• Dominique Wilkins was one of the first NBA superstars to make the switch to the EuroLeague
• Wilkins played the 1995-96 season with Panathinaikos in Greece
• He claims he had to sneak out of the country to visit family in the USA after deaths in his family
Dominique Wilkins took a bold step in 1995-96 when he left the NBA with two years on his contract to sign with a Greek team, Panathinaikos. Wilkins’ move is still one of the biggest NBA signings made by a European team, but it wasn’t a perfect marriage. Wilkins recently revealed that his club wouldn’t even let him leave the country, so he had to sneak out of Greece without informing them to ensure his passport wasn’t withheld.
“My father passed and I would have paid more because that’s my family. The craziest thing was, when you had a death in the family, they didn’t really care. My grandmother and my dad passed, and I had to sneak out of there at like three in the morning. You couldn’t tell them because they would hold your passport. There were a couple of times I snuck out, they’re telling the truth about that one. But there’s a reason for it.”
Multiple incidents transpired during Wilkins’ time in Greece, but he did deliver on the court. Wilkins averaged 20.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, in 33.2 minutes per game and went on to bring the EuroLeague trophy to the Greek club. He would be crowned Final Four MVP as well.
Dominique Wilkins Was Given A Golden Mansion
The Greek club was extremely serious about getting Wilkins to join their club. Presidents Pavlos and Thanassis Giannakopoulos went out of their way to pay Wilkins $7 million to buy him out of his contract with the Boston Celtics. Just the money wasn’t enough, as the team put on a recruiting masterclass by giving Wilkins perks that we see soccer stars get in Saudi Arabia nowadays.
Wilkins described the incredible house he was given in the previous VladTV interview.
“The Greek team asked me if I would come over for a vacation and a visit. It was just one of the most breathtaking moments I had as a player to be treated the way I was treated in Greece. They gave you the world. I was like, ‘How can I turn this down?’ I was the highest-paid guy in Europe at that time, in soccer or basketball. It was just an offer I couldn’t refuse… You don’t pay for anything. Everything is taken care of. It had a kitchen on all four floors, all marble and 14-carat gold, it was a stupid house.”
The gold house wasn’t enough to make up for the lack of movement. The Greek team was frustrated by Wilkins constantly visiting the USA. They tried using his trips back home as a reason to terminate his contract and try to get out of paying what they owed him, around $4 million. They lost the case in court and Wilkins was fully paid even for the season they terminated his contract for.
Dominique Wilkins Had A Tough Coach In Greece
Despite winning the EruoLeague, Wilkins’ time in Greece wasn’t all positive. He claimed his coach, Božidar Maljković was ‘treating him like a dog’ during his playing days there. Wilkins described why he was frustrated with the coach and how winning ultimately helped them have a professional relationship.
“A lot of Yugoslavian coaches are really tough. We had a coach, I forget his name, he used to make us jump rope, which is no problem. But then you had to jump rope sideways, go down the court and back, I was like, Nah, I’m not doing that.’ That’s an accident waiting to happen. I remember we won our first 12 or 13 games and the coach went to one of our players and said, ‘Dominique is a**hole, but we need him.’ He didn’t complain too much, we won the European Championship that year.”
The EuroLeague win was a positive, but they shockingly lost the Greek League to bitter rivals Olympiacos. Wilkins was heavily blamed for the same because he claimed to have been injured for a pivotal Game 5, something the club didn’t believe. They would terminate his contract and that’s how his season-long stint in Greece ended.
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