Rick Pitino hired to coach powerhouse EuroLeague team Panathinaikos

Pitino is headed to Greece with hopes of one day returning to the NBA.

Former Louisville men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino is taking his talents overseas. He will coach EuroLeague powerhouse Panathinaikos in Greece, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, with his first game coming Dec. 27.

This will be a challenge for Pitino. EuroLeague is an entirely new game from college basketball, where Pitino had established himself as one of the most successful coaches of his generation.

Wojnarowski reports Pitino’s goal is to use EuroLeague coaching as a stepping stone to return to the NBA as a head coach. He spent two seasons as coach of the New York Knicks (1987-89) and three and a half seasons with the Boston Celtics (1997-2001). During his tenure as a head coach in the NBA, he amassed a 192-220 record.

Pitino was most recently in the spotlight during an FBI probe into college basketball. He was fired by Louisville in the aftermath of that probe, though it remains unclear if he was aware of payments made to a Louisville recruit’s family.

Pitino inherits a Panathinaikos team in 10th place with a 6-7 record in the middle of its season. His roster includes Giannis Antetokounmpo’s younger brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, former Kings big man Georgios Papagiannis, and ex-NBA point guard Nick Calathes.

Pitino will also be working for a team owner whose reputation precedes him. Dimitros Giannakolpoulos was fined after “barging into the referee’s room and threatening to kill the officials and their families” after his team won a playoff game.