Panathinaikos Basketball Club owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos has launched a fierce critique of Greek rivals Olympiacos and fellow European team owners after EuroLeague shareholders rejected a major investment proposal from the National Basketball Association at a summit in Lake Como, Italy, on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.
Posting on Instagram in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Giannakopoulos addressed the NBA, professional players, coaches, club owners, fans, and European basketball administrators, urging all parties to work together to find a solution after the EuroLeague turned down the North American league's offer.
Dimitris Giannakopoulos is the outspoken owner of Athens-based Panathinaikos BC, one of Europe's most successful basketball franchises with seven EuroLeague championships. His club maintains an intense domestic and continental rivalry with Olympiacos BC, based in the port city of Piraeus near Athens.
The executive gathering at Lake Como in northern Italy brought together EuroLeague shareholder clubs to decide on critical commercial and structural decisions for the sport in Europe. During the meeting, shareholders formally rejected a partnership offer from the NBA, while also reviewing separate expansion bids worth over 1 billion euros to introduce new teams into the tournament.
Targeting Olympiacos directly in his post, Giannakopoulos stated that positions such as the one taken by the Piraeus club showed that several teams had no interest in expanding basketball. He claimed those owners still believed that success was measured by how much money a club lost at the end of the year, before concluding that basketball was not a game for rich kids or wealthy individuals.
In his main statement, Giannakopoulos appealed to all stakeholders across the sport, noting that collective efforts had turned European basketball into a competition that attracted interest from the NBA, which he described as the premier league in the world. He emphasized that the NBA wanted to invest and integrate the EuroLeague into its global ecosystem.
Giannakopoulos expressed deep respect and pride for what European basketball had achieved since operating without former chief executive Jordi Bertomeu, but insisted that league figures must come together to resolve the situation. He reiterated that opposition to the NBA offer demonstrated a refusal to grow the sport internationally, accusing opposing clubs of maintaining an outdated view of financial management.
EuroLeague rejection of NBA investment proposal
The decision at Lake Como came after EuroLeague shareholder clubs evaluated the proposal submitted by North America's top league. Reports from the summit indicated that club representatives described the NBA proposal as laughable and colonialist.
Despite turning down the NBA offer, EuroLeague executives received separate financial commitments exceeding 1 billion euros from investors seeking to bring new expansion franchises into the European competition.
The NBA has long sought to expand its commercial and operational footprint in Europe, investigating potential joint ventures and structural integration with established European competitions. Jordi Bertomeu had previously led EuroLeague Basketball as chief executive officer from 2000 until 2022, when shareholder clubs voted to replace him and restructure the organization's leadership.
Earlier comments on club motives and CSKA Moscow
Giannakopoulos had voiced similar criticisms in an earlier Instagram post published at 01:12 on Wednesday morning, where he questioned the motivations of team owners who voted against the NBA proposal at Lake Como.
He argued that the only logical explanation for their opposition was that those clubs either received favorable treatment from EuroLeague management today, or knew they had no future because they were not selected for the planned expansion, or both.
In that earlier message, Giannakopoulos also called for Russian club CSKA Moscow to be reinstated to the EuroLeague. He praised CSKA Moscow, traditionally known as the army team, as a formidable title contender despite their on-court rivalry with Panathinaikos.
Giannakopoulos stated that Real Madrid, Panathinaikos, and CSKA Moscow represented the true essence of European basketball, adding that without those three clubs, there was no genuine champion of Europe. He concluded his earlier post by congratulating EuroLeague management on organizing the Lake Como meeting, describing the event as top level.
CSKA Moscow is an eight-time EuroLeague champion, but Russian clubs have been suspended from EuroLeague competition since 2022 following international sports sanctions. Real Madrid Basketball, based in Spain, is the most successful club in EuroLeague history, holding 11 continental titles.
European basketball landscape and future outlook
The public disagreement between Giannakopoulos and rival owners highlights ongoing debate within EuroLeague governance regarding the future financial and structural direction of European basketball.
While EuroLeague shareholders have chosen to decline the NBA proposal while considering lucrative entry bids from new teams, Giannakopoulos continues to urge European and North American leaders to negotiate an agreement that expands the sport globally.
