His usage is reduced but his importance is obvious. Kostas Papanikolaou is in the autumn of his career but he still hungers to bring Olympiacos one more Euroleague title. Emmet Ryan on how leadership can come outside the spotlight.
Who is the most important player for Olympiacos? It’s one of those questions that seems like it has an easy answer. Sasha Vezenkov is their undoubted star, which says a lot on an utterly loaded team. Does that make him the most important? That’s debatable.
The Reds certainly wouldn’t be rated as highly this season without him. Yet it takes more than a star to make a team come together. The influence of a veteran, the one who has seen it all, can sway a locker room and influence how the different pieces come together on the floor. That is what Kostas Papanikolaou is bringing to a side that is seeking to end its long wait for a fourth Euroleague title.
Love not legacy
This is the wild thing about Kostas Papanikolaou. He had secured the everlasting love and respect of fans in Piraeus before he turned 22. Papanikolaou’s surge was the push Olympiacos needed to get over the line and win the Euroleague title in Istanbul. A year later, he won his second with the Reds. The legacy was secure at a very young age.
What followed was that odd season with FC Barcelona. Things went fine for him there, reaching the Euroleague Final Four and lifting the ACB title. It was just weird seeing him in a Barcelona jersey. This was however the beginning of a much needed walkabout for the young man from Trikala.
After all, how can you miss someone if they never go away? The stint in the NBA that followed was brief but the challenges he faced there aided Papanikolaou’s maturation mentally. Since returning to Olympiacos after three full seasons away, he has been on a decade long quest to give back to the club he loves.
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A different man
The Kostas Papanikolaou that returned to Piraeus wasn’t quite the same as the one that had left. He still had all the tools in his game plus plenty of energy. Yet there was something different. This version was more cerebral, timing his emotional displays for when they would make the most impact.
Remember, this was an Olympiacos side that still had Vassilis Spanoulis as its clear leader and Giorgios Printezis as the frontcourt leader. Papanikolaou didn’t step on the toes of the Euroleague legends. Instead he supplemented them, offering a more rounded presence to the core of the Reds.
This mindset was also reflected in his displays for the national team. With a Greece side that was criticised throughout the group phase of EuroBasket 2017, he steadied the ship. Alongside Kostas Sloukas, they recovered and progressed to the quarter finals.
It was his words after the game [https://youtu.be/sIcy1bKbSho?si=9hUw78YwnJHyq7h2], drenched in sweat from the effort, where he sounded like a man who had been doing this for 15 years that stood out to me. The outside voices were there but, no matter what they said, he knew how to channel what they were saying to his benefit.
A most different role
The Olympiacos of the past three seasons has, by some distance, been the best version of the side since that 2013 season. Considering the Reds had two Euroleague championship game appearances in 2015 and 2017 before this run, that’s not a small thing to say.
The role of Papanikolaou, now 34, has evolved and he’s found a way to make it work. His minutes, shots, and points per game in Euroleague are at their lowest since the 2010/11 season. Yet his assist numbers are above his career averages while his steals remain in line with that, despite reduced usage.
In simple terms, Kostas Papanikolaou is leading with a lot less of the ball. He’s showing what is, again to remind you, an utterly loaded Olympiacos roster what really matters. Individual stats are nice but wins matter. Whatever is required to win is what he delivers and expects every man around him to do so as well.
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The old and the bold
There have been no hints of Kostas Papanikolaou retiring at the end of this season but there’s something more obvious here. He’s playing a style of basketball that means he won’t even have to consider it. The focus of his energy and play is enabling him to extend his usefulness at the highest level.
That’s great for the Reds, they can safely assume at least one more season from him. He might even consider another once his current contract ends next summer. Still, the chances of lifting the big one that one more time are getting fewer in number.
Alongside Georgios Printezis, he brings the link from London 2013 to the side chasing the Euroleague title today. The young man that secured his legacy more than a decade ago is now seeking to write the perfect final chapter. One more crown to cap a career that will be remembered for decades. More importantly, once more he wants to prove that Olympiacos rule basketball on this continent.
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