 points; it is 8-1 when scored. But Panathinaikos can win at any pace, around any kind of scoring. This is the fifth week with two consecutive EuroLeague games. In the four previous weeks Olimpia went 2-0 once, 0-2 once and twice went 1-1; on the road Olimpia is 1-3 but won the last time, in Belgrade. The following game will be at home (3-1) against Bayern Munich, another very hard game.
THE REFEREES – Juan Carlos Garcia (Spain), Saulius Racys (Sweden), Eduard Udyanskyy (Great Britain),
COACH ETTORE MESSINA – “We face the European champions while they are very angry. This is a combination that normally proves to be dangerous. We know it we know that paying close to our limits will be necessary to give ourselves a chance. Obviously, the defense will be crucial against a team that is so good and can create a lot off the pick and roll situations. Offensively, we’ll need to move the ball well, otherwise t will be very hard to build good shots. This a very prestigious game and we fully intend to honor it to the best of our capabilities.”
PANATHINAIKOS OUTLOOK – When evaluating Panathinaikos’ season, it must be remembered that they are currently the team that has played the fewest number of home games in the entire EuroLeague, just six, so the record is affected by this data, even if the reigning champions have lost four of the last five games. It is also the team with the highest average rating and very effective shooting, 58.1 percent from two. 37.6 percent from three. Coach Ergin Ataman has often changed the starting lineup, so far. No player has made the top five every time, but Jerian Grant, Kendrick Nunn and Mathias Lessort are generally there. Grant is the wild card of the team, over 26 minutes of playing time, 7.9 points on average, 41.7 percent from three and often a solid defense on the opponents’ most dangerous perimeter man. Nunn is the team’s leading scorer, an explosive guard as he had also proved in the NBA (193 games averaging 12.3 points per game) who produces 18.4 points per game with 56.9 shooting from two, 39.5 percent from three and 3.3 assists on average. Lessort is an inside player (7.1 rebounds per game, 2.7 offensive) who close to the basket scores 14.0 points per game on 74.1 percent shooting. He has great energy, experience and competitive spirit. He was LeDay’s teammate at Partizan. The playmakers are Lorenzo Brown and Kostas Sloukas who essentially share the playing time equally. Brown averages 8.3 points and 3.4 assists per game; Sloukas contributes 8.1 points on average and 4.4 assists as well as being practically infallible from the free throw line (96.8 percent). At the small forward spot, Panathinaikos suffered the injury of Marius Grigonis (only four games played). Ataman can use three guards together or count on the Turkish player, with seven years and 476 NBA games behind him, Cedi Osman, 5.4 points per game on 34.1 percent three-point shooting, on the experienced Ioannis Papapetrou (4.0 points per game). The power forwards are Juancho Hernangomez (9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game), a very dangerous three-point shooter (45.5 percent), just like Dinos Mitoglou (46.7 percent) who however is scoring less this year (3.9 points per game). At the center spot, behind Lessort, there is another former NBA Turkish guy, Omer Yurtseven (6.5 points with 62.1 percent from two in 10.3 minutes). Kostas Antetokounmpo has returned from an injury lately. Among the wingers, another player who can find space is Panagiotis Kalaitzakis.
THE PANATHINAIKOS CONNECTION – Jerian Grant spent in Milan the 2021/22 season, helping the team win the Italian Cup and the Italian championship. While in the Italian Cup, he was barely used, his impact was huge during the playoffs. He appeared in 36 Italian league games, 11 in the playoffs. In the EuroLeague, he had 26 games, and 42 points scored. Dinos Mitoglou, over the same season, played 13 EuroLeague games with 99 points scored with Olimpia before his season was interrupted by a suspension.
MIROTIC NOTES – Nikola Mirotic has made at least one three in 11 of the last 12 games played and at least two in 10 of the last 11. With an average of 23.9 per game he is first overall in personal rating; with 18.7 points per game, he is the third-best scorer behind Carsen Edwards of Bayern and TJ Shorts of Paris, and with 7.3 he is the third-best rebounder in the competition, but first in defensive rebounds with 5.3 on average. Mirotic has scored at least 20 points seven times this season and 14 times since being at Olimpia. In his last 14 games, he has scored at least 12 personal rating points. Mirotic is one defensive rebound away from 1,000 in his career. Before him, 11 players reached this threshold.
| NIKOLA MIROTIC | Ppg | 3pt % | Rpg | PIR |
| Career averages | 14.6 | 40.4% | 5.3 | 17.4 |
| Best career averages | 19.0 | 47.0% | 6.9 | 22.5 |
| 2023/24 Season | 16.9 | 41.8% | 5.7 | 18.9 |
| 2024/25 Season | 18.7 | 42.9% | 7.3 | 23.9 |
LEDAY NOTES – Zach LeDay, with 21.2 per game, is fifth overall in rating; with 16.7 he is the ninth-best scorer overall and is third in fouls drawn (6.3). Finally, with 56.5 percent three-point shooting he is the leader of the ranking. This season he has scored in double figures in 14 of 15 games. LeDay has had at least 16 rating points in each of his last nine games. He is also shooting 91.9 percent from the foul line, 15th-best overall but fourth among those who have attempted at least three free throws per game and first among those who have more than five.
LEDAY NOTES 2 – In Barcelona, his 37 points of personal rating represented the fifth best club figure in the EuroLeague era after Samardo Samuels’ 47 (2014/15), Shavon Shields’ 41 (2020/21), the 38 made the past year by Maodo Lo and Nikola Mirotic. The 33 points scored are the fourth-best performance by an Olimpia player after the 36 of Samardo Samuels, the 35 of Mike James (2018/19 season), the 34 of Shavon Shields. Shields’ 34 came in a playoff game. Mike James’ 35-point effort is the only one of the four that happened in a loss.
| Player | Season | Opponent | Points | |
| 1 | Samardo Samuels | 2014/15 | Nizhny Novgorod | 36 |
| 2 | Mike James | 2018/19 | Real Madrid | 35 |
| 3 | Shavon Shields | 2020/21 | Bayern Monaco | 34 |
| 4 | ZACH LEDAY | 2024/25 | Barcellona | 33 |
Zach LeDay was named EuroLeague Round 15 MVP after his performance in Barcelona. This year, LeDay was also MVP of Round 7, following the win against Virtus Bologna. It is the first time he has earned recognition twice in the same season. He was also Round MVP in 2018/19 with Olympiacos (against Buducnost) in Round 10 of that season. He is the second Olimpia player to win more than one MVP after Shavon Shields. Before him, the following players were named Round MVPs playing for Olimpia: Mike Hall (2008/09), Omar Cook (2011/12), Curtis Jerrells (2013/14), Alessandro Gentile and Samardo Samuels (2014/15), Jamel McLean and Ricky Hickman (2015/16), Mike James (2018/19), Shavon Shields (2020/21 and 2023/24), Nicolò Melli and Brandon Davies (2022/23), Maodo Lo (2013/24).
CAUSEUR NOTES – The six threes scored against Red Star are his new career record. At 54.8 percent, he is now second overall in three-point shooting. The 20 points are a season record. His last twenty-point game dates back to the 2021/22 season, Game 1 of the playoffs against Maccabi. When they scored at least eight points (six times), Olimpia always won. Causeur is ranked fourth in steals with 1.3 per game.
MANNION NOTES – Against Red Star, he set four career records, i.e. points scored (20), rating (21), two (four) and three (four) baskets during the same game. Mannion has scored at least 10 points five times since joining Olimpia and the team is 5-0 in those games.
TEAM NOTES – In the last six seasons this is the third streak of six consecutive wins achieved by Olimpia. In the 2020/21 season it was performed with the widest average difference, 12.33 points per game, better than the current one. However, the currently active streak includes three road wins (Belgrade, Istanbul, Barcelona) while in the previous streaks there were more home wins (even five out of six in the 2022/23 season).
| Season | Streak | Average Margin |
| 2019/20 | 6 (2 of them won on the road) | 6.83 points per game |
| 2020/21 | 6 (2 of them won on the road) | 12.33 points per game |
| 2022/23 | 6 (1 of them won on the road) | 8.33 points per game |
| 2024/25 | 6 (3 of them won on the road) | 10.1 points per game |
GAME NOTES – Shavon Shields is two two-pointers away from 500 in his career (a goal reached by 75 players before him) and has recently surpassed 2,000 career points. Armoni Brooks has hit at least one three-pointer in each of his last eight games. Leandro Bolmaro enters this game ranked fourth in steals with 1.3 per game. Barcelona’s 20-0 run in the third period is a EuroLeague club record for a road game. The best run up to that point was one 17-0 run in Tel Aviv on November 26, 2020, a game then won after overtime.
