Dorsey went from 25 points to 5 minutes. Then he asked Olympiacos to let him go

By the Data Desk · Published 15 OCT 08:30 · Updated 21 OCT 05:35

Tyler Dorsey scored 25 points in Olympiacos' EuroLeague opener in Vitoria; on Tuesday in Valencia he played five minutes and four seconds. On Wednesday he asked on Instagram why the club did not "just go ahead and let me go now", and within about an hour Olympiacos left him out of Friday's game in Barcelona and sent him back to Athens, SPORT24 reported.

• Dorsey's minutes by round, from the EuroLeague box scores: 22:45, 19:53, 27:06, 17:24 and 5:04; he started the first three games and came off the bench in the last two.
• Greek outlets SPORT24 and ERTsports say he was summoned to explain himself ("κλήθηκε σε απολογία"), a disciplinary hearing, not a request to apologise as some English reports translated it.
• He is in the last year of his contract, and Olympiacos, 4-1, play at the Palau Blaugrana on Friday at 18:30 UTC without him.

The spark was a podcast. On the Triple Threat Show, co-hosted by Greek journalist Dionysis Aravantinos, Dubai forward Jaron Blossomgame called Dorsey replaceable while Chima Moneke argued he was essential. Dorsey answered both on Instagram: "if what I do is replaceable why they don't just go ahead and let me go now", he wrote, adding that his "minutes went down out no where" and that "the truth will be told on how I been done over here" (as quoted by BasketNews). He also questioned why the coaching staff was so afraid, in a line Greek media carried as «Γιατί φοβάται τόσο το προπονητικό επιτελείο;».

Behind the scenes, the club moved fast. SPORT24 first reported his exclusion at 16:40 UTC, and the squad for Barcelona left without him; ERTsports and athletiko describe a formal summons to account for the posts, and athletiko adds, citing journalistic sources, that earlier conduct will also be discussed. Neither the club nor coach Georgios Bartzokas had commented in public by Thursday morning.

The numbers explain the frustration. Dorsey scored 63 points in five games, 12.6 a game in 18.4 minutes, but almost all of it came early: 25 at Baskonia and 22 at Virtus, then four points against Efes and two in Valencia, where Olympiacos came back from 28 down without needing him. His contract runs to the summer of 2027, and there has been no progress on an extension, Eurohoops reports.

What happens next: Olympiacos play Barcelona on Friday at 20:30 in Barcelona, and the hearing in Athens decides whether Dorsey returns for the next round or the story becomes a transfer saga before January.