Panathinaikos BC

[Panther1908]

Panathinaikos Basketball Club

Panathinaikos is the professional basketball team of the Athens-based Greek sport clubPanathinaikos. The team is also widely known by the name PAO, which stands for Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos. The club is owned by the pharmaceutical magnates Pavlos Giannakopoulos and Thanassis Giannakopoulos. The parent athletic club was founded in 1908 and the basketball team in 1922, and it has since developed into the most successful basketball team in Greece and among the best in Europe. Panathinaikos has won 29 Greek National Championships, 11 Greek Cups, 4 European Championships and 1 Inter-continental Cup.
Some of the well-known players that have played with the club over the years have included: Dominique Wilkins, Byron Scott, Antonio Davis, Dino Raja, Tracy Murray, Tony Delk, John Salley, Nikos Galis, Dejan Bodiroga, Panagiotis Giannakis, Željko Rebrača, Stojko Vranković, Žarko Paspalj, Fanis Christodoulou, among others. Those players, along with the successful management of Pavlos Giannakopoulos, have made Panathinaikos one of the most successful and well-known teams of the last decade-and-a-half on the continent of Europe and the only team that has won four Euroleague titles after the modern era final four format was established.

[Vasic]

So what?

[Panther1908]

where is mongol team in Euroleague?

[Garcia5]

Calathes drafted by Wolves


File photo
Former Gator Nick Calathes has a contract to play for Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos for at least one season.



Staff report


Published: Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 9:46 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 9:46 p.m.
Former Gator point guard Nick Calathes was selected in the NBA draft Thursday night by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round with the last of the Wolves' five picks on the night, the 45th pick overall.

.art_main_pic { width:250px; float:left; clear:left; }Calathes signed a contract last month to play with reigning Euroleague Basketball champion Panathinaikos. It's a two-year contract with an option for a third year that could pay him up to $2 million a season with incentives, but the Wolves now own the draft rights to Calathes.
There's still no telling where Calathes will play next season. He could go to Greece, or Minnesota could pay a $500,000 buyout in his contract that would free him up to play in the NBA.
Panathinaikos recently signed former Indiana Pacer Sarunas Jasikevicius to play point guard, a move that could impact Calathes' decision. Most likely, however, Calathes will play at least one season in Greece in an effort to boost his value.
As a second round pick, Calathes and the Timberwolves are not bound by the NBA's first-round pay scale. Therefore, Calathes could earn great bargaining leverage if he plays well and convinces his NBA rights-holders to offer him more money to return to the U.S.
Also, in Greece Calathes would join his older brother, Pat, who is playing professionally in the Euroleague for Greek team Maroussi.