by luring away their best player. Therefore, the expectations were also big – success in both the domestic league and the EuroLeague was paramount. Coming into the squad that featured head coach Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou, Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Giannakis, Stojko Vranković, Miroslav Pecarski, Tiit Sokk, Aivar Kuusmaa, Kostas Patavoukas, Fragiskos Alvertis and Nikos Oikonomou, Paspalj was seen as the ingredient capable of leading the team to big trophies. Predictably, Olympiacos fans immediately turned on their former hero and hounded him whenever the two teams met. This initially intimidated Paspalj, as chance had it that his first game for Panathinaikos was against Olympiacos in the Greek Cup, played at the neutral venue – Sporting's indoor hall that at the time barely seated 1,500 people. There, in a cramped arena filled with passionate fans of both teams, he played one of the worst, most nerve-wracked games of his career, and finished with 5 points (1/2, 2/11, 0/1) as Panathinaikos won a terrible game 42-40. By contrast, a month later, an inspired Paspalj, in his first league appearance against Olympiacos, memorably began the game with three consecutive 3-pointers in the opening minute, though he subsequently faded as his team lost 65-67. However the move across town couldn't hide the flaws in Paspalj's game and his shot continued to deteriorate. His free throw percentage dipped still further and in many games was well below 50%, while three-point shots became a rarity, with just one three-pointer from eight attempts in the entire EuroLeague season. He was the top-scorer for his new team with 19 points per game but failed to lift them beyond second place in the Greek League and the semi-finals of the EuroLeague, when in both cases Panathinaikos was defeated by Olympiacos, which made even the Panathinaikos fans disillusioned with him. The return league game against Olympiacos, which Panathinaikos won 74-72 away from home, typified Paspalj's up-and-down season, as he began brightly with 8 points in the opening minutes, faded and remained scoreless until the last minute of the game, then scored the last five points that steered Panathinaikos to victory, but missed a free throw with 3 seconds remaining that ultimately cost his team the head-to-head record that gave Olympiacos the crucial home court advantage throughout the play-offs. Paspalj's performances in the five-game playoff final series with Olympiacos were particularly disappointing, as although he scored 21 and 19 points in games 2 and