By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Greek derby carries many labels, but every battle between Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens and Olympiacos Piraeus captures the attention of basketball fans throughout the continent, regardless of the circumstances. On Friday, January 2, 2026, the next clash – in Round 19 of the 2025-26 EuroLeague regular season – will take place at OAKA.
Panathinaikos currently sits higher in the standings with a 12-6 record, while Olympiacos, with one game in hand, is 10-7. However, the Reds are riding a nine-game winning streak in the eternal EuroLeague head-to-head.
The Greens’ last win dates back to the 2020-21 season at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, a 77-88 victory. Their most recent home win came six years ago, on December 6, 2019.
The rivalry between Greece’s two biggest clubs at the continental level has produced countless memorable moments. From the first clashes in the mid-1990s – often with Final Four implications – to the modern era under the current competition format, where every team faces each other home and away, the derby has remained must-watch basketball.
Eurohoops revisits these EuroLeague matchups, looks back at the results, and presents a Top 5 list to set the tone ahead of the upcoming meeting between these two behemoths.
Olympiacos dominates
Olympiacos holds the edge in the EuroLeague head-to-head series, leading 21-7 against Panathinaikos.
The continental rivalry began in Tel Aviv at the 1994 Final Four semifinals, continued a year later in Zaragoza – again in the semifinals – moved to the quarterfinals in the 1996-97 season, reappeared in the Top 16 of the 2001-02 and 2013-14 seasons, and since 2016-17 has featured at least two derbies per year under the double round-robin regular-season format.
Last season, the teams faced each other two times in the regular season, along with a third-place game at the Abu Dhabi Final Four, where Olympiacos defeated Panathinaikos in what was arguably the least consequential EuroLeague meeting between the Greek giants.
All 28 EuroLeague derbies between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos:
| Season | Venue-Round | Panathinaikos – Olympiacos (result) |
| 1993-94 | Tel Aviv – Semifinal | 72-77 |
| 1994-95 | Zaragoza – Semifinal | 52-58 |
| 1996-97 | OAKA – Quarterfinals | 49-69 |
| 1996-97 | SEF – Quarterfinals | 57-65 |
| 2001-02 | SEF – Top 16 | 75-92 |
| 2001-02 | OAKA – Top 16 | 88-78 |
| 2008-09 | Berlin – Semifinals | 84-82 |
| 2013-14 | OAKA – Top 16 | 66-62 |
| 2013-14 | SEF – Top 16 | 65-68 |
| 2016-17 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 77-79 |
| 2016-17 | SEF – Reg. Season | 69-77 |
| 2017-18 | SEF – Reg. Season | 70-62 |
| 2017-18 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 85-87 |
| 2018-19 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 93-80 |
| 2018-19 | SEF – Reg. Season | 65-79 |
| 2019-20 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 99-93 |
| 2019-20 | SEF – Reg. Season | 78-81 |
| 2020-21 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 71-78 |
| 2020-21 | SEF – Reg. Season | 88-77 |
| 2021-22 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 65-84 |
| 2021-22 | SEF – Reg. Season | 73-101 |
| 2022-23 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 71-95 |
| 2022-23 | SEF – Reg. Season | 73-81 |
| 2023-24 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 78-88 |
| 2023-24 | SEF – Reg. Season | 65-71 |
| 2024-25 | OAKA – Reg. Season | 89-94 |
| 2024-25 | SEF – Reg. Season | 76-74 |
| 2024-25 | Abu Dhabi – 3rd place | 97-93 |
Top 5 EuroLeague derbies between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos
1. The huge Berlin semifinal
Date: May 1, 2009
Round: Final Four semifinals
Venue: O2 World (Berlin)
Four European powerhouses met in Berlin, with the eternal rivals of Greek basketball clashing in the Final Four for the first time in 14 years (Zaragoza, 1995). CSKA Moscow and Barcelona rounded out a loaded field featuring massive budgets and star-studded rosters.
Panathinaikos arguably had the best roster in club history and entered the semifinal as the favorite, already a four-time European champion. Olympiacos, meanwhile, was back in the Final Four for the first time since 1999 in Munich.
The game was a spectacle. The Greens controlled much of the action, but the Reds stayed within striking distance until the end. Panathinaikos took an 84-82 lead on a basket by Nikola Pekovic, while Ioannis Bourousis missed the chance to force overtime at the buzzer.
Panathinaikos went on to defeat CSKA in the final, lifting its fifth EuroLeague title (now seven) and snapping a streak in which the winner of the Eternal Derby in the semifinals had gone on to lose the championship game.
Stats
Panathinaikos (Obradovic): Kecman, Spanoulis 18, Perperoglou 4, Batiste 19, Fotsis 5, Hatzivrettas, Nicholas, Tsartsaris, Diamantidis, Pekovic 20, Jasikevicius 18.
Olympiacos (Giannakis): Papaloukas 9, Childress 11, Vujcic 14, Bourousis 10, Halperin 4, Greer 18, Vougioukas, Printezis 9, Erceg 4, Teodosic 3, Pargo.
2. First blood by Printezis in the new format
Date: November 18, 2016
Round: Regular season
Venue: OAKA (Athens)
With the introduction of the new EuroLeague format in 2016-17, the eternal rivals began facing each other at least twice per season. It all started in Round 8 at OAKA.
Olympiacos dominated the first half, committing just one turnover and riding a scorching performance from Vassilis Spanoulis, who had 16 points and 5 assists, to take a 39-47 halftime lead. Panathinaikos responded behind Nick Calathes, setting up a tense finish.
The Greens led 77-76 with 27 seconds remaining, but Spanoulis delivered a brilliant assist to Giorgos Printezis, who converted a three-point play with three seconds left to seal the win. It was Panathinaikos’s only home loss of the regular season and ultimately cost them third place in the standings.
Olympiacos advanced all the way to the championship game, where it fell to host Fenerbahce in Istanbul.
Stats
Panathinaikos (Pascual): Calathes 16, Singleton 14, Nichols, Rivers 14, Bochoridis, Fotsis 13, Pappas 9, Feldeine 3, Bourousis 8.
Olympiacos (Sfairopoulos): Spanoulis 22, Green 4, Birch 8, Young, Papapetrou 7, Milutinov, Printezis 16, Papanikolaou 2, Mantzaris 3, Hackett 11, Lojeski 6.
3. Tyrese Rice’s 41-point masterpiece
Date: December 6, 2019
Round: Regular season
Venue: OAKA (Athens)
Panathinaikos prevailed behind a sensational performance from Tyrese Rice, who poured in 41 points on 5-of-7 shooting from two, 8-of-16 from three, and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
It remains the best individual scoring display in the history of the Eternal Derby, with the left-handed guard delivering a career night.
Both teams shot well and stayed close throughout regulation, but the Greens showed their composure in overtime to secure a crucial – and especially satisfying – victory over their archrivals.
Stats
Panathinaikos (Pitino): Thomas 13, Rice 41, Papagiannis 5, Papapetrou 11, Pappas, Vougioukas, Johnson, Fredette, Calathes 14, Mitoglou 8, Bentil.
Olympiacos (Kemzura): Rochestie, Baldwin 10, Paul 17, Koniaris 3, Spanoulis 18, Cherry 7, Milutinov 14, Vezenkov 6, Printezis 7, Papanikolaou 5, Rubit 2, Reed 4.
4. A 28-point rout: the biggest margin ever
Date: March 17, 2022
Round: Regular season
Venue: SEF (Piraeus)
The largest winning margin in EuroLeague derby history belongs to Olympiacos, which crushed Panathinaikos 101-73 at SEF during the 2021-22 season.
Blowouts are rare in the Eternal Derby, which makes the 28-point gap even more striking. The victory helped Olympiacos secure second place in the regular-season standings and eventually reach the Final Four in Belgrade.
Panathinaikos, meanwhile, was mired in a prolonged slump, which only ended after a major investment in 2023 that led to the EuroLeague title in 2024.
Moustapha Fall scored 13 points, while Kostas Sloukas and Sasha Vezenkov led the team with 16 apiece. On the other side, Daryl Macon had a game-high 23 points.
Stats
Olympiacos (Bartzokas): Walkup 3, Acy, Dorsey 7, Larentzakis, Fall 13, Sloukas 16, Martin 13, Vezenkov 16, Printezis 2, Papanikolaou 13, Jean-Charles 8, McKissic 10.
Panathinaikos (Priftis): Macon 23, Papagiannis 18, Bochoridis 6, Kavvadas 2, Kaselakis 4, White 2, Nedovic 16, Chougkaz 2, Evans, Mantzoukas, Sant-Roos.
5. Fournier’s clutch introduction against the champions
Date: November 8, 2024
Round: Regular season
Venue: OAKA (Athens)
One of last season’s most thrilling derbies took place at OAKA.
Panathinaikos hosted Olympiacos shortly after being crowned European champions for the seventh time, but the Reds came away with an 89-94 win thanks to a standout debut performance by Evan Fournier in enemy territory.
The French star scored 22 points, knocking down a series of clutch three-pointers late in the fourth quarter and finishing 4-of-6 from deep.
Sasha Vezenkov added 20 points on his return to the EuroLeague, while Nikola Milutinov chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds.
For Panathinaikos, Kendrick Nunn scored 20 points, with Juancho Hernangomez and Mathias Lessort adding 13 apiece.
Stats
Panathinaikos (Ataman): Kalaitzakis 2, Brown, Sloukas 12, Osman 11, Papapetrou 3, Grant 6, Nunn 20, Lessort 13, Hernangomez 13, Mitoglou 5, Yurtseven 4.
Olympiacos (Bartzokas): Walkup, Williams-Goss 13, Wright, Vildoza 8, Fall 4, Vezenkov 20, Papanikolaou 3, Dorsey, Peters 4, Milutinov 12, McKissic 8, Fournier 22.