EuroLeague Coach Calls Out Title-Winning Celtics: ‘Come Beat Us’

The Boston Celtics took down the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, but apparently, that wasn’t enough to validate themselves in everyone’s eyes.

For Panathinaikos Greek Giants head coach Ergin Ataman of the EuroLeague, referring to the Celtics as “world champions” isn’t an earned title. Even though Boston led the best basketball league in the world with 64 wins, steamrolled a 16-3 run through the postseason and captured a record-18th title, it still doesn’t justify the “world champions” to Ataman.

The Greek Giants secured their seventh EuroLeague title — 11 shy of the Celtics — by defeating Real Madrid to end a 13-year drought. Yet, the buzz surrounding the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown-led squad seemed to irk Ataman enough to challenge Boston’s (significantly more) talented crew.

“They see themselves very highly,” Ataman said, per Eurohoops.net. “They want incredible numbers to come and play a game in Europe. You are not the world champion. If you want to get the world champion title, come and beat us, the EuroLeague champion. If you are so confident, I say come and beat us in OAKA.”

The debate of whether or not NBA teams should be called “world” champions, for some reason, still hasn’t fizzled out. Olympic track and field sprinter Noah Lyles sparked controversy last summer by proposing the same idea, which garnered unnecessary attention centering around a claim that holds no weight.

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Lyles similarly called out the Denver Nuggets after their 2023 Finals win over the Miami Heat, which opened the door to the uniformed debate.

“I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have world champion on their heads,” Lyles said, per Farbod Esnaashari of Sports Illustrated. “World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong. I love the US at times. But that ain’t the world.”

Yes, the United States is the predominant home for NBA teams, however, the league itself isn’t filled exclusively with American-born players. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are just a few of the many stars who make the NBA the undisputed most talented basketball league on the planet. It’s disingenuous to baselessly claim there’s a team outside the NBA capable of, not just beating the Celtics, but competing with the Celtics in a seven-game series.

The EuroLeague, for many players, is a backup plan or a safety net.

Jabari Parker, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, spent a brief 21-game stint with the Celtics before heading to the EuroLeague and debuting with FC Barcelona this past season. The 29-year-old, who was once revered as the next household name, hasn’t garnered enough interest to make an NBA comeback. If the opportunity to bail on the EuroLeague and secure an NBA roster spot presented itself, most players would leap at the offer.

Ataman, and the rest of the world, saw first-hand a total of three international players picked within the first six selections of June’s NBA draft.

As insanely competitive as Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is, if Boston were to take Panathinaikos up on its offer, it (very) likely wouldn’t go well for the Greek Giants.