Deshaun Thomas: 'Panathinaikos need experienced guys, willing to play hard' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Christina Pahnke/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Christina Pahnke/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

In the summer of 2020, Deshaun Thomas made the decision to take a year off his six-year-long EuroLeague presence to continue his career in Japan.

Deshaun Thomas

MIN:24.11PTS:9.73 (51.2%)REB:3.15As:0.77ST:0.35BL:0.23TO:1.27GM:26ProfileEuroLeague2021/2022

The left-handed forward was coming from his best season, in terms of numbers, averaging 13.9 points on 56.6% 2-point shooting, 35.9% 3-point shooting, 4.4 rebounds in 30 minutes over 22 EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos OPAP Athens.Nevertheless, the Greens had not been able to keep him for the third year in a row in the Greek capital due to financial problems. Thus, Thomas opted to play for Alvark Tokyo, a team coached by Montenegrin Luka Pavicevic.

"Japan was amazing, and I had a great experience in Tokyo. Financially, it was great, and Tokyo is a nice city. The league is very competitive, and the level of talent is constantly rising. It's growing every year," the 30-year-old player recently told BasketNews.Thomas credits his former Anadolu Efes teammate Alex Kirk for playing a role in his decision to move to Japan, as the current Bayern Munich forward learned everything he wanted from Kirk, who signed with Alvark in 2017 and is still there.

The Indiana-born forward returned to Europe for his seventh EuroLeague season after producing 16.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in Japan.

"Japan was an adventure, but afterward, I quickly had the EuroLeague in my head again, it was a must for me," Thomas said when his agreement with FC Bayern Munich was announced by the German club.

Thomas doesn't rule out the possibility for a second Japan stint.

"You never know. I always say that I let my agent handle the business side of it. If it's a good opportunity in Japan, the EuroLeague, or wherever, you got to make a decision for yourself and your family," he pointed out.

3-pointers this season

37%8,9Points made:8,9Accuracy:36,6%Place in standings:8Record max:14Record min:3Most made 3FGs:Darrun HilliardTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

So, after spending some time with his family in Columbus, Ohio, last summer, making a EuroLeague comeback was his priority.

"Yeah! I mean, I'm still in my prime, I'm young," he noted.

"I figured if I wanted to get back to Europe, there would be some chance. A lot of players and ex-teammates were like, "Oh, EuroLeague missed you that one year!" So, it was good to have the opportunity with Bayern Munich."

The team that came one shot away from reaching the 2021 EuroLeague Final Four was all that Thomas was looking for, despite the fact that the Bavarians are having a hard time this season.

The team coached by Andrea Trinchieri climbed up into the playoff spots practically overnight as a result of the three Russian teams being excluded from the competition.

But Bayern will need more than that. Currently standing at a shaky balance of 12-11, the Germans are essentially seeking at least two wins in their remaining five games in order to qualify for the playoffs.

Although Trinchieri said that he's not too worried about making calculations right now, his team will soon be looking over its shoulder if they drop their upcoming away game against AX Armani Exchange in Milan.

A tarnished and injury-plagued Panathinaikos squad got the best of the five-time German champs at OAKA last Tuesday (80-67), and that was Bayern's first continental clash in 18 days.

Prior to their Athens trip, the Bavarians were coming off of five postponed games, which had brought their operations to a standstill. There was no practice at all in small groups, individually or in isolation.

"We're taking it game by game, staying together as a team," Thomas said after the loss to PAO.

"Obviously, we've had some COVID and injury issues. We never really had our full roster together. We know it's not as easy, but these are crunch time moments, and we'll try to get a couple of wins to make the playoffs."

Thomas thinks that in order for his team to survive the playoff race, players and staff must believe that they can still pull it off.

"It's about trusting ourselves and the system. Confidence is always the key. If we do that, we will be fine," he stressed.Against Panathinaikos, Bayern made the contest a balanced one, staging a comeback from a 13-point deficit (50-63). The guests came within one (64-65), but PAO found six straight points from the foul line to increase their lead and seal the outcome.

Thomas thinks it was little things, like 50-50 balls, that decided the winner.

"They got a lot of those, despite the injured players they had. But big props for PAO. They go out there with no stress, playing freely," he added.

On the eve of the contest, Trinchieri had prophetically stated that he can't recall any good games at OAKA.

The hosts made sure to keep the tradition and also their perfect home track (5-0) against Bayern, thanks to a partial score of 15-1 in the closing six minutes.

Thomas scored 12 points against his former team, a slightly better tally compared to his average of 9.7 this season. The 58th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft made his EuroLeague debut with Nanterre in 2013 before moving to FC Barcelona, Anadolu Efes, and Maccabi Tel Aviv for one-year stints stayed two years with Panathinaikos.

Xavi Pascual was the one who brought him to Athens in 2018, but Thomas saw his efficiency skyrocket under Rick Pitino, who prioritized the inside game and paint touches instead of volume 3-point shooting.

If it hadn't been for the fatal COVID breakout that forced the EuroLeague to an abrupt halt in 2020, the American forward would most probably have had his second straight playoff presence, as PAO were sixth at 14-14 before the permanent break.

This season is going so bad for the six-time EuroLeague champs that despite the 75% in fans' capacity allowed in Greek gyms, no more than 2.500 PAO supporters chose to attend Thomas' return game at OAKA. Panathinaikos are 7-17, sitting at the bottom of the standings.

"In the EuroLeague, you got to be focused and key in. They had a couple of injuries, like Papapetrou, who was hurt for a long time," Thomas explained.

Credit Imago-Scanpix

Although he's not keen on pointing fingers or giving names, Thomas refers to the elements that he thinks his former team is lacking this season. Toughness and knowledge of the organization they're playing for are two things that come to mind.

"I didn't get to see them last year because I was in Japan, but I would say this: you got to build a team with experienced guys who're willing to go out there and play hard for PAO.

That's what Panathinaikos is all about - players who're going to play hard for the team and also for the organization and the history that they have," he said.

Thomas underlined that he doesn't know what's going on inside the court, but from watching them, he could see that players got to have the effort out there and play hard.

"From my experience playing for Panathinaikos, those are the things you have to key in: know the history of the club and what it takes to win."

In any case, that game presented him with the chance to meet and talk with two of his former teammates, with whom he has a long-distance and long-lasting friendship.

"I keep in touch with (Ioannis) Papapetrou and (Giorgos) Papagiannis for sure. We hit up each other on Instagram," Thomas concluded before Bayern's bus headed back to their Athens hotel.

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