page_title: Panathinaikos B.C.
section_title: Post-Obradović period (2012–2018)
hierarchical_section_title: Panathinaikos B.C. / History / Post-Obradović period (2012–2018)
caption_attribution_description: Ελληνικά: Konstantakopoulos against Panathinaikos
context_page_description: Panathinaikos B.C., also known simply as Panathinaikos, or by its current name Panathinaikos B.C. OPAP for sponsorship reasons, is the professional basketball team of the major Athens-based multi-sport club Panathinaikos A.O. It is owned by the billionaire Giannakopoulos family.
  The parent athletic club was founded in 1908, while the basketball team was created in 1919, being one of the oldest in Greece. Alongside Aris, they are the only un-relegated teams with participation in every Greek First Division Championship until today.
  Panathinaikos has developed into the most successful basketball club in Greek basketball's history, and one of the most successful in European basketball, creating its own dynasty. They have won six EuroLeague Championships, thirty-eight Greek Basket League Championships, nineteen Greek Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and two Triple Crowns. They also hold the record for most consecutive Greek League titles, as they are the only team to have won nine consecutive championships, as well as for the most consecutive Greek Basketball Cup titles, winning six from 2012 to 2017.
context_section_description: After the departure of Obradović, Panathinaikos' new head coach, Argiris Pedoulakis, was forced to make massive changes to the team, with 12 new players being added to the roster, including James Gist, Roko Ukić, and NBA players Jason Kapono and Marcus Banks. Team captains Dimitris Diamantidis and Kostas Tsartsaris led the rebuilding effort for the Greens, who reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals, only to fall to FC Barcelona Regal in a 5-game series. Panathinaikos won their 14th Greek Cup, by beating Olympiacos in the final, with a three-point difference (81-78). During the same year, Panathinaikos was able to break Olympiacos' home court twice in the Greek League Finals, thus conquering the Greek League championship for the 33rd time in the club's history.
  Since Dimitris Giannakopoulos first became the chairman of Panathinaikos, he repeatedly attempted to secure marketing deals with Asian corporations. The first step was made when Panathinaikos announced that they had signed Chinese basketball player Shang Ping. This deal made Panathinaikos the first European club to have a Chinese player on its roster. On 12 September 2013, Panathinaikos landed at the airport of Guangzhou, becoming the first European team to make a trip to China via airline. On 13 September 2013, Panathinaikos wrote European history once again, in less than two days, becoming the first European team to ever face a Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) team. In addition, Panathinaikos became the first European team to win against a Chinese team, the Foshan Dralions, with a score of 66-67.
  On 8 March 2014, due to the fans' dissatisfaction with the team's bad record in the EuroLeague, the replacement of the team's head coach, Argiris Pedoulakis, was announced. It was also announced that the team would go to the Greek League Finals under the guidance of the club's legend, Fragiskos Alvertis, who would serve as an interim caretaker coach. After the conquest of another Greek double by beating Olympiacos, Panathinaikos announced the recruitment of Duško Ivanović, to be their new head coach.
  On 5 April 2015, Panathinaikos beat Apollon Patras, in the final of the Greek Cup, with a score of 53-68. Earlier in the cup competition, the team had to overcome the obstacles of Olympiacos and PAOK. Panathinaikos made the EuroLeague playoffs. In Greek League, Panathinaikos lost to Olympiacos in the finals, 0-3.
  On 30 June 2015, Sasha Đjorđjević was announced by the team, as the club's new head coach. Panathinaikos was able to sign Greek point guard Nick Calathes, and Serbian center Miroslav Raduljica. The debut of the team was dreamy, as on 8 October 2015, Panathinaikos beat and eliminated Olympiacos, in an away match for the Greek Basketball Cup, by a score of 64-70. On 6 March 2016, Panathinaikos won the Greek Cup for the 17th time in the club's history, and for the 5th straight season, with a record score of 101-52 against the Greek 2nd Division club, Faros Keratsiniou.
  On 19 April 2016, Sasha Đjorđjević was replaced by Argyris Pedoulakis, who once again took over the team's head coaching position. Despite that, the team lost against Olympiacos in the finals of the Greek League, with a 1-3 series loss.
  With the retirement of Dimitris Diamantidis, Panathinaikos turned over to a new page in the club's history. This led the team to increase its budget, and to obtain players such as Mike James, K.C. Rivers, Chris Singleton, and Ioannis Bourousis. Many sponsorship deals were also achieved at the same time, as well as the deal that made OPAP, Greece's biggest betting firm, the team's main sponsor. The appointment of Xavi Pascual as the team's head coach for three years, started a new era for the club.
  The next two seasons, 2016/17 and 2017/18, Panathinaikos with coach Xavi Pascual managed to win two back-to-back Greek Basket League Championships against Olympiacos, and the 2017 Greek Basketball Cup against Aris.  They also made it to the EuroLeague playoffs, where they faced each year's upcoming champions (Fenerbahce in 2017, and Real Madrid in 2018) and eliminated from the
caption: Nick Calathes
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