Ergin Ataman’s show conference before the EuroBasket final: « I am the best coach of the last ten years in Europe »
Sept 13, 2025
Lilian Bordron
The Ataman enigma, clown or genius? « He’s already the best coach in Turkish history »
EuroBasket - Ergin Ataman, sitting at a terrace in Riga the day before the final, plays his character: laughing, surrounded by his loved ones, self-assured. Despite his titles, Ergin Ataman has led Turkey to the final while staying true to his method: assumed simplicity, liberated creators, maximum spacing and short rotation. Has he finally convinced Europe that he is more than just a provocateur who wins?
Photo Credit : Lilian Bordron
Saturday September 13, on Antonijas Street in Riga, Ergin Ataman settles at All Cappuccino. Berna, his wife, by his side; Sarp, his son, never far away; Hakan Demir and other friends at his table. The Turkish national team coach opens champagne, serves glasses, poses smiling with fans.
Yet in 24 hours, he will play the first international final of his career as head coach. The contrast says everything about the character: unshakeable. Ataman, who has lifted so many club trophies (2002 Saporta with Siena, 2012 EuroChallenge with Besiktas, 2016 EuroCup with Galatasaray, two EuroLeague titles in 2021 and 2022 with Anadolu Efes, 2024 EuroLeague with Panathinaikos), displays the same relaxed attitude as on the sidelines. And Europe, which has mocked him so much, finds itself forced to answer a simple question: what if, behind the showmanship, lay the continent’s most effective method?
« I am the best… »
« I have no stress… You can call it ego, you can call it reality, but I am the best coach in Europe of the last ten years. No matter which team I coach » he declared Saturday 13th, on the eve of the final, during the press conference. And he specified, without unnecessary boasting: « Every day, every human can learn something… »
Because he’s not necessarily the clown he puts on display at every press conference. Well-educated, he didn’t raise his two fists to the sky as he usually does after the « historic victory » in the semi-final, out of respect for his « Greek friends », a country where he works (at Panathinaikos Athens) and has owned a second home for years. The sense of symbolism is never far away.
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Gabriel Pantel-Jouve est le fondateur et rédacteur en chef de BeBasket, qu’il anime depuis 2010 (sous le nom de Catch & Shoot). Passé par l’Ecole Publique de Journaliste de Tours, puis deux universités en Amérique du Nord, il a pu développer son expertise sur le basket français, de la Ligue Nationale aux divisions amateurs, durant ces 20 dernières années. En parallèle, il est aussi engagé dans le développement de clubs du côté de Montpellier.
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