Exclusive transfer: Vassilis Toliopoulos leaves Panathinaikos for PAOK for €5M, three-year deal
In a major shake-up for Greek basketball, be-basketball.com can exclusively reveal that Vassilis Toliopoulos (1,88 m, 30 yo) is leaving Panathinaikos to sign with PAOK ahead of the 2026-2027 season. The 30-year-old point guard, born June 15, 1996, and standing 1.88m tall, has agreed to a three-year contract worth 5 million euros with the Thessaloniki-based club.
A high-profile departure from Panathinaikos
To secure the transfer, PAOK will pay a 1.5 million euro buy-out to Panathinaikos, underlining just how highly valued Toliopoulos is within the Greek basketball landscape. The move represents a significant financial commitment from PAOK, signaling clear ambitions for the seasons ahead.
For Panathinaikos, losing Toliopoulos is a considerable blow. The Athens club will now need to find a replacement at point guard, a key position in any high-level roster construction. The buy-out clause, however, provides some financial compensation as the club looks to reshape its backcourt.
PAOK makes a statement signing
For PAOK, landing Toliopoulos is a statement of intent. By committing 5 million euros over three years, the club is sending a clear message about its ambitions both domestically and in European competition. Adding a point guard of Toliopoulos’s profile strengthens their backcourt considerably heading into the 2026-2027 campaign.
The transfer also carries a symbolic weight, as Toliopoulos moves from one of Greece’s most storied clubs to a direct rival. Deals of this magnitude between top Greek clubs are rare, making this an unmistakable moment for the league. All eyes will now be on how Toliopoulos adapts to his new environment and whether PAOK can build a title-contending roster around him.
Find here PAOK’s full 2026-2027 roster.
A decorated career trajectory
Toliopoulos has established himself as one of Greece’s most reliable point guards over the past seasons. His career path took him from Aris, where he spent two formative seasons, to Panathinaikos in June 2025 on a three-year deal. With the Athens club, he quickly became a key contributor, helping Panathinaikos capture the Greek Cup in 2026 and representing his country with distinction at EuroBasket 2025, where Greece claimed a bronze medal. Known affectionately by fans as « Pistoliopoulos » for his sharp shooting touch, Toliopoulos averaged 6.4 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 rebounds per game during the 2025-2026 season with Panathinaikos, shooting 34.4% from three-point range across 10 EuroLeague games. His consistency and basketball intelligence have made him an attractive target for ambitious clubs like PAOK.
The move to Thessaloniki represents the next chapter in Toliopoulos’s career—a chance to compete for titles at a rival club and cement his legacy as one of the generation’s defining Greek backcourt players. Whether he can replicate his success at Panathinaikos and help PAOK challenge for domestic and European honors remains to be seen, but his track record suggests the Thessaloniki outfit has made a shrewd investment in a player who has proven his worth at the highest levels of Greek basketball.
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