It’s kinda like time travel, of a sort. From the Plus Ça Change Department via the ever-fantastic and -enthusiastic Basketball Dreamer comes this link to a New York Times story entitled “European Basketball: Passionate Greek Drama” … from 1997.
Back then, the similarities were many, for as ever were the Greens and Reds dominating Greek basketball and going deep into the Euroleague playoffs. In fact, when all had been said and done for the 1996-97 season, Olympiacos would return from a Euroleague final four bid, with Panathinaikos having been stopped from winning back-to-back championships.
From the bizarro side, Panathinaikos were the big spenders “filled with star players from America, Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, England and Nigeria” in 1997, though just coming off the revolving door of Dominique Wilkins, John Salley, Anthony Avent and John Amaechi.
Check out this blast from basketball past and recall memories of Milan Tomic, Dragan Tarlac, Dan Gay and Dusan Ivkovic as Olympiacos coach.
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