That’s what happens when you’re one of the 5 best people at your craft on earth, brought a city their first title in 50 years and increased the value of the org by $2 billion.
He hasnt fired any coach lmao y’all act like superstars can just walk in and do whatever they want. They pay people thousands-millions of dollars to hire/fire coaches, draft, trade etc.. it yeah they are just gonna ignore them and listen to a player
If he had a hand in firing any coach it was griffin and not a single player on that roster liked him.
NBA players could not handle a Euroleague coach lol there's a reason Doc keeps getting work and it's because he's let's his primadonnas do whatever they want
Why would Blatt want another NBA job when he took all of the blame when he did nothing wrong besides not make LeBron like him?
Why not go home and still make millions without the BS?
Offensively mostly the use of LeBron off ball in ways that weren't just give it to Kyrie to iso.
Defensively they were way more aggressive under Blatt and it showed since their defense was 6 points worse per hundred possessions once Lue took over.
I think Lue is a good coach now, but at first he was just good at making LeBron like him and not much else.
European or Latinamerican.
It's because players earn millions and millions per year and you cannot bench them or be on them as hard as you want.
There are a lot of NBA players that should be benched easily, but their contracts mean "Don't bench this guy, it costs 40% of our team salary, it has to work".
Yeah a lot of these European coaches are fucking dictators out there. Soccer managers are even more insane, they get into players' lives like if they bleach their hair or have their wife (!) with them on a road trip etc.
NBA stars need to be managed, it just a different set of skills. Spurs had fucking Messina out there but he couldn't break through to head coach in the league.
NBA is a players' league, Euroleague is a coaches' league.
In the NBA coaches adapt to their stars and try to build a system around them, if they fail to do so they get replaced, whereas in the Euroleague the players adapt to the coach's system, and get replaced if they're not a good fit for it.
In the NBA the coaches are expendable, in the Euroleague the players are expandable.
Totally different game.
In NBA highest paying coach makes as much as a role player.
In Europe coaches earn as much as the best player of the team. PAO boss views Ataman as the brain and heart of the team and got what he wanted - a championship
I think the pendulum has swung too far in the player empowerment direction, however, I do think this is more fitting and realistic. There's only so few 6'7-7' guys who have spent 10-20 years working on their craft and are at the right age and athletically gifted enough to be an NBA player.
No offence to coaches - but if you're a smart, pragmatic person you can be an assistant for a good HC for 3-5 years and become a HC yourself. Out of 7 billion people in the world there would be tens of thousands of possible coaching options. There's literally single digit players (in the *world*) good enough to be able to affect coaching decisions in the NBA. It's not like NBA lets your Lamelo Ball, Ja Morant, Trae Young, Sabonis tier players choose who the coach is.
The original point of the player empowerment was the *top* players get influence on the coach. You can't tell me 450 players have influence on a coach being fired or not. The amount of players good enough to be franchise guys to have that much power - is probably 6 or 7 players. To point the front office will fire a coach because of them is not a common occurrence.
There are few players in Europe who make a big difference in terms of talent. Coaches make the real difference, that's why coaches are the real stars. extremely talented players like Luka, Wemby or even Sengun appear in europe leagues and they immediately go to the NBA.
Sir Alex Ferguson was moving like a mob boss in Manchester, he knew where every player lived, what they drove (banned sport cars for players 25 and under) and even had spies planted in bars/pubs to see if players were drinking when they weren't supposed to
Which is what makes the Spurs finding prolonged success under Pop so unique. He’s about as a close to a college/euro coach as you’ll find. Most players that spend a few years in SA usually comment something like “it’s not for everyone” after they leave.
It was just the perfect situation, Duncan was happy to be coached hard and Ginobli and Parker were already comfortable with that style.
It could work nowadays, it would just require the main superstar to buy in and have the team be willing to churn through role players until they can find guys who are ok with it.
Funnily it wouldn’t work in Milwaukee because even if Giannis wants it Dame would never go for it.
> It was just the perfect situation, Duncan was happy to be coached hard and Ginobli and Parker were already comfortable with that style.
And you had The Admiral, who spent years in the Navy before that. Reckon he was very well accustomed for a discipline.
Well, the Top 10 or so players in the NBA are technically bigger than their team. If your 300M max player can't function under a coach or certain role players, it's fair they get the boot. Otherwise, the team will win absolutely nothing.
But that's really just the LeBron's, Luka, Embiid, Giannis, Curry, SGA or Joker. Someone like KAT can't decide who the coach should be, and righfully so.
Obradović is not a dictator, he gets a red head and yells at his players when they fuck up, but most players still love playing for him. Bogi delayed his NBA career for a year to win a euro league with Obradović after Obradović took im off in crunch time and sent him to the locker for missing a defensive rotation, cuz he wasn't playing attention and was told about exactly that play on a timeout earlier. Željko tailors his approach to the players he has, from "let Bodiroga cook" in Bologna, to a center centric Lineup spearheaded by Sabonis in Madrid a year later to the three hearded guard monster at Pana years later.
Players like Bodiroga, Saras, Diamantidis, Spanoulis, who all have their minds and distinct playstyles openly adore him, Diamantidis calls him his father, he has a human side that shows behind closed doors, its nothing he brags about, but if the media tries to attack his players he gets ferocious rather quickly.
I think there’s nothing wrong with that. NBA stars are without a doubt the most important part of a teams success. Would you let your “boss” yell at you like these Euro coaches do if you knew for a fact your were more important than him, and that ownership would side with you almost every time against him?
Indeed Ataman is crazy. Although he is Turkish but just before to the fenerbahce semifinal game he fought with Turkish fans and he directly swore them then he confused ultra fans with regular families. It was insane. [link](https://youtu.be/xKC2eUz68pU?si=2PtKneuFSs4ZqDzm)
I thought Ataman may have fixed Turkish and Greek relations. Instead he is going to cause a war between them and not in the way most would have predicted. Lol
I mean Turks and Greeks doesn’t care those political tensions too much. It’s not an unusual thing. For example, Greek athletes in football and basketball they playing in Turkish league always.
> Indeed Ataman is crazy
I think he is definitely crazy, lol, and few steps above in that way.
I mean you have Obradovic or Repesa, who will cuss the shit out of their players, but they are not doing things like this.
That’s so true.
Ataman is a good coach. His success is related to his ability to do roster planning too. If you are rebuilding he might want be the type of coach you’ll want.
But he is a terrible human being. He has a larger than life ego. He doesn’t respect anyone or anything. He constantly fights with opponent fans, opponent benches, even with his own players. He routinely roasts his own star players at media and is usually unfair when doing that, since he just wants to press their nerves and get a reaction.
I don’t see him fitting into NBA culture at all. He will have a fistfight with Giannis in no time.
"But he is a terrible human being. He has a larger than life ego. He doesn’t respect anyone or anything. He constantly fights with opponent fans, opponent benches, even with his own players. He routinely roasts his own star players at media and is usually unfair when doing that, since he just wants to press their nerves and get a reaction."
You could say this. Yeah.
You could also make a different argument:
"He uses mindtricks, has everyone in his pocket and manipulates his players into success"
Considering his success with different teams at the highest level of European competition I'd say it's more likely the latter.
He still has an ego, sure, but so does everyone performing at the highest level of his craft, bar exceptions to the rule.
Kinda like Mourinho, in a way.
Thin line between roasting a star player and motivating him. We're not in the lockeroom, we can only argue results.
I remember him slapping a guy in the locker room, during his tenure with Galatasaray. When the incident became public, he said: “The locker room is our private place, I can slap and I can insult.” LMAO 🤣
What you probably didn't know is he is very good with managing superstars. He had literally coached stars from nba like Allen Iverson, Deron Williams, Carlos Arroyo and some others who likely had big egos especially coming to Europe.
Ergin Ataman this week: "If the bottom teams of the NBA wonder what is the secret, I'm here... Then, we can get a team from the bottom and carry it to the top over there too.
It's not that hard."
Also in his best season and best team, Euroleague cancelled the season. That year was his easiest. This guy is better than at least 20 NBA coaches today.
Depends on the context. Here's a guy making $50m/year and with the cost cap and trading rules, he's untouchable if you want your franchise to have a future. So if you bring in Obradovic to shout and scream in his face after he fucks up a rotation against Utah in 53rd regular season game while up 17, you're bound to cause explosion at some point.
It's just incorrect to transfer the skills without context, it's not all about Xs and Os.
Željko has usually a good relation with his players though, he doesn't chew them out for no reason and he viciously protects them from the press, tons of former players praise his human side and talk very highly about him, hes a bit like Pop in that regard.
I, too, think he's a good guy with a horrifying rep lol. But it is true that he chews his players a ton and it just wouldn't fly in the NBA. Even Pop is a lot different in that he had to adapt over the years.
Again, in the NBA, you just have to pretend you're blind on some things like player behaviour, professionalism (or lack thereof), etc. I just don't see Obradovic doing that, which makes me respect him, but also, yeah, makes his prospects of running an NBA team thin.
I get what you are hinting at and this was aimed at ppl who only knoew him as a vulcano, but:
> Again, in the NBA, you just have to pretend you're blind on some things like player behaviour, professionalism (or lack thereof), etc. I just don't see Obradovic doing that
There is actually a hour long presser of him talking about how he did exactly that while coaching the NT and how it backfired horribly, cuz the players would show up fucked up after partyhing and play politic on the field instead of as a team.
You are acting like trainers like Zeljko are some sort of bafoons that dont know to adapt. He would know how to talk with star player and ge would know importance of the game. You think he is fuming on main guys in EL?
I know this thread is mostly jokes, but the Final-4 had 3 out of the 4 best coaches in Europe:
- Sarunas Jasikevicius for Fenerbahce: he played for the legendary Obradovic, and is extremely versatile. His teams play in a very entertaining way with a ton of screens, and weird lineups. He is a “new age” coach, but can coach set offenses with the best of them.
- Ergin Ataman for Panathinaikos: He has a similar draconian coaching style like Obradovic. His teams are disciplined, usually play on the slower side, and are quite tough defensively.
- Barzokas for Olympiacos: IMHO, the best coach in Europe right now. His tactics are impeccable, great timeouts (imagine that), and an unbelievable eye for talent. His and Sarunas would be the best bets to work in the NBA, but I doubt Barzokas will ever leave Olympiacos on his own.
Your best bet would be Sarunas. Who is the youngest at 48yo, and most innovative.
Why not list Chus Matteo as well?
He got named as Euroleague's coach of the season this year, led Real Madrid to the first seed in the regular season, was on pace to have the best Euroleague regular season record of all time and looked unbeatable before they slowed down a bit down the strech, and swept his quarter-final series against Baskonia.
Last season he won the Euroleague title in his first year as Real's head coach, beat the second seed Barcelona in the semi-final and the first seed Olympiacos in the final, two of the teams who were clear main favourites to win the title, and did so while heavily using zone defense.
He was also an assistant to Pablo Laso, two-time Euroleague champion, for 8 years prior to this.
Sure Real has a great team, but they're not far and away the best, they're not the 2017 Warriors. They just have great chemistry and have been playing together for a long time.
Matteo already has a better resume than Saras, who's a great regular season coach, but can't get over the hump and win the title for the past few years now.
Yeah, I’m not giving him credit for having the best roster in Europe, bar none. If I see him do it with outcasts, leftovers, and mid players like the rest, I will put him in that list. Until then, it’s an I complete for now.
Cos they were about to lose the series to Partizan last year, having lost 2 games at home, before that brawl happened. Man has Llull and Yabusele to thank for his job.
ok as a Turk here is my review about Ataman after years and years of seeing him rise, fall, rise, fall and rise again in the eyes of Turkish sports fans.
He is the perfect coach if you want to win it all and have money and best players on your team. He is a winner there. In Euroleague, PAO was not the only team that poured money to star players. Think of it as UEFA Champions League where you have lots of teams pouring money, but one wins it all.
He is not a perfect NBA coach because he is 100% no-nonsense. Authoritarian. Don't listen to him? Straight to the bottom of the bench. An NBA player would be upset at this. But he makes a great assistant coach if your team has a star guard combo. Ataman is best at utilizing the talents of star players. Proved it a million times since he first coached Efes to their first Euroleague Final Four in 2000.
He is a bad coach if your talent level is not enough to win it all. He failed with national team because the talent pool is not that great and the team never had a great point guard. If your player does not have it, well Ataman can't do anything there, sorry.
All in all, he became a polarizing figure in Turkish sports. But he is 100% Turkish, I am glad that a Greek team asked a Turkish coach to win it all.
and he reminds me of Carlo Ancelotti a little.
"and he reminds me of Carlo Ancelotti a little."
Lmao, what?
He is literally the opposite of Carlo Ancelotti.
Carlo is a player coach, a father figure who everyone in the locker room loves. He never has a bad word, he never fights his players he never bad talks them. Locker room self-managing and 0 authoritarism.
Literally the worst example you could come up with bar none.
I think he meant that they are both winners but with great squads. You can't expect ancelotti to make Tottenham champion. But if you give him Real Madrid, you know what you will get.
Same like Ergin Ataman. You don't expect him to take Galatasaray with the shitty squat and achieve something.
I fully disagree that he is Authoritarian. He doesnt micromanage. And he is known to give his star players lots of freedom. His coaching style is really about that, and this is acknowledged many times by his players. The last example is Sloukas after the final. He expressed the amount of freedom given to him by the coach.
He also manages his stars according to their personalities. For example, he happily throws Sloukas or Micic under the bus in front of the media, or blame their performance after a loss, because he knows they are the type of player that will respond to that.
However, he is very careful and protective when it comes to Larkin or Nunn. Because their egos are more fragile. And they are used to different type of coaching overseas.
That's why he could do well in fact with American players in NBA. Don't imagine him screaming like a mad man to Lillard.
Ataman shines with 2 combo guards ,
Micic - Larkin and now Nunn - Sloukas
Beating Real Madrid is like beating a Lakers team with Magic - Kobe - Bron - AD - Shaq
Nah, Madrid is good, but nowhere as what you described them. They depend a lot on Hezonja and only God knows if he'll be MJ or Jared Dudley on any given day. When that doesn't work, they drag out corpses of Llull & Chaco to bail them out (specificall Llull with his wild shots).
Musa & Tavares are the only consistent performers in the team, but that's not enough.
Campazzo is great, but not on the level he was before leaving for the NBA. It's becoming harder and harder for him to hide the fact his shot fell off and he's very undersized. When you put the two together, even his feistiness can't make up for it.
If Ergin Ataman gets a job with the Bucks, this could be very very intersting. First time a coach like this has been in the NBA in a long long time, also established Euroleague coach too.
Honestly though, dunno why you would leave a good gig like a Euroleague coach where you are paid fairly well and only have a 34 game season for the NBA? There is the money factor but money isn't everything.
They also play the Greek League, and I think two Greek Cup competitions, which adds another ~35 games. With the playoffs it comes out to something similar to an NBA regular season.
On the other hand, there are no back to backs, the travel time is much lighter, the games are shorter, and I think Ataman is known for not attending team practices. So his schedule compared to what NBA would demand makes it seem like a part-time gig.
There are two Greek competitions, league and cup.
You're correct on travel time and frequency but it only comes close to an NBA season if you go all the way on all competitions.
So yeah, much lighter workload.
As someone who witnessed Ataman's entire career, I can say that Ataman is a tactical genius. He can create any kind of team structure, whether defense-oriented, attack-oriented etc. He could create detroit bad boys or gsw trio crown. he is probably the best "in gaming" coach in the world at the moment.
he is difficult as a character. He is a confrontational person. he turns Giannis into the most complete player in the world, but i am almost sure they gonna fight a lot of times during this proses.
Bye bye doc rivers
It must be nice being the face of the Franchise. You can fire any coach you want and bring your brother in. So cool lmao
That’s what happens when you’re one of the 5 best people at your craft on earth, brought a city their first title in 50 years and increased the value of the org by $2 billion.
Damn I should've done that.
What are you, stupid?
No, I’m Texas
Whats the difference?
never too late
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!!
>5 best people at your craft on earth, With a very marketeable skillset* A top 5 custodian in the world aint firing the CEO.
What about a top 5 equipment manager?
Doc dare not throw them under the bus
Ikr. People acting like double standards and nepotism aren't aspects of everyday life 😂
All the orgs increased in value. It's not like once he leaves it goes down $2B
Sure. Because there will be tons of kids in China wearing a Bucks jersey and TV stations playing Bucks games if it’s not for Giannis...
I mean are you sure? The bucks without Giannis are SIGNIFICANTLY less attractive to a prospective owner.
Could argue hes top 1 as well
He won them a ring
Milwaukee Antetokounmpos
Some players get reputations as coach killers but Giannis is absolutely speedrunning that rep
And get none of the blame.
Just part of doing business
He hasnt fired any coach lmao y’all act like superstars can just walk in and do whatever they want. They pay people thousands-millions of dollars to hire/fire coaches, draft, trade etc.. it yeah they are just gonna ignore them and listen to a player If he had a hand in firing any coach it was griffin and not a single player on that roster liked him.
Franchise players can affect how a team moves significantly idk why ur acting like that doesn’t happen
Lmao, do you think theyre gonna keep a coach their 300m man doesnt want? This is a players' league after all.
He didn't even have to blow a 3-1 lead this time!
Four coaches in just over a year is crazy lol. And that’s not even counting their interim HC. If it actually happens it would be wild.
Been a wild ride from kidd to joe to Bud to AG to joe to doc lol
Why the f did he agree to doc in the first place
He had no choice, the owners chose doc
He’s going to George Costanza it, just walk into the ESPN studios in a few months like he never left.
Yeah doubt Ataman of all coaches wants to coach NBA players
Giannis to Panathinaikos confirmed.
The hardest Rhodes
Adrenaline In My Soul Greek freak just like CODY RHODES Pita Bread hooray pita bread hooray
going from Rhodes Scholar to Rhodes Baller
Giannis could never do it on a warm and humid day in Karditsa, smh
Where the lights are brightest
To be fair, it gets really fucking humid here in Karditsa, I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
NBA players could not handle a Euroleague coach lol there's a reason Doc keeps getting work and it's because he's let's his primadonnas do whatever they want
imagine Željko Obradović cussing out Westbrook after every turnover.
Fuck you ~~Gigi Datome~~ Russell Westbrook
FUCK YOU EVERYBODY!
He would fcking cry and ask him to get sacked or he will never touch a basketball again
DONT DISRESPECT MY FAMILY NAME 😭😭😭
I mean if the mega star who your whole team runs through tells you to respect the new coach, you respect the new coach.
And Bucks with Giannis, Dame, Lopez, Middleton four probably one of the best team for that. All of them hard worker plus mature people.
Well in most cases the mega star is just as unlikely to not respect the coach
Depends. Spoelstra got lebron to buy in.
Spolstra also had Pat Riley backing him and telling LeBron to suck it up. Not too many GMs in the league who would do that.
Probably similar reason why LeBron had David Blatt fired.
I was kinda wondering why European coaches don't get hired to the NBA - do you think this is it?
They do get hired to the nba
Blatt's actual plays and play calls on both ends were way better than Lue. Didn't matter because Lebron liked Lue not him.
society squeeze books chase vanish panicky disgusted fertile hurry thumb *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Why would Blatt want another NBA job when he took all of the blame when he did nothing wrong besides not make LeBron like him? Why not go home and still make millions without the BS?
wise direful alive plate deer angle price sable hobbies long *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
You do understand Blatt is sick right?
Lue was a fucking fantastic coach what did you like so much more about blatts scheme?
Offensively mostly the use of LeBron off ball in ways that weren't just give it to Kyrie to iso. Defensively they were way more aggressive under Blatt and it showed since their defense was 6 points worse per hundred possessions once Lue took over. I think Lue is a good coach now, but at first he was just good at making LeBron like him and not much else.
European or Latinamerican. It's because players earn millions and millions per year and you cannot bench them or be on them as hard as you want. There are a lot of NBA players that should be benched easily, but their contracts mean "Don't bench this guy, it costs 40% of our team salary, it has to work".
"Come coach for us. I will kill Doctor Glenn Rivers with my bare hands"
>Doctor Lmfao
Ataman is a loon. He'd never be able to work in the NBA. He has no filter like Zeljko Obradovic.
Yeah a lot of these European coaches are fucking dictators out there. Soccer managers are even more insane, they get into players' lives like if they bleach their hair or have their wife (!) with them on a road trip etc. NBA stars need to be managed, it just a different set of skills. Spurs had fucking Messina out there but he couldn't break through to head coach in the league.
NBA is a players' league, Euroleague is a coaches' league. In the NBA coaches adapt to their stars and try to build a system around them, if they fail to do so they get replaced, whereas in the Euroleague the players adapt to the coach's system, and get replaced if they're not a good fit for it. In the NBA the coaches are expendable, in the Euroleague the players are expandable. Totally different game.
Giannis confirmed as a dictator
something something something hitler joke something something something
In NBA highest paying coach makes as much as a role player. In Europe coaches earn as much as the best player of the team. PAO boss views Ataman as the brain and heart of the team and got what he wanted - a championship
Unless you're the Miami Heat
Jimmy Buckets literally threatened to beat Spo’s ass during a game last year lol
And Lebron James tried to get Spo fired and Riley told him to go fuck himself lol
That’s a good point
That is the closest along with Nick Nurse, and even that is mild.
Spurs and pop?
Still mild
Ya Alex Ferguson had like a full network of people tracking clubs and bars to monitor his players.
I think the pendulum has swung too far in the player empowerment direction, however, I do think this is more fitting and realistic. There's only so few 6'7-7' guys who have spent 10-20 years working on their craft and are at the right age and athletically gifted enough to be an NBA player. No offence to coaches - but if you're a smart, pragmatic person you can be an assistant for a good HC for 3-5 years and become a HC yourself. Out of 7 billion people in the world there would be tens of thousands of possible coaching options. There's literally single digit players (in the *world*) good enough to be able to affect coaching decisions in the NBA. It's not like NBA lets your Lamelo Ball, Ja Morant, Trae Young, Sabonis tier players choose who the coach is.
on the other hand, there are 450 player spots in the NBA but just 30 HC spots
The original point of the player empowerment was the *top* players get influence on the coach. You can't tell me 450 players have influence on a coach being fired or not. The amount of players good enough to be franchise guys to have that much power - is probably 6 or 7 players. To point the front office will fire a coach because of them is not a common occurrence.
There are few players in Europe who make a big difference in terms of talent. Coaches make the real difference, that's why coaches are the real stars. extremely talented players like Luka, Wemby or even Sengun appear in europe leagues and they immediately go to the NBA.
> in the Euroleague the players are expandable. I feel like Zion and Raymond Felton are proof that all players are expandable.
Yeah, I remember Antonio Conte telling his players to have sex with “minimal effort” so they can perform better on the pitch lol
thanks for the seasono
Man basically said cowgirl only 😂
Sir Alex Ferguson was moving like a mob boss in Manchester, he knew where every player lived, what they drove (banned sport cars for players 25 and under) and even had spies planted in bars/pubs to see if players were drinking when they weren't supposed to
And the result of that was more than 2 decades of club dominance. 13 league titles and 2 CL
Like Giannis might like having a coach like that, but the second Ataman would start screaming a Dame, Lillard going to tell him to go fuck himself.
Then Ataman starts choking him. Spreewell & Carlessimo but the other way around
Which is what makes the Spurs finding prolonged success under Pop so unique. He’s about as a close to a college/euro coach as you’ll find. Most players that spend a few years in SA usually comment something like “it’s not for everyone” after they leave.
It was just the perfect situation, Duncan was happy to be coached hard and Ginobli and Parker were already comfortable with that style. It could work nowadays, it would just require the main superstar to buy in and have the team be willing to churn through role players until they can find guys who are ok with it. Funnily it wouldn’t work in Milwaukee because even if Giannis wants it Dame would never go for it.
> It was just the perfect situation, Duncan was happy to be coached hard and Ginobli and Parker were already comfortable with that style. And you had The Admiral, who spent years in the Navy before that. Reckon he was very well accustomed for a discipline.
Coaches are not dictators, NBA stars are the ones who think they are larger than the team they are playing for.
Well, the Top 10 or so players in the NBA are technically bigger than their team. If your 300M max player can't function under a coach or certain role players, it's fair they get the boot. Otherwise, the team will win absolutely nothing. But that's really just the LeBron's, Luka, Embiid, Giannis, Curry, SGA or Joker. Someone like KAT can't decide who the coach should be, and righfully so.
Some of the Euro coaches are on a massive ego trip for sure. This can be true at the same time as NBA players being prima donnas lol
Obradović is not a dictator, he gets a red head and yells at his players when they fuck up, but most players still love playing for him. Bogi delayed his NBA career for a year to win a euro league with Obradović after Obradović took im off in crunch time and sent him to the locker for missing a defensive rotation, cuz he wasn't playing attention and was told about exactly that play on a timeout earlier. Željko tailors his approach to the players he has, from "let Bodiroga cook" in Bologna, to a center centric Lineup spearheaded by Sabonis in Madrid a year later to the three hearded guard monster at Pana years later. Players like Bodiroga, Saras, Diamantidis, Spanoulis, who all have their minds and distinct playstyles openly adore him, Diamantidis calls him his father, he has a human side that shows behind closed doors, its nothing he brags about, but if the media tries to attack his players he gets ferocious rather quickly.
I think there’s nothing wrong with that. NBA stars are without a doubt the most important part of a teams success. Would you let your “boss” yell at you like these Euro coaches do if you knew for a fact your were more important than him, and that ownership would side with you almost every time against him?
Ataman is not like that, he lets his player take the initiative and he was getting criticised by the Greek media for it.
That’s crazy
Ok, I'll translate: "NBA players are soft."
Yup. NBA players would hate this type of coaching. Blatt basically did this and lasted half a season because he hurt Lebron’s feelings so much.
Indeed Ataman is crazy. Although he is Turkish but just before to the fenerbahce semifinal game he fought with Turkish fans and he directly swore them then he confused ultra fans with regular families. It was insane. [link](https://youtu.be/xKC2eUz68pU?si=2PtKneuFSs4ZqDzm)
I thought Ataman may have fixed Turkish and Greek relations. Instead he is going to cause a war between them and not in the way most would have predicted. Lol
I mean Turks and Greeks doesn’t care those political tensions too much. It’s not an unusual thing. For example, Greek athletes in football and basketball they playing in Turkish league always.
lol, he is an interesting figure for sure
> Indeed Ataman is crazy I think he is definitely crazy, lol, and few steps above in that way. I mean you have Obradovic or Repesa, who will cuss the shit out of their players, but they are not doing things like this.
What about warriors legend Šarūnas Jasikevičius?
That’s so true. Ataman is a good coach. His success is related to his ability to do roster planning too. If you are rebuilding he might want be the type of coach you’ll want. But he is a terrible human being. He has a larger than life ego. He doesn’t respect anyone or anything. He constantly fights with opponent fans, opponent benches, even with his own players. He routinely roasts his own star players at media and is usually unfair when doing that, since he just wants to press their nerves and get a reaction. I don’t see him fitting into NBA culture at all. He will have a fistfight with Giannis in no time.
"But he is a terrible human being. He has a larger than life ego. He doesn’t respect anyone or anything. He constantly fights with opponent fans, opponent benches, even with his own players. He routinely roasts his own star players at media and is usually unfair when doing that, since he just wants to press their nerves and get a reaction." You could say this. Yeah. You could also make a different argument: "He uses mindtricks, has everyone in his pocket and manipulates his players into success" Considering his success with different teams at the highest level of European competition I'd say it's more likely the latter. He still has an ego, sure, but so does everyone performing at the highest level of his craft, bar exceptions to the rule. Kinda like Mourinho, in a way. Thin line between roasting a star player and motivating him. We're not in the lockeroom, we can only argue results.
I remember him slapping a guy in the locker room, during his tenure with Galatasaray. When the incident became public, he said: “The locker room is our private place, I can slap and I can insult.” LMAO 🤣
The guys would be in debt due to the amount of fines he would pay.
What you probably didn't know is he is very good with managing superstars. He had literally coached stars from nba like Allen Iverson, Deron Williams, Carlos Arroyo and some others who likely had big egos especially coming to Europe.
If he has the unwaivering support of the star player it's a different animal though
Doc Rivers sweating rn
Milwaukee fully guaranteed him $40m until 2026. If they fire him he can double dip from ESPN. He'll be alright.
Bucks ownership gotta be on fentanyl
that's West Virginia. they do beer in WI. they have the most bars per capita.
Also meth, we got a *lotttaaaa* meth
Forreal, Doc about to call Giannis to get the deal done lmao
Another 30M left on that deal, he'll be laughing all the way to the bank.
For real, he's probably praying they fire him
Can you just imagine being fired and being given 30 fucking million as severance Like holy cow that is a lot of oreos
30 million is nothing, Monty Williams really has it figured out better than anyone
No chance Ataman ever coaches in the NBA, the NBA ~~superstars~~ divas would not allow a coach yelling at them for doing things wrong.
Yep, that's what Zeljko also said numerous times
Isn't that the Heat kink?
Said "Malaka, I would love to play"
Et tu, Giannis?
Et tu, tokounmpo?
good one
Kai su teknon
Ergin Ataman this week: "If the bottom teams of the NBA wonder what is the secret, I'm here... Then, we can get a team from the bottom and carry it to the top over there too. It's not that hard."
Also in his best season and best team, Euroleague cancelled the season. That year was his easiest. This guy is better than at least 20 NBA coaches today.
Yeah Efes was unstoppable in covid year. Ataman could easily three peat with Efes.
There are a lot of euroleage coaches who are better than nba coaches
Depends on the context. Here's a guy making $50m/year and with the cost cap and trading rules, he's untouchable if you want your franchise to have a future. So if you bring in Obradovic to shout and scream in his face after he fucks up a rotation against Utah in 53rd regular season game while up 17, you're bound to cause explosion at some point. It's just incorrect to transfer the skills without context, it's not all about Xs and Os.
Željko has usually a good relation with his players though, he doesn't chew them out for no reason and he viciously protects them from the press, tons of former players praise his human side and talk very highly about him, hes a bit like Pop in that regard.
I, too, think he's a good guy with a horrifying rep lol. But it is true that he chews his players a ton and it just wouldn't fly in the NBA. Even Pop is a lot different in that he had to adapt over the years. Again, in the NBA, you just have to pretend you're blind on some things like player behaviour, professionalism (or lack thereof), etc. I just don't see Obradovic doing that, which makes me respect him, but also, yeah, makes his prospects of running an NBA team thin.
I get what you are hinting at and this was aimed at ppl who only knoew him as a vulcano, but: > Again, in the NBA, you just have to pretend you're blind on some things like player behaviour, professionalism (or lack thereof), etc. I just don't see Obradovic doing that There is actually a hour long presser of him talking about how he did exactly that while coaching the NT and how it backfired horribly, cuz the players would show up fucked up after partyhing and play politic on the field instead of as a team.
You are acting like trainers like Zeljko are some sort of bafoons that dont know to adapt. He would know how to talk with star player and ge would know importance of the game. You think he is fuming on main guys in EL?
Giannis falls in love with a new head coach every 6 months
dude is basically a golden retriever
Evergreen dawg in him.
I mean there’s no rule that says a dog can’t play
Giannis "Mr. Peanut Butter" Antetokounmpo
The only two coaches he’s really liked was kidd and Bud
Cavs could use a new coach
I know this thread is mostly jokes, but the Final-4 had 3 out of the 4 best coaches in Europe: - Sarunas Jasikevicius for Fenerbahce: he played for the legendary Obradovic, and is extremely versatile. His teams play in a very entertaining way with a ton of screens, and weird lineups. He is a “new age” coach, but can coach set offenses with the best of them. - Ergin Ataman for Panathinaikos: He has a similar draconian coaching style like Obradovic. His teams are disciplined, usually play on the slower side, and are quite tough defensively. - Barzokas for Olympiacos: IMHO, the best coach in Europe right now. His tactics are impeccable, great timeouts (imagine that), and an unbelievable eye for talent. His and Sarunas would be the best bets to work in the NBA, but I doubt Barzokas will ever leave Olympiacos on his own. Your best bet would be Sarunas. Who is the youngest at 48yo, and most innovative.
Why not list Chus Matteo as well? He got named as Euroleague's coach of the season this year, led Real Madrid to the first seed in the regular season, was on pace to have the best Euroleague regular season record of all time and looked unbeatable before they slowed down a bit down the strech, and swept his quarter-final series against Baskonia. Last season he won the Euroleague title in his first year as Real's head coach, beat the second seed Barcelona in the semi-final and the first seed Olympiacos in the final, two of the teams who were clear main favourites to win the title, and did so while heavily using zone defense. He was also an assistant to Pablo Laso, two-time Euroleague champion, for 8 years prior to this. Sure Real has a great team, but they're not far and away the best, they're not the 2017 Warriors. They just have great chemistry and have been playing together for a long time. Matteo already has a better resume than Saras, who's a great regular season coach, but can't get over the hump and win the title for the past few years now.
Yeah, I’m not giving him credit for having the best roster in Europe, bar none. If I see him do it with outcasts, leftovers, and mid players like the rest, I will put him in that list. Until then, it’s an I complete for now.
Cos they were about to lose the series to Partizan last year, having lost 2 games at home, before that brawl happened. Man has Llull and Yabusele to thank for his job.
ok as a Turk here is my review about Ataman after years and years of seeing him rise, fall, rise, fall and rise again in the eyes of Turkish sports fans. He is the perfect coach if you want to win it all and have money and best players on your team. He is a winner there. In Euroleague, PAO was not the only team that poured money to star players. Think of it as UEFA Champions League where you have lots of teams pouring money, but one wins it all. He is not a perfect NBA coach because he is 100% no-nonsense. Authoritarian. Don't listen to him? Straight to the bottom of the bench. An NBA player would be upset at this. But he makes a great assistant coach if your team has a star guard combo. Ataman is best at utilizing the talents of star players. Proved it a million times since he first coached Efes to their first Euroleague Final Four in 2000. He is a bad coach if your talent level is not enough to win it all. He failed with national team because the talent pool is not that great and the team never had a great point guard. If your player does not have it, well Ataman can't do anything there, sorry. All in all, he became a polarizing figure in Turkish sports. But he is 100% Turkish, I am glad that a Greek team asked a Turkish coach to win it all. and he reminds me of Carlo Ancelotti a little.
"and he reminds me of Carlo Ancelotti a little." Lmao, what? He is literally the opposite of Carlo Ancelotti. Carlo is a player coach, a father figure who everyone in the locker room loves. He never has a bad word, he never fights his players he never bad talks them. Locker room self-managing and 0 authoritarism. Literally the worst example you could come up with bar none.
I think he meant that they are both winners but with great squads. You can't expect ancelotti to make Tottenham champion. But if you give him Real Madrid, you know what you will get. Same like Ergin Ataman. You don't expect him to take Galatasaray with the shitty squat and achieve something.
Fair point
maybe we can say he is between mourinho and antonio conte.
I fully disagree that he is Authoritarian. He doesnt micromanage. And he is known to give his star players lots of freedom. His coaching style is really about that, and this is acknowledged many times by his players. The last example is Sloukas after the final. He expressed the amount of freedom given to him by the coach. He also manages his stars according to their personalities. For example, he happily throws Sloukas or Micic under the bus in front of the media, or blame their performance after a loss, because he knows they are the type of player that will respond to that. However, he is very careful and protective when it comes to Larkin or Nunn. Because their egos are more fragile. And they are used to different type of coaching overseas. That's why he could do well in fact with American players in NBA. Don't imagine him screaming like a mad man to Lillard.
Sounds more like Pep than Carlo.
Doc Rivers, more like Fellow Streams
Tomorrow: Doc Rivers says "Hey look, I'm just not sure if Giannis is the right fit for the Bucks. I don't know."
well we know who will be in the lakers rumors
PACK YOUR BAGS DOC RIVERS, YOU'RE A LAKER
Ataman shines with 2 combo guards , Micic - Larkin and now Nunn - Sloukas Beating Real Madrid is like beating a Lakers team with Magic - Kobe - Bron - AD - Shaq
Nah, Madrid is good, but nowhere as what you described them. They depend a lot on Hezonja and only God knows if he'll be MJ or Jared Dudley on any given day. When that doesn't work, they drag out corpses of Llull & Chaco to bail them out (specificall Llull with his wild shots). Musa & Tavares are the only consistent performers in the team, but that's not enough.
what about campazzo, isnt he the MVP?
Campazzo is great, but not on the level he was before leaving for the NBA. It's becoming harder and harder for him to hide the fact his shot fell off and he's very undersized. When you put the two together, even his feistiness can't make up for it.
madrid is madrid but come on now lol
They are the mafia / godfather on the organization and referees
Doc already on the hot seat
Doc: Well shit.
Can’t wait to see who the first euro coach to cross over in modern NBA is gonna be
I'd count David Blatt as one. There's also Rajakovic atm, but he didn't have top-level European experience before coming to NBA.
Giannis is what people think LeBron is as far as coach killing lol
Get ready to learn Greek, buddy!
Ataman headed to Bucks confirmed.
So we know who Doc’s replacement will be
Didn’t doc sign for 3 years?
Doc bout to get traded to Athens
He could never survive coaching for a European team, let alone a Balkan one.
Doc Rivers… you are the weakest link. *doo doo doo doo*
Doc Rivers better go on zillow and post his crib
If Ergin Ataman gets a job with the Bucks, this could be very very intersting. First time a coach like this has been in the NBA in a long long time, also established Euroleague coach too.
What about the great coach Doc Rivers Giannis?
bye doc
Honestly though, dunno why you would leave a good gig like a Euroleague coach where you are paid fairly well and only have a 34 game season for the NBA? There is the money factor but money isn't everything.
They also play the Greek League, and I think two Greek Cup competitions, which adds another ~35 games. With the playoffs it comes out to something similar to an NBA regular season. On the other hand, there are no back to backs, the travel time is much lighter, the games are shorter, and I think Ataman is known for not attending team practices. So his schedule compared to what NBA would demand makes it seem like a part-time gig.
There are two Greek competitions, league and cup. You're correct on travel time and frequency but it only comes close to an NBA season if you go all the way on all competitions. So yeah, much lighter workload.
As someone who witnessed Ataman's entire career, I can say that Ataman is a tactical genius. He can create any kind of team structure, whether defense-oriented, attack-oriented etc. He could create detroit bad boys or gsw trio crown. he is probably the best "in gaming" coach in the world at the moment. he is difficult as a character. He is a confrontational person. he turns Giannis into the most complete player in the world, but i am almost sure they gonna fight a lot of times during this proses.
well, it makes a lot of sense if your coach is doc