Thomas Walkup is 'almost happy' Olympiacos lost Game 4, shares unknown Quincy Acy story / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Olympiacos BC Credit Olympiacos BC

For die-hard Olympiacos Piraeus fans, Thomas Walkup is their version of the Terminator. The man who takes on a mission, especially on the defensive end, and pulls it off.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Shaquielle McKissic Points 18 Accuracy 6-7 Rebounds 2 Assists 2

For some journalists, the blond guard is the rightful successor of Acie Law and Daniel Hackett, arguably the two best defensive backcourt players that Olympiacos had in the last decade.

For the mainstream audience and those who watch basketball only casually or never, Walkup is just the guy that gave Emma Stone the chance to express emotion upon witnessing one of his rare one-on-one efforts.

"I had a glimpse of Kevin Durant, as he was a little easier to see than Emma Stone. I didn't know Emma Stone was at the game at all. I wonder how long she's in Athens," the 29-year-old American told BasketNews one hour after Olympiacos' Game 5 against AS Monaco that got the Reds back to a EuroLeague Final Four following five years of drought.

Searching for a Hollywood superstar can be harder than looking for a needle in a haystack. In any case, Walkup and his teammates will soon be looking for more silverware to add to the Greek Cup that they won in February.

When the former Zalgiris Kaunas guard first arrived in Athens, he didn't stick to customary, politically correct statements. Walkup was straightforward, arguing that Olympiacos' sole purpose was winning everything and going all the way everywhere. It was only a month ago, after the home game against FC Barcelona, when he confidently said to BasketNews, "We might have exceeded other people's expectations, but not our own."

Right now, the Greek Cup is already in the club's trophy case, the qualification to the Final Four is a fact, while the Greek League title can wait until June. The Reds have secured the home-court advantage over their main rivals Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, in addition to having beaten them four out of five times this season.

2-pointers this season

58%19,5Points made:19,5Accuracy:58,1%Place in standings:10Record max:26Record min:11Most made 2FGs:Moustapha FallTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

But, apart from keeping his word, Walkup managed to do something equally as important in the playoffs. In a series that took a dramatic turn after Monaco won Game 2 in Piraeus, he took a giant leap forward and became one of his team's most influential players.

One would say that Walkup truly and seriously woke up in the playoffs, increasing his numbers exponentially. He averaged 11.2 points, as opposed to 5.4 in the regular season, raised his shooting percentages from 51.2% to 75% on two-point shots and from 23.3% to 43.5% from behind the three-point arc, and also improved on his assist/turnover ratio, going from 2.6/1.4 to 3.4/1 over the course of the five-game series. His PIR jumped from 7.5 to 12.6.

What else could one ask for? Defense, of course. Well, numbers don't lie in that case either. Acting as Mike James' principal guard, Walkup managed to keep Monaco's leader at 17.6 points with bad percentages (44.4% on two-pointers, 26.8% on three-pointers).

His positive impact on the Reds is reflected in another impressive fact. While Walkup was on the court, Olympiacos were up by 23 in Game 1 (71-54), down by one in Game 2 (72-96), before registering +8 in Game 3 (87-83), +16 in Game 4 (77-78) and +11 in the decider (94-88).

In a series that went down not only to the last outing but also to the last minute of Game 5, Olympiacos were leading by 57 points when Walkup was in the lineup. The Greek side outscored Monaco by two in the total point differential. Moustapha Fall came in second with +17 for the Reds, still far away from Walkup's numbers.

On top of all those feats, Walkup carried his team on his shoulders whenever needed. Midway through the third quarter of Game 5, Monaco had taken a seven-point lead (55-48), as the hosts had scored only seven points over four minutes. Then, Walkup -almost single-handedly- brought Olympiacos back to contention.

In a succession of plays, he drained a three-pointer, then made a lay-up off his own defensive rebound and, finally, trapped Danilo Andjusic half-court to steal the ball and dunk it for the equalizer. His unparalleled defensive hustle became the beacon for his teammates.

Usually, players are not keen on talking about themselves, but Walkup had an explanation for his offensive outburst in the playoffs.

"In Games 3 and 4, it was pretty obvious that they weren't wanting to rotate for me," he said.

"They were letting me shoot - and I knew that. I prepared for it. When the ball came to me, I was ready to shoot. Shout out to our coaching staff. I've been in the gym a lot with those guys."

He and Mike James will most likely keep doing on-court battles for quite some time. One of Europe's most gifted scorers put up 24 points and dished out 10 assists in Game 5. But still, he went 2/10 from distance in that game and 11/41 overall in the series. Taking out Game 2, where James hit 5/8, his effectiveness behind the arc took a deep dive against Walkup and Bartzokas' switch-all defense.

"It's 24/7. You got to be on any time he's on the court because he can score so quickly. You have to be at your best at all times," Walkup comments on his big rival.

Credit AS Monaco/Direction de la Communication

Looking back at the series, Olympiacos gladly accepted the role ascribed to them as the favorite of the duel, despite their very bad Game 2 showing. Traveling to Monaco with the series tied at 1-1, the Reds had to get at least one on the road to be able to make the best of their home court.

"I think it was kind of the dog in us in Game 3. We weren't going to lose that. It's just the attitude that we had going in," Walkup remembers.

"The team reacted to adversity pretty well despite that small COVID stress that we had. After that, we've been good."

Credit Olympiacos BC

The COVID outbreak Walkup is talking about took place in late December 2021 and early January 2022. That was roughly the time when Monaco's surge started. With coach Sasa Obradovic at the helm, the Monegasques turned into a war machine that took no prisoners, both at home and on the road.

Walkup agrees that the EuroLeague newcomers were the best playoff team not to make the Final Four.

"Absolutely. I think they've been playing amazing basketball - not now, but for the last month or so. When we got the draw of Monaco, I don't think anybody was celebrating. We knew that we had a tough job to do. Everyone saw why. It was a super tough series, physically and mentally. I'm happy that we won it."

If Walkup was happy, Olympiacos fans were elated to see their team return to the TOP 4 after four uneventful campaigns. On a night full of emotion, stress, special guests and high stakes, Greek fans managed to steal the show once again - for better and for worse.

Walkup says that the thing he'll cherish forever is "just the last ten seconds or so."

"The flares going off, the smoke rising up, fans chanting," he describes.

"All of this happening at once. It was just beautiful, really beautiful. I've seen some pretty things in my life, but being able to look up with this feeling was as good as it gets."

Winning Game 5 adds another dimension to the triumph.

"Now, I'm almost happy we lost Game 4 so that we could advance here. In hindsight, it all turned out for the best," Walkup says with a smile.

The experienced guard stresses that none of his teammates prepared him for what was going to take place at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in case Olympiacos won.

"I had no idea. I just saw people running on the court. It's a privilege to play here, for such a passionate fanbase. Most people never get to experience something like this in their life. I'm really happy to be here."

How does a player manage to keep his head in such an atmosphere? For Walkup, the process was rather easy. However, not everyone reacts the same way.

"Experience helps. Some people are trained to do this, others are more trained to get lost in the emotion. But I think that's natural. It's in people's DNA. But experience also levels that out."

Olympiacos enjoy the luxury of being an organization with countless playoff presences and -now eleven- Final Four participations. Starting with coach Giorgos Bartzokas, who was the man pulling the strings back in 2013 when the club won its third continental title and extending the list with the likes of Kostas Sloukas, Kostas Papanikolaou, and, above all, Giorgos Printezis, the Reds' ultimate franchise player.

Nevertheless, ahead of a game of such importance and special weight, the team required some mental preparation as well.

"We watched film," Walkup says. That's what all teams do before a big game.

"I had a good feeling because I thought we were well prepared. We also had a great game plan going in. There were a lot of things - also, guys watching film by themselves. Everybody was just super locked in. I felt like we deserved that win."

Walkup reveals that there was another incident that got everyone fired up. The instigator was probably the man least expected for the outsiders, but a 'usual suspect' for those who know how locker rooms operate and team chemistry is built.

"We had an amazing practice on Monday. I will never forget Quincy Acy, who obviously has not been playing and turned that practice to the max. It was amazing."

Acy's last on-court presence dates back to March 17 and the Greek derby vs. Panathinaikos. He didn't play one second in any of the playoff contests.

Walkup says the former Brooklyn Nets and Maccabi Tel Aviv forward "was playing super physical" at Monday's scrimmage.

"When somebody complained about a foul, he said: 'This is exactly how Monaco have been playing. When am I going to get that call in the game?' It was incredible. After that practice, I knew that we were ready and that we would win."

In 2019, Walkup was a EuroLeague rookie. Under coach Sarunas Jasikevicius, Zalgiris Kaunas made their second consecutive playoff run. But playoffs are one thing and the Final Four is another.

"I haven't thought about that at all. I know it's an amazing opportunity," Walkup concedes, echoing the words of his teammate Kostas Papanikolaou.

"We're not satisfied with this, for sure. We are all going to enjoy it and celebrate it, but the season doesn't stop here for us."

As Olympiacos were fighting tooth and nail for a Final Four spot, Walkup's first team in Europe was going through the same process, albeit in a different competition. Now that MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg are back in the BCL Final Four, the Reds' defensive stopper -and scorer, as it turned out- is beyond excited.

Walkup, who led the German side to their first-ever participation in the event in 2018, says he was exchanging text messages with his ex-coach, John Patrick, on the eve of Game 5.

Credit FIBA Media

"I told him I'd be tuned in this weekend. I'm rooting for those guys, of course."

Patrick had told Walkup he would be watching Olympiacos take on Monaco on Wednesday. In any case, the two share a special relationship.

"I'm really happy and lucky that I was able to play for him. I like their chances going forth. I know they're playing Manresa in the semi-final, but I like how they play with confidence. I'm excited to see what happens," Walkup concludes.

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