On August 19, 2007, Spanoulis was released by the San Antonio Spurs, after deciding he wanted to play in Greece during the 2007–08 season. This was due to the fact that his mother was in poor health, and that Spanoulis wanted to be near her. Spanoulis signed a 3-year contract with Panathinaikos, the then defending EuroLeague champions. He was signed to play both point guard and shooting guard, along with fellow Greek national team star, Dimitris Diamantidis. Former NBA player, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, would later join them in the team's guard rotation.