God I'm getting so sick of seeing Sengun make play after play after play on the defensive end. Doesn't he know he's terrible defensively?
Ataman forgetting Giannis is at an age where his career is probably going downhill and the NBA is about the Draft of 19 year olds.
The NBA has gotten soft. Yes overall we have more offensive talent but the Euros play defense and the offensive gap is closing.
Ataman is not forgetting anything. Dude is the best coach in europe. He playes 4d chess. He manipulated the media about cedi s injury being serious, He complained about iannis making too many offensive fouls all parts of a major plan. He does some things that may seem illogical, but most of the time, he got something beneath the surface.
Well, he is dropping speech bombs like he is Popovich or Phil Jackson, he is not there in their stratosphere. He is entertaining, I give him that.
Well, in europe he kind a is, 2021 Euroleague Aleksander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year. Won the 2021 and 2022 EuroLeague with Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Won the 2024 EuroLeague with Panathinaikos Athens. Won the 2016 EuroCup with Galatasaray Istanbul. Won the 2002 Saporta Cup with Mens Sana Basket Siena. Won the 2012 Euro Challenge with Besiktas JK Istanbul. Won the 2008-09 Turkish National Championship with Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Won the 2011-12 Turkish National Championship with Besiktas JK Istanbul. Won the 2012-13 Turkish National Championship with Galatasaray Istanbul. Won the 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23 Turkish National Championship with Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Won the 2023-24 Greek National Championship with Panathinaikos Athens. Won the 1997 Turkish President Cup with Telekom Ankara. Won the 2000 Turkish President Cup with Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Won the 2004 and 2005 Turkish National Cup with Ulker Sports Club Istanbul. Won the 2009 Turkish National Cup with Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Won the 2012 Turkish National Cup with Besiktas JK Istanbul. Won the 2018 and 2022 Turkish National Cup with Anadolu Efes Istanbul. Won the 2025 Greek National Cup with Panathinaikos Athens.
Well, I am more interested in your Sobakawa, Jap buckwheat pillow name than Ataman. If he was a great coach, he would not need Sengün and a stacked naturalized team to do damage. The Nuggets had Jokic but the rest of the team had no real All Star (Jamal was not officially one) and they won the Title. And the Playoffs had far more games than Euro Championships.
Well, turkey is not a stacked team, power rankings before the tournament placed us between 4-7. Almost no one in europe expected us to win against serbia or greece. Naturalising players isnt something new, because of historic ties with balkans, there are always players like that in our national team like mirsad Türkcan, or ersan ilyasova. Turkey was a dark horse before games and now a finalist. It s ataman s success.
Watched the game against Giannis. He didn’t look much different from last year’s playoff, with similar struggles against good interior defense. Granted, that’s Giannis, a former DPOY.
The initial statement didn't have all the qualifiers. Just that he could beat them. If that needs to be caveated at "We can beat them (but only playing a lesser game that's not on their level with rules that swing in your favour)" then the initial assertion is worthless. You can't beat them at the game they play, so you can't beat them. You can if you handicap them with rules they don't play under and take away their athletic/fitness advantage, but it really does not count for anything at all. It actually makes the confidence in the first statement look even more comical/laughable.
This reliant on gimmicks and weird antics is probably why the best offer he's got from the NBA is as an assistant. Real top coaches don't need the gimmicks, they can win on the court alone.
It felt like watching Euro Football. The refs dont take **** from the players and dont give a **** about the name on the jersey. They are more transparent, dont call those annoying offensive bait fouls (the Jalen Brunson), and just let the game flow. Feels great. NBA feels like the WWE by comparison.
I don't think that he was lying about Cedi. He really had trouble walking. But adrenaline and playing semi finals against Greece is one hell of a drug. You don't have the success that Ataman had with gimmicks. He is a great coach. But like many other Euro coaches he would struggle in the NBA. Remember David Blatt? He had a good record in the NBA, but still was fired. Same would happen with Ataman.
I am pretty sure at some point Euro coaches will roam the nba. There are so many bad coaches in the nba and they keep finding jobs because it is kind of a closed network. Just like the players, no team want to take the risk but it will happen eventually and there is no going back then.
