Eddie A. Johnson calls out Panathinaikos President for snubbing him as Euro League's top player
Former NBA veteran Eddie A. Johnson took offense to recent comments made by Panathinaikos President Dimitris Giannakopoulos. This week, longtime NBA guard Kendrick Nunn led Panathinaikos to the Final 4 in the EuroLeague. The moment marks the Greek Club's return to the Final Four for the first time in 12 years, sparking widespread celebrations around Athens.
After a dominant 26-point outing from Nunn, which included an electrifying three-pointer late in the game to close things out, Panathinaikos President Dimitris Giannakoupoulos sang his praises.
As he indicated while speaking with media members in the wake of the win, Nunn is the best foreign player since Dominique Wilkins played for Panathinaikos in 1995. Those comments didn't sit well with NBA vet Eddie A. Johnson, who took to social media to share his thoughts.
As he indicated, Giannakopoulos may have forgotten his impressive run in the Greek league with Olympiakos, a longtime rival of Panathinaikos. The two teams have a long and storied history which spans across multiple sports with matchups between the two sides referred to as the "derby of the eternal rivals".
Whether or not this played a part in Giannakopoulos' snub, the result was the same. Eddie A. Johnson wasn't happy.
"He forgot how much I abused his team all year long."
Looking back at Eddie A. Johnson's run with Olympiakos in the 1990s
Eddie A. Johnson was drafted by the Kansas City. kings in the second round of the 1981 NBA draft. After spending more than a decade in the league, he joined Olympiakos for the 1994 season. As a former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, Johnson made waves for Olympiakos thanks to his three-point shooting abilities.
Johnson's jump to the Greek Basket League came as somewhat of a surprise given that he had been a consistent roleplayer in the NBA. Despite that, when he got to Olympiakos, he quickly left his mark on fans.
Most notably, during the 1995 Final Four, when Eddie A. Johnson and Olympiakos played Panathinaikos, he erupted late-game. With time winding down on the clock, Johnson hit several clutch shots to give Olympiakos a 58-52 win, clinching a EuroLeague finals berth for the team in a stunning Game 5 performance.
Although Dimitris Giannakopoulos wasn't the owner at the time, it was his father and uncle, Pavlos and Thanasis Giannakopoulos who owned the team at the time. Given that, there may still be some bad blood stemming from Dimitris watching Johnson eliminate the team that would one-day be his.
By the time he returned to the NBA for the 1995-96 season after his one-year stint with Olympiakos, Eddie A. Johnson was averaging 21.2 points per game. Ironically, the number is nearly on par with the 21.0 points averaged by Dominique Wilkins in his season with the Greens.