Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens has completed one of the biggest transfers of the EuroLeague offseason, acquiring All-EuroLeague First Team guard Sylvain Francisco from LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and signing him to a three-year contract.
The move comes just weeks after Francisco had signed a three-year deal with ASVEL in what was expected to be the cornerstone of the French club’s rebuilding project. However, financial difficulties forced ASVEL to reconsider its plans and accept a buyout offer from Panathinaikos, allowing one of Europe’s premier guards to join the Greek powerhouse.
Francisco arrives after a career-best 2025-26 campaign with Zalgiris Kaunas. The 28-year-old averaged 16.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.0 steal across 38 EuroLeague games while shooting 45.2% from the field and 39.9% from three-point range. He ranked seventh in scoring, second in assists, 17th in steals and fourth in Performance Index Rating with a 19.2 average.
His outstanding season earned widespread recognition across the competition. Francisco was named EuroLeague MVP of the Month for October 2025, collected MVP honors for Rounds 7 and 29, finished second in league MVP voting behind Olympiacos forward Sasha Vezenkov and earned his first All-EuroLeague First Team selection.
Just as importantly, he led Zalgiris back to the EuroLeague Playoffs for the first time in three seasons. The Lithuanian club also completed a domestic double by winning both the Lithuanian League (LKL) and Lithuanian Cup for the second consecutive year.
Panathinaikos is adding Francisco to a roster that finished seventh in the regular-season standings with a 22-16 record before pushing Valencia Basket to five games in the playoff quarterfinals. The club has undergone significant changes this summer, appointing Zeljko Obradovic as head coach while adding Moustapha Fall, Guerschon Yabusele, Brancou Badio and Isaac Bonga.
Francisco also helps replace backcourt departures that include TJ Shorts and Vassilis Toliopoulos. His arrival gives Obradovic another elite playmaker alongside veteran Kostas Sloukas and reigning EuroLeague scoring leader Kendrick Nunn, who averaged 18.2 points last season.
The French international has shown steady improvement throughout his EuroLeague career. After averaging 10.6 points and 3.2 assists with Bayern Munich in 2023-24, he took another step with Zalgiris, posting 14.6 points and 4.5 assists in 2024-25 before emerging as one of Europe’s top guards this past season.
Francisco is already familiar with Greek basketball after spending the 2022-23 season with Peristeri, where he averaged 11.4 points and 5.4 assists while leading the club to the Greek Cup final. That experience should ease his transition back to Athens.
His arrival also reunites him with several French national teammates. Francisco will share the locker room with Mathias Lessort, Yabusele and Fall, giving Panathinaikos a strong French core as it looks to challenge for its eighth EuroLeague title.
