Panathinaikos coach Ergin Ataman was grandstanding.
Of course he was.
He was getting his team, his players and all of international professional basketball a little boost when he spouted off last week.
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“After the Boston Celtics became the NBA champions, they tweeted, ‘World Champion Boston.’ The EuroLeague also tweeted, ‘Beat this team first,’ with our photo. They see themselves very highly,” Ataman told Rafine TV. “Come and play a game in Europe. You are not the world champion. If you want to get the world champion title, come and beat us, the EuroLeague champion. If you are so confident, I say come and beat us in OAKA.”
It’s pretty clear Panathiakos doesn’t matchup talentwise with the Celtics or even the Detroit Pistons, honestly. Ataman obviously knows that.
He’s got a roster of players who either couldn’t cut it in the NBA or who’ll never be good enough to get the chance.
Juancho Hernangomez was a journeyman across seven NBA seasons that included 18 games as a Celtics. He’s more famous for starring in Adam Sandler’s “Hustle” than anything he did in the NBA. He and Kyle Nunn, another NBA washout are prominent pieces of Panathinaikos, who won the Euro League by defeating a Real Madrid team that included Celtics failed experiment Guershon Yabusele.
But there was a time, not that long ago when the Olympics were a tournament where the USA was a lock to win and every other country was simply hoping for silver.
But facing the Americans in the Olympics and eventually beating them, raised international basketball and then forced the USA and by extension the NBA to adapt and get better too. The rising tide on one side of the Atlantic eventually raised the boats on the other.
Basketball is better for it.
So let’s give Panathinaikos and all the Euro champs who follow them a chance.
Obviously, the Celtics or any NBA champion wouldn’t face the Greek champs in any kind of five or seven-game series. That’s not realistic. Instead, the NBA should give Panathinaikos a spot in the Emirates Cup, the new name for the NBA’s in-season tournament.
Is is a gimmick? of course it is. But the whole event has been a gimmick since Day 1. This just makes it a better gimmick.
If Panathinaikos pulls even one upset it’s international news.
The NBA has always embraced its position as a global enterprise. At some point in the next 50 years there will probably be NBA teams, perhaps an entire division playing outside North America. The event’s title sponsor is already named after the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. The Celtics are playing exhibition games in Dubai. The NBA Finals were broadcast to 215 countries in 47 languages. This is a global game. Embrace it.
Here’s how it might work:
The EuroLeague champs would replace the NBA team with the worst record in the field — Obviously games involving an NBA team or team trying to get into the Emirates Cup field aren’t going to have a pennant race feel to them, but there will be discussion about it and talk on ESPN etc. It’ll give the tournament a little extra hype and the players a little added incentive before it starts.
In an ideal world, all the pods would eventually each have one non-NBA team (multiple Euros, Asia, South America, Africa) in it , which would eliminate either the bottom six NBA teams or make the pods larger.
But one is a good start toward creating a better event.
The EuroLeague champ would set up a home base in a city without an NBA team — Obviously it’s not realistic to send teams who are in Panathinaikos’ pod to Athens. So they’d set up a home base in a city that’s either hoping to someday have an NBA team or has a big enough arena and enough interest to ensure crowds. They could play their “home games” in Seattle, Kansas City, Austin, San Diego, St. Louis, Louisville, or Las Vegas. This would allow teams hoping for expansion to audition a little.
The EuroLeague Champ would be in the same pod as the defending NBA champ — This would set up champs vs. champs which would be fun. The Celtics would be way more motivated to beat Panathinaikos this year than they would be to face the Wizards or the Bulls.
* * *
It’s not a true world championship, but it’s good for the game and would improve the Emirates Cup, an event that’s already important enough for some lesser teams to hang a banner.
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
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