Hi to everybody from Athens once more... Last time for this season... I am writing to you feeling happy... Just happy... We accomplished our goal, getting the Turkish Airlines Euroleague title. Panathinaikos's sixth title! We felt great joy and lived great moments that are difficult to describe. It's not the first day after the final, not even the second, but the feelings remain the same. It is impossible to forget what we experienced in Barcelona, not to mention all that took place upon our arrival to Greece. We found out that we were not alone; almost 2,000 Panathinaikos fans were waiting for us at 4:30 in the morning and followed us with motorbikes and cars all the way to OAKA. It's unbelievable to see and feel all this love, to see so many happy faces in a difficult period for Greece. We had our difficult times, too, as a team.

It was a strange season for us, because nobody believed in us when everything started. Important players had left the team during the summer, some other players came along… The season could have been a transitional year, since new players were added. But we managed to get to the highest place in the Euroleague once more. It was very important for us, for the effort we made since the beginning of the season. Only thing is that we could not hang on to this joy too much, given fact that the final for the Greek Cup against Olympiacos is just ahead of us, on Sunday, just a week after the Euroleague final. This is the life of a basketball player, of an athlete in general. To go from one goal to another, to try to achieve more and more, to be ready for the next game no matter what has happened in the previous one. We must always try for the best. The entire... more

Today's the day, Euroleague fans! In a few hours, we board a high-speed train from Madrid to Barcelona to arrive, as we've all been waiting to do throughout our careers, at the Final Four! My guys are excited, I can tell you that. For a majority of us, it's our first time at the Final Four, so that has us pumped up. We're happy it's a short, two-hour trip to Barcelona. We've got a lot of reporters and fans coming with us. We can't wait to play in a full house at Palau Sant Jordi. I know there will be a lot of people there from all over, since the Maccabi, Panathinaikos and Siena fans travel in big numbers, too. We're looking forward to seeing that huge crowd, interacting with our friends on other teams and just enjoying the moment. I've got a good friend on Siena, Deji Akindele, a former teammate of mine, who I am very happy to see going to the Final Four. We've been phoning, texting and talking on Skype over the years, and of course, in the last few weeks. I also know Jeremy Pargo and Chuck Eidson from Maccabi, so it'll be great to run into those guys. Of course, we'll be there mostly to play some serious basketball. As any team, we will want to savor the moment, but most of all, we're coming to play and to win.

Nobody has anything but the semifinal on our minds now. I have watched Maccabi a few times on Euroleague.TV this year, many of our other guys played against them before. I can tell you they have very good personnel. Jeremy Pargo, whom I mentioned, it a great point guard who can be very aggressive and play under control at the same time. He was MVP of the playoffs, so that says it all. He comes to play. Chuck Eidson does it all, David Blu shoots the lights out, Lior Eliyahu knows us from... more

Barcelona, here we come! If I sound excited, I am. This is my third time but it never gets boring. I would even say it's the opposite. I am just as excited now as ever before to get started. In 2004, I guess I didn't understand the gravity of it and how much it meant. I had been to the Elite Eight as a college player, so the amount of media and hype around the two events was similar. The difference was that the Final Four is at the pro level, and that made it something special. I mean, I was 23, one year over from the United States, living in Israel for the first time. Before I got here, I didn't know who Nikola Vujcic was, who Anthony Parker was, who Sarunas Jasikevicius was. I was just a young guy, hungry to play, and I got that chance with some big, big players.

And then, when we won it, it really boosted my confidence. It made me understood that when you win the Euroleague, that's something that no one can ever take away from you. And you always have that bond with your teammates forever, whether you see them five, ten or however many years down the road. Of course, it didn't hurt that we played the final in our gym, on the rims we shot at all year, in the locker room we dressed in all year. It makes a difference playing in your own gym, but that doesn't explain us winning by 44 points in a final. The only thing that explains it happened weeks before, when Derrick Sharp made the shot that forced overtime against Zalgiris, saved our season and put us in the Final Four. After that shot, it was like we knew we were going to win the title. We were so together after that moment, it was a great feeling. We had three weeks to live off Derrick's shot. People still love watching that shot and still get... more

Is everybody ready for Final Four weekend? I certainly am! You work all season with this goal in mind, focusing on getting to the Final Four, and now that it's so close, you just want to be there and win! Personally, I would rather have a shorter time in between the playoffs and the Final Four, although it really doesn't matter, because it's the same for all teams, so there's no advantages or disadvantages. But there is so much anticipation leading up to the Final Four, you just want to start playing! The other reason that I am excited to get back to this event is that last time I was there, I left with a sour taste in my mouth -- and I still have it! It was 2008 and we were up big on Maccabi in the semifinal, but we just didn't play the second half, and lost. I have always felt like we let a big opportunity get away from us. Now, I am hoping we make up for last time and do something special.

The truth is that in 2008, it was great until the end of that semifinal game. It was a great experience and a lot of fun getting there, but after we lost, I couldn't enjoy myself at all. I always believed we should have been in the final, and thought all that season that we were one of the teams that matched up well with CSKA, the eventual winner. Sure, we might have lost the final, but it would have been great to try. What hurts is never knowing. I would like a different memory of the Final Four to replace that one for me now. That's why we are going to Barcelona this week very hungry. I have my reasons, my teammate Rimas Kaukenas couldn't play in 2008 due to an injury, so you know he's excited to get back. Bo McCalebb went there last year, played great, but lost two games. He wants to know... more