The «soldiers» of consistency
Kostas Papanikolaou, Giannoulis Larentzakis, Shaquielle McKissic, Thomas Walkup, and Moustapha Fall - under the guidance of Giorgos Bartzokas - are now counting four consecutive Final Four appearances in the Euroleague over the past four years, and they all spoke to Olympiacosbc.gr about this historic achievement, just days after their victory and qualification against Real Madrid.
If success had an armor, that would be consistency - continuous effort, stability, and an uninterrupted presence at the elite level. Olympiacos secured a place in the Final Four in Abu Dhabi by defeating Real Madrid away in Game 4 of the series. This marks the fourth straight year that the club has earned a spot in European basketball’s biggest event.
For Giorgos Bartzokas, who now has six total Final Four appearances (five of them with Olympiacos), this achievement holds double significance. As he said to Olympiacosbc.gr: “It depends on how you look at it. If we assume that in professional sports success only means winning first place, then reaching the Final Four is just the beginning of that journey. And it’s never guaranteed. So many things can influence the outcome; luck, a good or bad day for the players, the opponents' skill, and so on. Our presence in four consecutive Final Fours definitely proves the stability our club projects. Being there four straight times is a huge accomplishment. There are teams, coaches, and players who’ve never done it. We’ve done it four times in a row, under different conditions each time; home court advantage, disadvantage, five-game series, always against strong opponents. I’m happy we’re present at the top professional basketball event in Europe.”
Team captain Kostas Papanikolaou, who has now nine Final Four appearances in total (eight of them with Olympiacos), said: “It’s the result of a full year’s effort, and no one can guarantee you what the outcome will be. You could have the best regular season and then have one bad playoff series and be eliminated. So, it’s a significant accomplishment for every team that reaches that stage.”
Olympiacos did it in 2022 by beating Monaco in Game 5 of the playoffs, repeated it in 2023 by overcoming Fenerbahce, again in 2024 by defeating Barcelona despite the away disadvantage, and now in 2025, they did it again; this time against Real Madrid in Game 4 of the series.
For those who might think it seems “easy,” the coach underscores: “You can't simply can’t put into words how difficult it is. It requires eight months of effort, stress, emotional highs and lows; and all of that can be erased by a single shot, a bad day. So I think it’s very difficult, and that’s why it’s so important.”
Papanikolaou emphasized: “None of the Final Fours I’ve reached with Olympiacos were easy… Even the back-to-back wins. In 2013, we had a Game 5 with Efes. In 2017, another Game 5 with Efes. Then 2022 with Monaco, then Fener, then away against Barcelona, and now against Real. In recent years, to qualify, we’ve faced 80% of the historically top teams in the league. Real, Barça, Fener; these are all regular Final Four contenders and top title challengers.”
Shaquielle McKissic agreed with him: “I think the first few years were a lot harder because I was new and didn’t know what to expect. This year I knew we’d win, no matter who we played, because our team is that good. But I still think the hardest part is winning the trophy.”
Giannoulis Larentzakis added: “The competition in the league these past few years has become incredibly tough. Every game matters, and I think making it to the Final Four is quite an achievement, considering the level of competition.”
Thomas Walkup highlighted the difficulty not just of the playoffs but the entire season: “It’s not just about the playoff stage; it’s the whole year. It’s the big games, the ones you think don’t matter back in October. Staying focused for that long is really hard.”
Before punching their ticket to the Final Fours in Belgrade, Kaunas, Berlin, and now Abu Dhabi, Olympiacos had already shown great consistency during the regular seasons. Moustapha Fall emphasized how important that is: “Over the course of a season, there are so many ups and downs; injuries, unexpected challenges. Staying consistent at this level is very tough, and we’re blessed to have managed it.”
And finally, the most experienced of all, Kostas Papanikolaou, concluded: “Before each Final Four, I try to focus on living in that moment; because you never know if you’ll get another chance to experience something like it again, or if it’ll be your last.”