In the history of European basketball, the 2007 Final Four at Athens Olympic Indoor Hall (OAKA) will be forever associated with victory by Panathinaikos and the role of Dimitris Diamantidis as MVP.

It is time to consider the obvious: we have before us, in the prime of his career, not merely Europe's most successful coach, past or present, but one of the all-time greats to ever sit on a basketball bench.

His team will remain champion until another is able to stop it - whether in the 2007 Final Four or beyond - and until that moment, CSKA Moscow head coach Ettore Messina is at the top of his profession, too.

If there is any coach who can teach his players about what a unique opportunity the Final Four represents, it is Sergio Scariolo of Unicaja. Despite performing at the top of his profession since 1990, when he became a head coach, the chance to live through a Final Four has come only once for him until now.

When one of the most ambitious teams anywhere needed a new head coach to continue its already stellar Euroleague season, Tau Ceramica did not hesitate to call on Bozidar Maljkovic. He was not only the most successful coach available, but also the second-biggest winner of the entire Final Four era.

This season marks the end of the second full decade in which European clubs have been using the Final Four to decide a champion. More than half of those Final Fours have had Panathinaikos head coach Zeljko Obradovic as a protagonist. His debut appearance came as a player with Partizan at the very first Final Four in 1988. He didn't win it all, however, until his first Final Four as a coach, also with Partizan, in 1992. Since then, he has proceeded to win four more times with three more teams. His records are unmatched by anyone: 11 Final Four appearances total, 10 as a coach and, of course, five titles won. At just 47 years old, Obradovic has plenty of time to add to his legend. His plan for doing so is the essence of the coaching art: inspiration. "I am sure going to push my players to take advantage of this moment," Obradovic told Euroleague.net. "The career of a player is not very long, as I know from having been a player. They have to enjoy every moment and seize every opportunity."