Georgios Bartzokas

Georgios Bartzokas became the first Greek coach to win the EuroLeague, with Olympiacos in 2013.

After Lokomotiv Kuban, Barcelona and Khimki, he returned to Olympiacos in 2020. The second spell has become one of the best sustained projects in European basketball, with Final Fours and titles.

His Olympiacos have become a model for winning without buying the most expensive roster. The Vezenkov years, five straight Final Fours, the 2025 title, all built on the same idea that the system should lift everyone.

He is also proof that a Greek coach can sit at the very top of the European game. The 2013 title broke a barrier, and the years since have made him one of the most respected voices on any bench.

Demanding, emotional, fully committed to his ideas. But there is a myth to clear up: he does not want to control every decision.

He says players are not pawns, that he refuses to overcoach them, that basketball is played by people and not diagrams. Extreme preparation, paired with real trust in his players. That mix is the heart of him.

He is unusually loyal to a way of playing, and to Olympiacos. The second spell has lasted because club and coach believe in the same basketball, and neither has blinked.

The clearest example of collective offense in the league. Constant movement, splits, handoffs, cuts, pick-and-rolls, several creators, all to build an advantage before the defense settles.

On defense he wants intelligence and collective rotations more than raw aggression. His teams win because the system makes many players useful. He does not need five stars, he needs five players who create advantages for each other.

The tell is his big men. He asks centers to pass from the high post and read cutters, turning them into hubs instead of finishers. It is one of the hardest offenses in Europe to scout, because the ball never stops in one pair of hands.