Two years after he left Panathinaikos for Olimpia Milano, Dinos Mitoglou has returned to the Greek powerhouse.
Just one day after Dinos Mitoglou saw his punishment for antidoping violations being reduced to 16 months, making him eligible to return to practices from July 28, the Greek forward was announced by his former team, Panathinaikos Athens.
BasketNews' Donatas Urbonas had reported about the two sides being close to a deal, which was finalized and is bound to keep the 27-year-old, 2.10 m player in Athens for the next three seasons.
"I am very happy to be back home. I do not want to say much, but I only want to thank [owner] Dimitris Giannakopoulos from my heart for the trust and love he showed me," the player said in his first statements.
"I'd also like to thank all the people of Panathinaikos and of course the people from my crew who never stopped being by my side. The rest will be said on the court, with a lot of hard work and incredible will to achieve our goals," Mitoglou promised.
Following a three-year tenure at Wake Forest University, where he averaged 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, Mitoglou joined PAO in 2017. He stayed there until 2021, winning four Greek league championships (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and two Greek Cups (2019, 2021).
His best season in the team was his last (2020-2021) where he averaged 9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the Greek league, while in the Euroleague he had 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 34 games.
In the summer of 2021, he moved to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, where he won the Italian Cup in February 2022. Mitoglou last stepped on a basketball court on February 11, 2022, and nearly twenty days later, on March 4, 2022, it was revealed that he had been punished for using methandienone, one of the most prohibited substances on the WADA list
In March 2022, Mitoglou was issued an initial 48-month ban from playing basketball for anti-doping violations that was almost immediately reduced to 32 months. The player's camp decided to appeal the decision, bypassing the FIBA Appeals Court that had imposed the initial ban, and headed straight to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Mitoglou convinced the court of his innocence, cooperated with the authorities and the judges understood that he had been a victim of a female doctor who was said to have promised treatments that helped treat various things, from repairing injuries or boosting athletic performance to increasing libido or fighting aging.
In 2017, the Greek forward made his Greek NT debut at the Acropolis tournament. He also competed in the games for the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers.
 | Panathinaikos Athens | |
| Position | Player | Status |
| PG/SG | Luca Vildoza (story) | Signed until 2026 |
| SG | Matt Thomas | Signed until 2024 |
| SG | Marius Grigonis | Signed until 2024 |
| SG | Georgios Kalaitzakis | Signed until 2024 |
| SG | Dimitris Moraitis (story) | Signed until 2026 |
| SG/SF | Panagiotis Kalaitzakis | Signed until 2024 +1 |
| SF/PF | Lefteris Mantzoukas | Signed until 2025 |
| PF | Nikos Chougkaz | Signed until 2025 |
| PF | Dinos Mitoglou (story) | Signed until 2026 |
| PF/C | Kostas Antetokounmpo (story) | Signed until 2025 |
| C | Mathias Lessort (story) | Signed until 2025 |
| Coach | Ergin Ataman (signed until 2025) | |
| Expired contract | Georgios Papagiannis, Mateusz Ponitka, Derrick Williams (will not return), Nate Wolters (won't return), Arturas Gudaitis (will not return), Lefteris Bochoridis | |
| Rumored to leave | Nate Wolters (won't return), Derrick Williams (won't return), Mateusz Ponitka (won't return), Paris Lee (won't return) | |
| Interested | Tyler Dorsey, Georgios Papagiannis, Ioannis Papapetrou (story), Dinos Mitoglou (story), Jerian Grant (story) | |
More Panathinaikos transfer news:
- Dinos Mitoglou officially re-joins Panathinaikos on multi-year deal
- Panathinaikos reportedly nearing deal with EuroCup MVP Jerian Grant
- Panathinaikos and Mateusz Ponitka part ways
- Derrick Williams and Panathinaikos part ways
- Panathinaikos and Nate Wolters officially part ways
- Kevin Punter explains decision to stay with Partizan, reveals Papapetrou's future
- Panathinaikos opted out of Paris Lee's contract
- Mathias Lessort moves to Panathinaikos
- Panathinaikos targeting Tyler Dorsey after Punter's fallout
- Luca Vildoza joins Panathinaikos for long-term stay
- Kostas Antetokounmpo joins Panathinaikos Athens
