Pero Antic and the Season of the Unseen: Red Star Alongside Olympiacos, Fenerbahce, and the Obradović Shadow

At the ABA League 25th anniversary gala in Belgrade, nobody asked Pero Antic about games or records. They asked him a seemingly simple question: who will win the EuroLeague this season? The North Macedonian former forward, a three-time European champion, smiled and gave an answer that silenced the room: "I cannot choose between three teams." Not Real Madrid, not Barcelona, not Monaco. The three names he offered were Olympiacos, Fenerbahce, and Red Star Belgrade. In that instant, I realized: Antic was not making a prediction; he was confessing what insiders rarely say aloud — loyalty in European basketball is measured not by trophies but by jersey colors and the people who walked beside you. ---------- Antic was never the name on EuroLeague promotional posters. He belongs to what I jokingly call the "trophy-bearing supporting cast": big men who run systems, set picks on rhythm, and make one-touch passes before the highlight begins. In 2026 and 2026, he won titles with Olympiacos in two insane finals against CSKA Moscow. In 2026, he added another with Fenerbahce under Željko Obradović. Earlier, from 2026 to 2026, he started his career at Red Star Belgrade — the club he chose to finish his career with in 2026-18. Three titles, two different clubs, one continuous color scheme — white and red — across two decades. "That is my red-white world," Antic said. That explains how a man now serving as president of the North Macedonia Basketball Federation can still speak about his three former clubs with the voice of a fan rather than an official. ---------- But the most fascinating part of that conversation was not the three names he chose. It was the detail Antic voluntarily brought up: Panathinaikos — Olympiacos' eternal rival. Asked about the coming season, he did not dodge: Obradović's return to Panathinaikos will turn the Greek derby into the center of attention. I remember the summer of 2026, watching Obradović leave Fenerbahce after an incomplete farewell. Anyone familiar with European basketball understands: Obradović is not merely a coach; he is a legacy. Five EuroLeague titles with Panathinaikos from 2026 to 2026, then two more with Partizan and Fenerbahce. The court never lies; we only lack the patience to hear it breathe. And when Obradović returns to Athens, the whole EuroLeague must change the way it breathes. ---------- I first tracked Antic during the 2026 EuroLeague final, when Olympiacos came from behind against CSKA in a game where few remember the tactics — most recall only Printezis' decisive shot. But watching the tape closely, I recognized what unlocked the game was not the final shots but Antic's frontcourt decisions: he dragged Printezis' defender away from the paint, read weak-side pick-and-rolls, set screens that never appeared on the scoreboard but forced CSKA defenders into mismatches. The smallest details on the floor hide the greatest truths. Antic is the perfect embodiment of the philosophy I have followed for ten years: the real star is not the scorer, but the one who makes his teammates' scoring easier. ---------- Looking at how Antic chose his three teams, I believe there is a tactical logic beneath the sentimental surface. Olympiacos this season remains the most disciplined collective in Europe, with actions sharpened over multiple seasons under Georgios Bartzokas — a team that needs no single star because their defense makes opponents bleed one point at a time. Fenerbahce, even without Obradović, retains rare roster depth with balanced additions at every position. But Red Star? Placing Red Star alongside Olympiacos and Fenerbahce may sound like a decision of the heart, yet I think otherwise. Antic is reading a signal most observers miss: Adriatic basketball is rising silently, and a club with Red Star's tradition, fueled by a passionate arena and a coaching staff that understands their identity, is always most dangerous when underestimated. ---------- There is a counter-intuitive truth I have drawn from over a decade of watching the EuroLeague: the season is usually decided not by the team with the biggest star, but by the team whose role players best understand their purpose in the tense months of March and April. Antic is a living proof. He was never the first option on any team he played for, yet his three EuroLeague titles speak louder than any personal statistic. There are rescues nobody sees, but the team remembers them for life. Red Star may not reach the Final Four this season, but if they force the reigning champion to bleed in the regular season, that is also a form of victory that no standings table will ever record. ---------- I also want to address Antic's mention of Obradović specifically. In European basketball, few returns have been as seismic as the legendary Serbian coach's comeback to Panathinaikos after more than a decade. But I do not expect a perfect first season. Those who watched Obradović build Fenerbahce from the first brick understand that his philosophy requires time: not buying stars to run a system, but installing the system into every individual, patiently enough to make fans restless in the opening months. The real question is not whether Panathinaikos will win the title this season. The question is whether the Athens collective can stay patient through growing pains, whether players like Kendrick Nunn or Kostas Sloukas will accept becoming pieces of a larger picture than themselves, and whether Panathinaikos can restore the true derby atmosphere Antic called "special." ---------- As the 2026-25 EuroLeague season approaches, I remember Antic's answer in Belgrade. He did not say who would win. He said who he wanted to win — and that is a different test. I still believe that, at the highest level, basketball is a game of forgotten individuals: the screen-setters, the off-ball runners, the ones shouting defensive rotations while the camera follows the star. Olympiacos, Red Star, Fenerbahce — all three possess such people. And if Panathinaikos returns to the summit soon, it will also be thanks to the Obradović types who unlock potential from invisible details. I do not know which team will lift the trophy at the Final Four. I only know one thing: keep your eyes on the off-ball runners, because in a long season, the quietest footsteps are often the ones closest to glory.