Marius Grigonis is back at Zalgiris following a turbulent four-year stint with Panathinaikos that featured a EuroLeague title, a severe back injury, and a distant relationship with head coach Ergin Ataman.
Marius Grigonis went through everything during those four years in Athens – from winning the EuroLeague in 2024, when Panathinaikos defeated Real Madrid in the final, to considering retirement due to back problems.
The experienced Lithuanian guard opened up in an interview for the official Zalgiris website, talking about his four-year experience in Greece, and everything he went through.
“Organized chaos,” he began his answer about his time at Panathinaikos, continuing:
Marius Grigonis spoke about Ergin Ataman and his relationship with the players! 👀 #paobc pic.twitter.com/N8cps0k0D5
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) September 7, 2026
“The first year was interesting. It’s easy to talk about it from today’s perspective. At the time, of course, it was difficult. Everyone in the locker room was fighting, telling each other off. The coach would cut players from the team. Our own fans were swearing at us. Spitting. You’d walk down the street, and people would be telling you things.
Then the next year, they’re carrying you on their shoulders because we won the EuroLeague. Again, we say that Kaunas is fanatical about Zalgiris, but over there it’s on another level entirely. Their whole sporting culture lives and breathes it. Of course, the local market is bigger, and there are more people. They’re genuinely crazy about it. They don’t even need beer to become like that – that’s just how they naturally are. That period was one of the best of my career.”
From an outcast to important championship piece
He pointed out that he was told on multiple occasions before the start of the season that he was free to look for a new club – the same season Panathinaikos returned to the European throne – only for him to end up playing an important role in the end.
“I was also told that I was free to leave, but I had a contract, so I said, ‘Do whatever you want.’ Later, they told me again that I was free to leave. And I came back again. There were a lot of injuries at the start of the season. I remember Mitoglou, Papapetrou, and Hernangomez being out.
It ended up with me playing 35 minutes a game. That’s how things happen in sports – you make your first shots, and everyone tells you how good you are. Then you keep playing. Then Nunn arrived and took us to another level. That’s how we came together as a team – with no rules, no anything. It just worked out that way.
I remember going to the Final Four, and we were convinced that we were going to win. Even when we were down by 15 points against Madrid in the final, everyone was still certain that we’d win. That’s why I say that because of that one moment, you don’t regret having been injured or not playing. It makes up for everything.”
Nonexistent relationship with Ergin Ataman
As for Ergin Ataman, with whom he worked from 2023 to 2026, he does not hold the fondest memories, emphasizing that he does not know a single player who has a relationship with the Turkish coach.
“I’d like you to find me even one player who has a relationship with him. He completely distances himself from the players. That’s the position he chooses to take. There is no communication at all.”
“Before surgery, I was basically paralyzed”
His back injury caused him huge problems, which is why retirement was a real possibility, and the disagreement between his doctor and Panathinaikos’s doctor did not help either.
“You know, when things are difficult, that option is always there. It was chaos. Nobody organized proper rehabilitation for me, so I had to keep traveling to Germany myself. Before the surgery, I was basically paralyzed. I couldn’t do anything, and I couldn’t fly to Germany. I had to undergo surgery there. Then there were disagreements afterward. My doctor was saying one thing; their doctor was saying something else. The injury flared up again. By then, I was able to fly to Germany and spent the whole summer there.
Then Panathinaikos added a Greek physiotherapist who I had also worked with in Russia. He also worked under Saras at Fenerbahce. He’s a really good specialist. I continued my rehabilitation with him, and Kestas, who also works with Zalgiris, got involved as well. I only started feeling better in January of last year. That was when I finally started feeling that everything was possible again. It took a long time.”
However, he emphasizes that he still has a good relationship with Panathinaikos, especially with owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos and sports director Dimitris Kontos, despite the misunderstandings that occurred during that season.
“Nobody really took it personally. They said, ‘If you want, stay.’ I should technically still have had a contract with them this year as well. If I wanted to, I could look for another club. From their side, everything was handled in good faith. I definitely have a good relationship with Panathinaikos’ sporting director and with the club owner as well. There were no problems.
At the time, of course, I had an argument with the team doctor. You can’t do things that way. Unlike at Zalgiris, in Europe they often take the selection of doctors and physiotherapists far too casually.”
Early return to the court
The return to the court happened earlier than he thought it should have, adding the example of Mathias Lessort, who was out for a long time due to a recurring injury.
“Again, when I stepped onto the court at that point, I definitely wasn’t ready yet. I needed to come back gradually. I’ve been in many places where nobody is going to wait until you’re 100 percent healthy. If you’re at 70 percent and you can run and shoot, you’re expected to get on the court and play.
I wasn’t ready yet, and maybe that worked against me because everyone expected me to come back after a year without playing and immediately be fine. It was similar with Lessort. He later needed another surgery as well. The club handled a lot of injury situations poorly. I think they understand that themselves. They’ve changed a lot of things, so it should be better now.”
“I don’t think it’ll be anything close to that with Zeljko Obradovic”
Last season he had a very limited role in the team, and he again emphasized that he had no one to talk to because that is not Ergin Ataman’s style, adding that he expects things to be different with Zeljko Obradovic.
“Talk to who? No. That’s not how it works with Ataman. You’re there, and you just think that you’ll help in practice. You’ll help in the domestic league. When they need you, they’ll call you.
There were times when you’d be driving home after practice, and you’d get a phone call: ‘Come to the airport. You’ll need to fly to the game.’ Or you’d arrive in the locker room and, 25 minutes before the game, they’d bring you your uniform and say they needed you. There were situations like that.
I don’t think it’ll be anything close to that with Zeljko. There were a lot of organizational things like that. I looked at it as: ‘I’m here, and I’ll try to do my job.’ My contract says I have to help the team. Of course, I complained plenty and voiced my opinion, but whenever I was needed, I was ready.”
Return to Zalgiris
This offseason he returned to Zalgiris, and now he has a new mission at the club where he grew up.
“Honestly, I have my own mission – to keep my body healthy and avoid injuries, because even now everyone keeps asking, ‘How’s your back?’ Everything’s fine. I’ve had a lot of injuries and difficult rehabilitation periods. One after another. It’s mentally difficult because you get tired of doing the same thing over and over again. It’s incredibly boring, and you don’t feel the results immediately. You only feel them after a month or two.
Right now, it’s difficult to evaluate anything about the team. As an organization, things have always been good here. It’s expanding, and more people are working here. Zalgiris is becoming more than just basketball. Zalgiris is a bigger organization. As someone from Kaunas, that makes me happy. All my friends are happy that I’m back here and that Zalgiris is growing. A Zalgiris season ticket is more valuable than euros. It’s nice, but we’ll see. It won’t be easy because we have a lot of new players. We’ll need time to develop chemistry as well. We have talent. We’ll see how well we come together.”
Besides him, Jonas Valanciunas also joined the club this summer, whose presence in the locker room Grigonis compared to the legendary Paulius Jankunas.
“I look at where Jonas is sitting, and it almost feels like Jankis (Paulius Jankunas) is sitting there again. That’s where Jankis used to sit. Now Jonas is there, this big veteran guy, taking up two lockers. I think it’ll be a more entertaining year in the locker room than last season. I wasn’t here, but I heard things were a little too quiet. I’m not saying we’ll do anything stupid.
Personally, it’ll be nice to speak Lithuanian again because I’ve spent so many years playing abroad. I understand how foreign players feel, because sometimes you can get carried away speaking your own language, and you have to make sure you include them too. It’s nice to speak your own language. The jokes are different. When you’re speaking a foreign language, you’re still a slightly different version of yourself”, Marius Grigonis stated.
