101 Greats of European Basketball

Vladimir Stankovic
was the third-best scorer on the second “Dream Team”,
behind only O’Neal (144) and Miller (137). And in the title
game against Russia, Wilkins led the Americans with
20 points en route to a 137-91 victory.
In Athens for the titles
When he was 35, Wilkins decided to leave the NBA
and try his luck in Europe. Many doubted that a player
his age, despite his experience and individual qualities,
would be able to contribute much. They were wrong.
Apart from a new challenge, Wilkins had four million
reasons to sign for the Greens of Athens, as that was
the number that European media mentioned when
talking about his contract: $4 million for a single season.
In Athens, Wilkins found a solid team with a great
point guard (Panagiotis Giannakis), a good young
forward (Fragiskos Alvertis) and a tower in the paint
(Stojko Vrankovic). Additionally, the talented prospect
Nikos Ekonomou, an experienced American playmaker
of Greek heritage, John Korfas, and Greek players Evangelos
Vourtzoumis and Tzanis Satvrakopoulos made
for a strong squad. Panathinaikos had failed in its two
previous Final Four appearances, in Tel Aviv 1994 and
Zaragoza 1995, but that didn’t tone down the ambitions
of the club to make Panathinaikos the first Greek team
to become European champion. That’s why, aside from
Wilkins, they had also signed Coach Bozidar Maljkovic,
a three-time champ, twice with Jugoplastika Split and
once with Limoges.
In the beginning, the tough and demanding Maljkovic
and a star like Wilkins were not a good match, but
little by little Maljkovic’s work and Wilkins’s versatility
started to bring results. Panathinaikos made the playoff
ranked third from Group B with a 9-5 record, behind
FC Barcelona (10-4) and tied with Real Madrid. In the
quarterfinals, the Greens got rid of Benetton Treviso
(2-1) and advanced to the Final Four in Paris. In Game 3
of that series, in Treviso, Panathinaikos clinched a spot
in Paris behind 26 points and 7 rebounds by Wilkins. It
was his best game with Panathinaikos to that point, but
the best was yet to come.
Before the Final Four, Panathinaikos won the Greek
Cup in March by defeating Panionios in the final, 85-74.
That was the first club trophy in Wilkins’s career, but
he wanted more – much more. And as usually happens
with great players, Wilkins played the best when his
team needed him the most. In the Final Four semifinal
against CSKA Moscow, he led the way with a season-high
35 points plus 8 rebounds as Panathinaikos
was victorious 81-71.
In the title game, on April 11, 1996, after a dramatic
finish complete with some mistakes by the scorers’ table
and the referees, Panathinaikos defeated Barcelona
67-66. Wilkins contributed 16 points and 10 boards and
was named Final Four MVP. His first season in Europe
ended with 20.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The
season was not perfect, however. In the Greek League
finals, with Panathinaikos leading 2-1, Wilkins suffered
an injury and didn’t play in Games 4 or 5. Olympiacos
used that to turn the series around and take the title
with a 2-3 series win.
San Antonio and Bologna
After succeeding in Europe, Wilkins decided to return
to the NBA: He signed for the San Antonio Spurs,
where he finished the 1996-97 season at 37-and-a-half
years old and with a worthy average of 18.3 points in
61 games. The following season he decided to return
to Europe, this time to TeamSystem Bologna in Italy.
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