Giannakopoulos’ ambitious MJ dream

One of Pavlos Giannakopoulos’ biggest imports from the NBA was Dominique Wilkins in 1995, but what if the late Panathinaikos owner followed through on bringing Michael Jordan to Greece?

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For more than two decades now, Panathinaikos have been a basketball powerhouse at the domestic and European level.

The transfer of ownership to the Giannakopoulos family in 1987 would go on to usher a golden era for the Trifylli at home and abroad. Countless triumphs in the Basket League and the Greek Cup have been paired with six EuroLeague titles, including two triple crown seasons.

With Pavlos Giannakopoulos and his brother Thanasis at the helm, Panathinaikos transitioned from a struggling giant to a powerhouse that was able to attract top talent from the domestic scene and abroad. In addition to signing the likes of the legendary Nikos Galis and Panagiotis Giannakis, Panathinaikos were also able to lure top NBA talent to the Greek capital.

Perhaps the most high-profile acquisition the Giannakopoulos brothers made came in 1995 when the Trifylli lured Dominique Wilkins to Athens. Wilkins, a nine-time NBA All-Star and former NBA scoring champion, immediately made an impact on a Panathinaikos side that had EuroLeague ambitions. Although the move wouldn’t yield domestic success in the A1 Ethniki, Wilkins’ arrival brought with it European success as the Trifylli claimed their first EuroLeague title after back-to-back third-place finishes.

If Wilkins was Giannakopoulos’ most ambitious signing then perhaps the most ambitious signing he never made involved Michael Jordan. Granted the plan wasn’t to sign Jordan to a Panathinaikos contract – though Giannakopoulos would’ve jumped at the chance to do so – Giannakopoulos did want to bring Jordan to Greece for a game for charity.

In 1999, Jordan announced his retirement from the NBA for the second time as the league had come to halt due to an owner-induced lockout. Just over a week later, Giannakopoulos appeared on a show hosted by Lambis Tagmatarxis, where he talked about bringing Jordan to Greece.

“The first thing I thought was if I could and if I had the opportunity, not the finances, to contact him and bring him to play in a Panathinaikos game. I would donate the proceeds from the match to charity. It would really be something, a small offer to these people who love the came and come in the cold, the rain, and the snow to watch Panathinaikos,” Giannakopoulos explained.

Although Jordan would come out of retirement in 2001, his Airness never did make it to Greece – something that Giannakopoulos figured in his 1999 interview.

 “I don’t think he can ever come. These athletes do not leave their country. I wish I could do it. It would be the happiest moment of my sporting life,” Giannakopoulos stressed.

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