Three titles, a near-perfect season for Olympiacos, and the ultimate validation of the game plan designed by Giorgos Bartzokas to take his team to the top of European basketball. But what exactly is the “Bartzokas Ball”? SKWEEK has the answer.
From skepticism to vindication, and into a dream season. How else could one describe what Olympiacos achieved, winning three out of the four trophies they competed for, with the EuroLeague crown standing as the defining moment of their campaign?
Bartzokas’ team, through all the challenges along the way, managed to consistently play attractive basketball, but more importantly, basketball that fully reflected their coach’s identity. In many games, they were widely praised not only for their style of play and the spectacle they produced, but also for their outstanding results.
There were many protagonists, all contributing to the final success, but special mention should go to Giorgos Bartzokas himself, who made history by joining the elite club of coaches with two EuroLeague titles.
Defining “Bartzokas Ball”
This season, Olympiacos set a EuroLeague record with 21.6 assists per game. They also recorded the best offensive production (90.3 points per game) and the highest Points Per Possession (1.056) in the club’s history, sealing what is now widely known as “Bartzokas Ball”.
A term used externally to define Olympiacos’ style of play — one that the basketball community has attributed to the team, though never formally adopted by Bartzokas himself — with passing as its core principle. It is no coincidence that the Olympiacos head coach consistently refers post-game to his team’s assists and turnovers when evaluating performances.
The finisher Vezenkov
Constant player movement, ball circulation, and teamwork: these are the pillars of “Bartzokas Ball”, a system that stands in contrast to modern trends dominated by isolation and over-dribbling. Bartzokas, in fact, is known for discouraging excessive dribbling and static offense — the so-called “hero ball” — a philosophy that reflects both his basketball thinking and his coaching principles: “no one above the team”.
Key representatives of this style include Kostas Papanikolaou, Thomas Walkup, and Moustapha Fall — players of different positions who function as stabilizers within the lineup, prioritizing collective contribution over individual scoring. They impact the game across multiple areas, especially in creation and ball movement.
At the centre of it all stands Sasha Vezenkov, the EuroLeague’s leading scorer and MVP, who manages to dominate offensively while rarely needing more than 4–5 dribbles per game. His off-ball movement and elite ability to read defensive gaps in split seconds have made him the perfect finisher within the Bartzokas system.
Structure, flow, and shared responsibility
However, Bartzokas is not a coach who rejects talent — quite the opposite. He gives his players freedom, trusts their instincts, and seeks to blend individual personality with team structure. Many players have produced the best seasons of their careers under his leadership, including Malcolm Delaney, Alexey Shved, and Tyler Dorsey — and of course, Sasha Vezenkov.
At the surface level, “Bartzokas Ball” is about fluid offensive basketball. But underneath it lies a deeper structure built on automation and the concept of cooperation. What can be solved with a dribble is solved with a pass; what can be forced under pressure is often improved with an extra pass. The goal is simple: keeping everyone engaged, active, and connected on both ends of the floor.
This also translates into rhythm and tempo. Olympiacos’ pace leans closer to the Spanish basketball school than the traditional Greek approach built around mismatch hunting and half-court reading. It is not only about transition play, but about “flow” — a term Bartzokas himself often uses to describe continuous movement, of both the ball and the players.
Half-court speed and the extra pass are essential components of the system.
The result
The result is a team that plays basketball built for many, not for one. Even when opponents attempt to isolate key players or disrupt Olympiacos’ passing game, it is far from easy to execute consistently.
Walkup, despite often facing passive defenses encouraging him to shoot rather than pass, remains one of the EuroLeague’s best playmakers. Dorsey and Fournier regularly draw aggressive defensive attention aimed at limiting their scoring, yet still produce consistent double-digit performances and occasional career nights.
It has even become common to see deny defenses specifically designed for Vezenkov. And yet, more often than not, these strategies fail — as seen in matchups against Fenerbahçe or the Greek finals series against Panathinaikos.
Because this is, ultimately, team basketball over isolation basketball. And what Olympiacos has built is a system that remains stable even when key pieces are missing — something they proved once again this season.