Katas about Gabriel: “I don’t want him to leave Maccabi”

THE Odent Katas she clearly stated that she did not want to see him Wenien Gabriel to leave Maccabi. The center from South Sudan is among the players who are strongly interested in him Panathinaikos to fill the void of Matias Lessor.

“I don’t want him to leave. If there are proposals, it is not necessary to agree. I don’t think our situation is such that we can let players go, because we want more solutions and a bigger rotation. I cannot comment on what coach Ataman said, we have to decide for ourselves“, the Maccabi coach emphasized after the heavy defeat by Hapoel Jerusalem (101-84) in the Israeli championship.

Gabriel is 27 years old, 2.06m tall. and he fits the tall profile that Panathinaikos are looking for, who want to acquire a center who will primarily be a good defender. In fact, he was a teammate of Kendrick Nunn in the Lakers. He was born on March 26, 1997 in Khartoum, Sudan, but left at an early age as a refugee to the US, where he also attended Kentucky College. From 2019 to 2024, he had short passes from NBA teams, averaging 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 12.9 minutes in 166 appearances.

In the summer, he signed a two-year contract with Maccabi and despite missing the first weeks of the season with an injury, he is averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocks in 15:06 in the EuroLeague, in 9 appearances.

With South Sudan, he participated in the World Cup in 2023 and the Olympic Games in 2024. In Paris, he averaged 5.7 points, 9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2 blocks in 22.7 minutes.

It is noted that in order for Panathinaikos to take Gabriel or any player from another Euroleague team, it has until December 25th to do so, otherwise the “window” closes and it will only be able to make an addition outside the Euroleague.