101 Greats of European Basketball

their charter flight back to Israel. Panathinaikos thought
that Oded was in danger. They thought the fans would
attack him. At first, they didn’t leave the bus. They
called for heavy security. When Oded understood
what was going on, he told Panathinaikos not to worry,
that the fans wouldn’t harm him. When he entered the
airport all Maccabi fans started to celebrate with him.
They took him on their shoulders, danced with him and
with the cup as if they had won it.
“Back then for Maccabi fans to be in the Final Four was
amazing, so it wasn’t such a bad feeling to lose the cup –
as much as losing isn’t that bad for Maccabi – since their
king won it. It was an amazing scene. Kattash on their
shoulders carried around the airport in celebrations of
yellow and blue. I was standing next to two Panathinaikos
players. One of them was Greek and he told the
other player, ‘This is amazing. If it was the other way and
I’d won the EuroLeague for Maccabi over Panathinaikos,
the Panathinaikos fans would have killed me.’”
Kattash himself, in an interview for Euroleague.net
dedicated to all the Final Fours, explained his feelings
in Thessaloniki: “So many things ... Everything around
me was so confusing. It was like being part of a movie.
Emotionally, those days were extremely hard to take. I
was very excited because on one hand, I got to the European
final for the first time in my life. That’s the kind
of moment you dream about. On the other hand, I had
to play against Maccabi.
“I knew how important this game was to Maccabi
fans and to the guys of Panathinaikos. I felt very lonely.
I couldn’t get connected to Panathinaikos fans because
they were afraid I might give the game to Maccabi. They
were not sure I would be able to play good enough under
these circumstances. Also, I could not be seen with Maccabi
fans, since I was their enemy at least for one night.”
Unfortunately, that great game was Kattash’s last
one in the EuroLeague. In 32 Greek League games that
season, 24 in the regular season and eight in the playoffs,
before getting injured, he averaged 9.1 points, 3
assists and 1.7 rebounds. An awful knee injury during
the playoffs caused him to miss the entire following
season. He underwent surgery several times, but there
was no way to fix it. A brilliant career was stopped suddenly,
at 26 years old. He was a guard that could be a
playmaker, with a great shot and excellent penetration,
his two main weapons. His favorite play was the oneon-one,
dribbling and penetration. The opponents
knew how he played, but most of the time they could
do nothing against him because he was faster, smarter
and more talented. Also, it was unpredictable as to
whether he would penetrate or use his excellent shot.
“He was a player with loads of self-confidence,” remembers
Obradovic. “A born winner.”
Kattash could not continue his career as a player but,
fortunately, basketball didn’t lose him. He continued as
a coach and did well. He led Hapoel Galil Elyon to a second-place
Israeli League finish in his first season, 2004-
05. He spent three seasons there and, shortly after losing
to Maccabi in the 2007 semifinals, his former club hired
him as head coach. Sadly, for both sides, the marriage did
not end well and after a string of poor results, Kattash resigned
midway through the season. But he returned the
following season to Hapoel Galil Elyon, with whom he won
the 2010 Israeli League by defeating Maccabi in the final.
His subsequent club teams were also called Hapoel –Jerusalem,
Eilat and Tel Aviv – and he has also been named the
Israeli national team head coach.
However, for the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, he remains
“The King of Israel”.
101 greats of european basketball
Oded Kattash
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