Panathinaikos B.C. (), also simplified to Panathinaikos or PAO and officially referred to as Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens for sponsorship reasons, is the professional basketball team of the major Athens-based multi-sport club Panathinaikos A.O. It is owned by the Giannakopoulos family.

The parent athletic club was founded in 1908, while the basketball team was established in 1919. Panathinaikos, along with Aris, are the only Greek teams never to have been relegated from the top division, with participation in every Greek First Division Championship.

Panathinaikos has developed into the most successful basketball club in Greek basketball history and one of the most successful teams in European basketball. The team has won seven EuroLeague Championships, forty Greek Basket League Championships, twenty-two Greek Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, one Greek Super Cup, and two Triple Crowns. The Greens count one more Greek Championship (forty-one in total), that took place in 1921 and was organized by the YMCA, but is not officially recognized, because it was before the creation of the Hellenic Basketball Association.41 Greek Championships They hold the world record for the longest title-winning streak, spanning 27 seasons from 1995–96 to 2021–22, during which the team won at least one title each season.

The team plays its home games at the Telekom Center Athens, also known as Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall with a capacity of 18,300.

Many top-class players have represented the club over the years, including Dominique Wilkins, Fragiskos Alvertis, Byron Scott, Nick Galis, John Salley, Dimitris Diamantidis, Antonio Davis, Stojko Vranković, Dino Rađja, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Dejan Bodiroga, Nick Calathes, Nikola Peković, Panagiotis Giannakis, Fanis Christodoulou, Mike Batiste, Antonis Fotsis, Kostas Tsartsaris, Željko Rebrača, Vassilis Spanoulis, Dejan Tomašević, Nikos Oikonomou, Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Mike James, İbrahim Kutluay, Sani Bečirovič, Jaka Lakovič, Marcelo Nicola, Hugo Sconochini, Nando Gentile, Pepe Sánchez, Darryl Middleton, Lazaros Papadopoulos, Žarko Paspalj, Nikos Chatzivrettas, Drew Nicholas, Stratos Perperoglou, Byron Dinkins, Oded Kattash, Alexander Volkov, John Amaechi, Tiit Sokk, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, Jason Kapono, Arijan Komazec, Edgar Jones, Romain Sato, Johnny Rogers, Tony Delk, James Gist, Stéphane Lasme, Jonas Mačiulis, Roko Ukić, Robertas Javtokas, Ioannis Bourousis, Keith Langford, Jimmer Fredette, Kostas Sloukas, Juancho Hernangómez, Mathias Lessort, Kendrick Nunn and Cedi Osman. Players of that caliber, under the wing of the Giannakopoulos family and guided by top basketball coaches, such as Rick Pitino, Božidar Maljković, Xavi Pascual and later Ergin Ataman, but mainly Željko Obradović who coached the team for 13 straight years, winning at that time with the Greens 5 EuroLeague titles, 11 Greek Championships and 7 Greek Cups, have made Panathinaikos one of the biggest powerhouses in European basketball history.

Panathinaikos is the only team on the European continent to win seven EuroLeague titles (1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2024) since the establishment of the modern EuroLeague Final Four format in 1988 (no other club has won more than four championships in this period). They were also runners-up in 2001. Panathinaikos reached the EuroLeague Final Four thirteen times overall (1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2024, 2025).

History

Basketball in Greece (1918–1945)

Panathinaikos started as a football club in 1908. In 1919, basketball was still unknown in Greece. During that period, Giorgos Kalafatis with other athletes participated in the Inter-Allied Games in Paris and attended basketball games between the Allies of World War I. When he later returned to Greece with the necessary equipment, he set up the Panathinaikos basketball club, led by Apostolos Nikolaidis.

In 1919, Panathinaikos played their first match against X.A.N. Thessaloniki (YMCA), another club also pioneer of basketball in Greece, a match which took place at the Panathenaic Stadium.

In 1937, Giorgos Kalafatis managed to create a new Panathinaikos team that, during the following year, tried to catch up with already established clubs like the YMCA, Ethnikos G.S. Athens, Panionios, Aris and Iraklis. Angelos Fillipou, Nikos Mantzaroglou, Litsas and Dimitrakos were the ringleaders of the group and were later joined by Telis Karagiorgos, Thymios Karadimos, Giorgos Bofilios, Philipos Papaikonomou, Petros Polycratis and Nikos Polycratis. During the German occupation that followed, Dimitris Giannatos (founding member of the basketball team) was executed by the German occupation forces as a member of the resistance action group “Ivanov.”

Postwar history (1946–1970)

In 1946 (the first post‑war championship) and 1947, Panathinaikos emerged as champions, with the help of players like Ioannis Lambrou, Missas Pantazopoulos, and Stelios Arvanitis (these players would later go on to win the bronze medal in EuroBasket 1949), as well as Jack Nicolaidis (nephew of Apostolos Nikolaidis).

In 1950 and 1951, Panathinaikos again emerged as champions, with key contributions from Faidon Matthaiou (considered the Patriarch of Greek basketball) and Nikos Milas. In 1954, the club repeated this success. The following five years were fruitless, as shown by the lack of championships until 1960–61, marking a period of renewal for the team.

In 1961, Panathinaikos won the Greek League championship with new leaders Georgios Vassilakopoulos, Stelios Tavoularis, and Petros Panagiotarakos. In 1962, Panathinaikos repeated as Greek League champions. That year, PAO also took part in a European-wide competition for the first time, facing Hapoel Tel Aviv in the FIBA European Champions Cup 1961–62 season.

On 23 November 1963, Panathinaikos defeated Olympiacos by a score of 90–48 in the Mantellos Cup, a tournament that was later replaced by the Greek Cup, which made its first appearance in 1976.

In 1967, Panathinaikos were crowned Greek League champions, with Giorgos Kolokithas (one of the greatest basketball players of his era) among their ranks.

In 1969, the conquest of the Greek League championship was followed by the club's first European success, reaching the semifinals of the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup 1968–69 season, where they were eliminated by Dinamo Tbilisi.

The next year, 1970, PAO became the first Greek basketball team to include a foreign player (Craig Greenwood) in a European game.

The Golden Age (1970–1984)

During these golden years, Panathinaikos won 10 out of 14 Greek League championships, with their great leader and scorer Apostolos Kontos.

During this period, Kostas Mourouzis, nicknamed the fox of coaching, managed the "team of the 4 Ks" — the young Kontos, Koroneos, Kokolakis, and Kefalos. These players, along with Iordanidis, who acted as a link with older players, won five consecutive Greek League championships and achieved one of the greatest accomplishments of their era by reaching the semifinals of the FIBA European Champions Cup 1971–72 season, aided by American Willy Kirkland. Unfortunately, Ignis Varese, one of the giants of the era, proved an insurmountable obstacle for Panathinaikos.

Over the next four seasons, Panathinaikos captured the Greek League championship once, in 1977, and also won their first Greek Cup in 1979. They acquired Memos Ioannou in 1974 and Greek-American David Stergakos in 1979, a player who would contribute greatly to the team in the coming years.

In the following five years, Panathinaikos won four Greek League championships (1980, 1981, 1982, 1984) and two Greek Cups (1982, 1983). Specifically, in 1982, while coached by Kostas Politis, Panathinaikos achieved their first Greek double, as well as a 6th-place finish in the FIBA European Champions Cup 1981–82 season. During the group stage of that season, Panathinaikos finished ahead of a strong CSKA Moscow team, winning a thrilling last-second game. The club's last Greek League championship before the subsequent decline came in 1984, when Panathinaikos won the decisive match in Corfu, with Liveris Andritsos and Tom Kappos starring for the team.

Panathinaikos also had a chance to avoid the upcoming decline when they discovered Rony Seikaly, but Greek government bureaucratic issues prevented him from playing in the Greek League as a Greek citizen, despite claims that he was entitled to do so. This ultimately forced him to move to the United States to play college basketball at Syracuse.

The decline of 1985–1992

In 1985, PAO finished in 3rd place in the Greek League. Stergakos, Ioannou, Vidas, Andritsos, and Koroneos — who left the following year — were the key players. However, the balance of power in the Greek League had shifted in favour of Aris, and Panathinaikos ceased to be the league leader, assuming a secondary role. Nevertheless, they remained a worthy adversary. In 1986, against all odds, they eliminated the powerful Aris from the Greek Cup at the semifinal stage. Panathinaikos then defeated Olympiacos in the final, claiming what would be their last title until 1993. During the next two seasons, PAO finished in 5th place in the Greek League, marking their worst results in many years.

In 1988, the ban on foreign players in the Greek League was lifted, allowing Panathinaikos to acquire Edgar Jones from the NBA. He proved to be a capable shooter, scorer, and rebounder, and for the next two years, he was the star of the team. Although PAO achieved significant wins over other major Greek teams, they did not secure any notable distinctions. Over the next two years, Antonio Davis, who later had a distinguished NBA career, replaced Jones as the team leader.

During this period, Panathinaikos also acquired some of the most talented young Greek players, including Fragiskos Alvertis, Nikos Oikonomou, and Christos Myriounis. Despite this promising roster, the club experienced its worst period in history, finishing 7th in the Greek League in 1991 and dropping to 8th place in 1992, leaving them outside of European-wide competition for the first time since 1967.

Return to distinction (1992–1995)

In 1992, Panathinaikos’ basketball department became professional under the management of the Giannakopoulos family. That summer, the club undertook a full reconstruction of the team, acquiring Nikos Galis, widely regarded as Greece's top basketball player, who was joined by star players Stojko Vranković, Tiit Sokk, Arijan Komazec, and Sasha Volkov. Galis led Panathinaikos to a Greek Cup victory.[E.O.K., «Κύπελλο Ανδρών 1992–1993», https://www.basket.gr/cup-men/kypello-andron-1992-1993/1746/] The team reached the Greek League championship finals but ultimately lost the title after withdrawing from the decisive fourth game in protest against refereeing decisions in Game 3.

In the 1993–94 season, Galis, along with Sasha Volkov and Stojko Vranković, were key figures in Panathinaikos’ campaign, which culminated in a 3rd-place finish at the 1994 FIBA European League Final Four, the highest placement in the club's history at that time.[Gazzetta, «Ο Πασπάλ, ο Βόλκοφ, ο Γκάλης και ο Πολίτης», https://www.gazzetta.gr/stiles/o‑paspali‑o‑volkof‑o‑gkalis‑kai‑o‑politis/]