ATHENS (Greece) - Over the course of a decade, many players can leave a mark on a club. AEK BC have been participating in every single season of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL, and the list of hoopers making their fans' dreams come true is pretty large, to say the least.
Keith Langford and Kevin Punter, respectively MVP of the 2019-20 BCL and winner of the 2017-18 BCL, 13th and 2nd on the BCL All-Time Top 50 list, are surely up there. They are two of the Queen's quintessential figures.
It's no coincidence that both Langford and Punter have been the quickest to reach 350 points scored in the competition, needing 18 games played for the Greek side.
From last Wednesday, another AEK star joined the convo.
Frank Bartley wasn't only a difference maker, returning from injury, for the Greeks in the recent win over Falco Vulcano Szombathely.
But he also joined the same list as Langford and Punter, becoming the third-quickest in BCL to history to reach 350 points, needing 19 games.
His scoring arsenal already earned him the MVP of Season X Award, and Bartley's offensive skill set has been noticed by everybody, including one of his predecessors repping the black-and-yellow jersey.
From one killer to another
Keith Langford's playing career is now over, but what a legacy he has written in European basketball. After having stolen the show for years, the Kansas alum certainly knows when to recognize a scorer by nature.
"What I noticed right away when first watching Frank play is that he’s looking to score."
"When he gets the ball in, his intentions are clear: Where’s my opening? Where’s my opportunity?” Langford told the BCL website.
"You have to have that as a scorer. Some people just use the screen to catch the ball, create an action, or just play a pick-and-roll. A scorer uses his movements and every bounce of the ball as an opportunity."
"[Frank Bartley] definitely has those instincts," Keith also commented about the 32-year-old guard.
From one MVP to another, one would say. Different years and scenarios, but same teams and same commitment.
Another aspect of Frank Bartley's game that has captured Keith Langford's attention is his capacity to shoot the ball, regardless of where he is on the court, regardless of the opponent facing him. He'd shoot it anyway.
"Sometimes, guys who can score can make shots, but can’t really shoot. There’s a difference there. And Frank can shoot the ball. If a coach wanted him as a catch-and-shoot guy out of the corner, he could easily do it. He looks comfortable shooting further away from the basket," Langford opened on shooting.
"Knowing that he’s a willing and good shooter, it makes it so the defense is really off balance. He’s not overly athletic or necessarily super tall, but his shooting abilities make him reach another level."
"It sets the table up for other aspects of his offensive game. Because he’s strong, and when you’re a second behind him with the lunge to potentially contest, you don’t really know where to focus. He’s a killer for that," the former AEK guard continued about the team's No. 24.
Most importantly, having joined that scoring conversation with Keith Langford himself and Kevin Punter already speaks volumes about how significant Frank Bartley's legacy has been and will be for the Queen.
"There’s a saying in the States: 'The company you keep.' If you bring up Keith Langford and Kevin Punter’s names when talking about Frank Bartley, that means that the guy’s pretty good, right off the bat," he said.
"Creating that is not easy. Because there was a lot of work into becoming Keith Langford: a lot of time and energy spent accomplishing what I did. And I’m more than certain there’s the same, if not more, with Kevin Punter. To hear or read that, you have to tip off your hat and respect it," Langford also followed.
Guided by a mastermind
There's someone who knows what representing AEK truly means. He has done it in winning fashion, leading the Greeks to glory in 2018, and he has worked both as head coach and sports director at the club in Athens.
He has helped Kevin Punter start his career off in the best way possible, has watched Keith Langford make the AEK fanbase erupt, and has trusted Frank Bartley in order to achieve more success with him.
If he has managed to become so crucial for the Queen, the American scorer has to mainly thank Dragan Sakota, who already put his trust in him back in Italy, with Brindisi, before rejoining forces in Greece.
"He has always been very underrated as a scorer, because nobody really cared about him. When PAOK invested in him [in the 2024-25 season], things changed," AEK's head coach first said about Bartley.
"Even at his age, he’s one of the most disciplined guys I’ve ever coached. He’s constantly ready to learn and change towards more things to add to his game, adjusting to bigger responsibilities and roles."
"He puts his scoring talent toward team goals. He’s a natural scorer who has that instinct for the basket, but he prefers to be useful for the team. It’s very difficult to find the perfect guy, but he’s basically perfect on and off the court. He’s the son everybody would like to have. Such a good guy; everybody likes him," he added.
Over the course of their joint tenure so far in black-and-yellow, there have been plenty of memorable moments lived together, on and off the court. Without Bartley, Sakota's AEK lose a lot on the offensive end.
"We’ve had a lot of nice memories together, but the biggest one was definitely the win in Game 3 against Asisa Joventut, when he had crucial responsibilities," Sakota mentioned about the MVP of the 2025-26 season.
We shared the stage in Badalona as MVP of the Season and Coach of the Year. It’s something we achieved together that nobody would probably have believed, given our ages.
However, the way Season X ended for the Queen must have felt painful for the American guard, ready to bring back some golden hardware to the cabinet in SUNEL Arena. Instead, Rytas Vilnius wrote history in Badalona.
"That was a tough moment for everybody. He was the MVP, and the expectations were naturally high after we had that fantastic season, and on top of that, we were leading by 20 points in the final," the coach said.
"There was huge disappointment. But if you have a winning mentality, all you’re thinking even in the immediate aftermath is 'I will come back.' In the summer, when talking to him, he wanted to come back even stronger."
What makes Bartley special on the court is the wide and large range of options he possesses to take down the opponents, and Sakota knows how various and heterogeneous his game can be.
"He’s a natural scorer in very different ways. He has the personality to take the last shot, and he’s extremely good at moving off the ball to find the right spaces for him to pull up. He cuts well; he loves the shake-and-bake three-pointers. He really has a lot of weapons," he commented about Bartley's arsenal.
Among other aspects, scoring in traffic is something Bartley brings to an elite level, just like Punter and Langford have always done.
"They have always been able to score with contact. They can all do this."
"They are all different, but everybody is scouting players like these. Every team would like to have the ones with personality, talent, and character to take the last shot, scoring consecutive points against tough defenses."
Now that he's back from injury, missing two games after 52 straight appearances, Frank Bartley immediately delivered by leading AEK to a bounce-back win.
He has done it the Punter's way, or the Langford's way, with Sakota guiding him on the sideline.
There's always a legend in the making at AEK.