Panathinaikos OPAP Athens added to its backcourt by signing playmaker Tyrese Rice to a one-year deal, the club announced Monday. Rice (1.85 meters, 32 years old) arrives from Brose Bamberg, where he averaged 15.9 points and 6.3 assists in 37 German League games last season. He was the 2018-19 Basketball Champions League MVP after posting 16.4 points and 4.4 assists in 19 games. He also helped Bamberg win the German Cup.
Rice is not only the lone player to win EuroLeague and EuroCup titles in back-to-back seasons, with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2014 and Khimki Moscow Region in 2015, but he was also the MVP of 2014 EuroLeague Final Four, the 2014-15 EuroCup MVP and 2015 EuroCup Finals MVP in those two campaigns. In the 2013-14 season, his first in the EuroLeague, he made sure to leave his mark on the competition with his performance at the Final Four in Milan, Italy. He first scored the game-winning basket for Maccabi to edge CSKA Moscow in the semifinals and then in the championship game scored 21 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead Maccabi to victory over Real Madrid. He was voted Final Four MVP for his performances. In the following season, he paced Khimki through an impressive EuroCup campaign, leading the team to the title and in the process earning himself a pair of MVP awards.
Rice started his professional career with Panionios Athens in Greece and has also played for Artland Dragons and Bayern Munich in Germany, Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania and FC Barcelona Lassa in Spain. He has also suited up for the Montenegrin national team.