Bayern welcomes top favorite Panathinaikos

Exactly three weeks after Christmas, the first festive day of 2026 will be celebrated at SAP Garden: On Thursday evening, Bayern's basketball team will welcome five-time EuroLeague champions Panathinaikos Athens to a sold-out arena for their home game on the 22nd match day. After winning their last title in 2024, the powerhouse is aiming for the European crown again this season. With 13 wins and 8 losses, the Greek record champions (40 titles) are currently in seventh place in the crowded top of the premier class, but only one win behind leaders Hapoel and three other pursuers. Tip-off this time is at 7:30 p.m.

Ataman’s allstar-team

Since mid-November, Pana has won twelve of 16 games, a fact that Bayern coach Svetislav Pesic has also noted. “After injuries and a few new signings, Panathinaikos has found its rhythm – and in this form, they are always the favorites, whether at home or away. So we are facing a very big challenge against such a complete team. But we want to give our best performance and then we'll see if we can win the game after all.”

While Munich’s head coach recently had to do without his guards Jovic, Baldwin, and Hollatz as well as Lucic, the visitors are reportedly dealing with injuries to MVP Kendrick Nunn (19.4 ppg) and national team player Konstantinos Mitoglou (6.1). Yet, the star-studded lineup assembled by coach Ergin Ataman remains impressive, starting with the trio of elite guards TJ Shorts, Kostas Sloukas, and Jerian Grant, Turkish EuroBasket runner-up Cedi Osman (13.4), and the two NBA-tested big men Juancho Hernangomez and Kenneth Faried, who joined the team in November.

Bayern (7-14) expect several players to return from injury by Thursday, which would be a welcome boost ahead of a tough stretch: three challenging games in five days, starting Sunday in Chemnitz, followed by another double week with home games against Partizan Belgrade (Tuesday) and surprise third-place Valencia (Thursday) at the SAP Garden.