“Money doesn’t score baskets.”
Years ago, legendary coach Duško Vujošević summed it up by borrowing a famous lyric from Serbian singer-songwriter Đorđe Balašević:
“Džaba vam novci, moji sinovci.”
In other words: money alone doesn’t win basketball games.
He wasn’t the only one. Great coaches have been repeating the same message for decades.
Budgets don’t score.
Players do.
Basketball remains a team sport. The biggest payroll doesn’t always lift the trophy. Valencia proved that just last season. Still, life becomes considerably easier when you can afford almost anyone you want.
The arrival of Hapoel Tel Aviv and Dubai only accelerated an already overheated market. Last offseason, Hapoel owner Ofer Yannay became the face of basketball’s financial revolution.
This summer, Dimitris Giannakopoulos has taken over the throne.
Building a Superteam
The first statement came on the bench.
Željko Obradović returned to Athens on a reported three-year contract worth €12 million.
When Giannakopoulos promised him complete freedom, he wasn’t exaggerating.
At the moment, Panathinaikos’ projected starting five alone is worth just under €18 million per season.
Kendrick Nunn – 4.5M
Nigel Hayes-Davis – €4.5M
Isaac Bonga – €2.2M
Guerschon Yabusele – €4.0M
Mathias Lessort – €2.7M
No EuroLeague starting five has ever carried a higher combined salary.
Whenever so much talent is assembled, one question inevitably follows.
Can all that talent coexist?
With Nunn and Hayes-Davis, it is a fair concern.
Yet Obradović appears to have constructed this roster with remarkable care.
Bonga is the definition of a glue guy. He already knows Obradović’s system from their time together at Partizan and impacts both ends of the floor without demanding touches.
Yabusele brings overwhelming physicality, post-up scoring, floor spacing and, perhaps most importantly, a willingness to play within the team. Chasing statistics has never defined his game.
Kostas Sloukas remains the emotional leader, while Jerian Grant continues to be one of the EuroLeague’s ultimate team-first guards. Reliable defensively and capable of delivering in clutch moments, Grant is exactly the type of player Obradović values, although several clubs are reportedly trying to lure him away with a larger role.
Fine-Tuning the Roster
Panathinaikos is still searching for another point guard.
Ideally, someone who thrives in the pick-and-roll and can maximize Mathias Lessort’s impact as the French center returns for his first full season after injuries.
Juancho Hernangómez also stays. Under Ergin Ataman, he learned to embrace every role – from featured scorer to complementary piece. Perhaps more importantly, he already knows how to sacrifice touches on a star-studded roster.
Brancou Badio arrives from Valencia as another smart addition. An excellent defender capable of raising the tempo, although his role will almost certainly be smaller than the one he enjoyed in Spain.
The arrival of Mustafa Fall gives Obradović another dimension at center. With Lessort and Fall offering different skill sets, Panathinaikos should be equipped to match up with a wide variety of opponents and playing styles.
The only significant departure is Cedi Osman, who has joined PAOK.
On paper, this is a roster where egos should not become the biggest obstacle.
Provided the winning starts early.
The Team Everyone Must Beat
Panathinaikos isn’t alone in spending aggressively.
Hapoel Tel Aviv’s projected starting lineup is worth close to €16 million, led by Vasilije Micić, Elijah Bryant, Dan Oturu, Zach LeDay and Antonio Blakeney.
Olympiacos follows with a starting five worth roughly €13 million, featuring Codi Miller-McIntyre, Tyler Dorsey, Evan Fournier, Sasha Vezenkov and Nikola Milutinov.
Panathinaikos may not be done spending, either. Another center remains on the shopping list, which says everything about the ambitions in Athens.
The roster may still change.
The expectations won’t.
When you assemble the most expensive starting five in EuroLeague history, there are no excuses left.
Anything short of the trophy will be viewed as failure.
