| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1967-05-16)May 16, 1967 (age 57) Nikaia,Athens, Greece |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Career information | |
| Playing career | 1982–1998 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career | 1998–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1982–1988 | Ionikos Nikaias |
| 1988–1990 | Sporting Athens |
| 1990–1996 | AEK Athens |
| 1996–1998 | Irakleio Crete |
| As coach: | |
| 1998–2003 | AEK Athens (assistant) |
| 2003–2005 | AEK Athens |
| 2005–2006 | Dynamo St. Petersburg |
| 2006–2008 | Valencia Basket |
| 2009–2010 | Aris Thessaloniki |
| 2010–2013 | Bilbao Basket |
| 2012–2013 | Russia |
| 2014–2016 | Greece |
| 2015–2016 | Murcia |
| 2016 | Lokomotiv Kuban |
| 2017 | Murcia |
| 2017 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
| 2017–2018 | Iberostar Tenerife |
| 2018–2019 | Utah Jazz (assistant) |
| 2019–2020 | Gran Canaria |
| 2021–2022 | Málaga |
| 2024 | Bàsquet Girona |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As head coach: | |
Fotios Katsikaris (alternate spelling: Fotis) (Greek: Φώτιος Κατσικάρης; born 16 May 1967) is a Greek professionalbasketball coach and a former professionalbasketball player, he was most recently head coach for theBàsquet Girona of the SpanishLiga ACB.
Katsikaris has started coaching at the age of 31, following a career as player, and he has worked inGreece,Russia, andSpain. He has also co-operated with thescouting team of theBoston Celtics.[1]
Katsikaris began playingbasketball in theyouth system ofIonikos Nikaias, and was promoted to the senior men's team at the age of 15, setting a record (at the time) for being the youngest player ever in theGreek top division. After some years with Ionikos andSporting, he made the big step up in his career toAEK Athens, in 1990. A sophisticated pass-firstpoint guard, Katsikaris played for AEK for six seasons, but he didn't manage to win any titles with them. In 1996, he joinedIrakleio, where he stayed for two years, before retiring. Throughout his career, he played in a total of 197 games in thetop-tier level Greek League, scoring 707 points (3.6 points per game).
While recollecting on his playing years, he's mentionedPanagiotis Giannakis as hisrole model,Rolando Blackman as his best ever teammate, andNikos Galis as the most difficult player for him to guard. He's also said that his former coach,Krešimir Ćosić, was the man who changed his life; when Ćosić signed him for AEK, Katsikaris had actually been about to quit basketball (at the age of 23), and go to theUnited States for studies.[1]
In 1998, Katsikaris joined thecoaching staff ofAEK Athens. Between 1999 and 2003, he worked as an assistant coach toDušan Ivković andDragan Šakota, that period being the most successful for AEK in the recent decades (1Greek League championship, 2Greek Cups, and 1Saporta Cup).
In 2003, he was named head coach as part of aboard's project to rebuild the squad with young players, after the glorious and expensive 1999–2003 period. Despite his (and his players') lack of experience, he did quite well, reaching theGreek Leagueplayoffs' final, and theEuroLeague Last 16, during the2004–05 season. Youngsters who evolved intoprotagonists during his tenure, included futureEuroBasket 2005 champions and EuroLeague stars, such asNikos Zisis andIoannis Bourousis.
In 2005, he moved toDynamo Saint Petersburg, achieving the 2nd place of theRussian Super League'sregular season, and finally finishing 3rd overall in the league after the playoffs. Although the club was then described as "the rising power in Russian basketball", they wentbankrupt at the start of the following season, and Katsikaris left Russia.
Right afterwards, in October 2006, he was hired by theSpanish League clubValencia Basket to replaceRicard Casas. The plan was to build a team that could gradually move from mid-table obscurity to a higher level, but the goal wasn't achieved. Two seasons saw Valencia (then calledPamesa after their mainsponsor) not proceeding further than the quarterfinals of the Spanish national league, and Katsikaris was fired after a poor start in theSpanish League 2008–09 season.
After leaving Valencia, Katsikaris was rumored by the Greekmedia as a major candidate for the vacant head coaching job with the senior men'sGreek national team; a job that was eventually given toJonas Kazlauskas.
In October 2009, Katsikaris took overAris Thessaloniki, replacingAndrea Mazzon. The momentum was very difficult for both the club and the coach: Aris had just failed to qualify for theEuroLeague through thepreliminary round, and Katsikaris had only a few days' time until the start of theGreek League to re-organize the team.
His tenure lasted exactly 100 days. As the team was obviously underachieving during the first round of the season, including a nightmare defeat at the hands of "eternal enemy"PAOK, he decided to resign in January 2010, saying that hehad joined Aris at the wrong time, andcouldn't find a way to inspire the players.[2]
A few days later, Katsikaris returned to theSpanish League to coachBilbao Basket (orBizkaia for sponsorship reasons), at the time the second worst team of the2009–10 Spanish League season, with a record of 4 wins in 17 games. Katsikaris made an instant impact; not only did the team avoidrelegation, but they missed the playoffs by just one win, and also reached theEuroCup's2009–10 Final Four.
Thenext season was to be even more successful: Bilbao made it to theSpanish League playoffs and reached the finals, defeatingValencia Basket andReal Madrid in the early rounds. Although they eventually lost the title series toBarcelona Basquet, their 2nd-place finish in the post-season was the best position ever for Bilbao, plus it gave them an automatic2011–12 Euroleague season ticket. In the meantime, Katsikaris signed an extension to his contract until 2014.
Katsikaris was named the2nd tier levelEuroCup'sCoach of the Year in 2013.[3]
In July 2015, it was reported that Katsikaris would become the head coach ofMurcia, after theEuroBasket 2015, in which Greece took part.[4]
On June 28, 2017, Katsikaris was hired as theHapoel Jerusalem head coach.[5] However, on November 9, 2017, Katiskaris was fired by Hapoel Jerusalem due to poor results.[6]
On December 3, 2017, Katsikaris manages his first match with the team of the Canary Islands winning to Real Betis Energía Plus by 87-70.
In summer 2018, Katsikaris was hired by theUtah Jazz as an assistant coach.
On June 26, 2019, he has signed 2-year contract withHerbalife Gran Canaria of theLiga ACB.[7]
On January 21, 2021, he has signed withUnicaja Málaga of the SpanishLiga ACB.[8]
On January 24, 2024, he joinedBàsquet Girona of the SpanishLiga ACB due to the bad results of the former coach Salva Camps. The team finished 14th at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
Katsikaris became the head coach of the senior men'sRussian national basketball team in 2012.[9] He resigned from coaching Russia in 2013, before coaching the team in any tournaments.[10]
Katsikaris became the head coach of the senior men'sGreek national basketball team in June 2014.[11][12]
Abbreviations:
QF; quarter-finals.
DNQ; did not qualify.
HNQ; had not qualified.
System of European eligibility is mainly based on the previous year's performance in domestic competitions.
| Club | League | Season | Domestic Competitions | European Competitions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | Cup | Competition | Position | |||
| AEK Athens | Greek League | 2003–04 | 4th | QF | EuroLeague | Last 24 |
| 2004–05 | 2nd | QF | EuroLeague | Top 16 | ||
| Dynamo St. Petersburg | Russian Super League | 2005–06 | 3rd | EuroChallenge | 4th | |
| 2006–07 | Released due to club's bankruptcy. | |||||
| Valencia | Spanish ACB League | QF | DNQ | HNQ | ||
| 2007–08 | QF | QF | EuroCup | QF | ||
| 2008–09 | Fired after the first games. | |||||
| Aris Thessaloniki | Greek League | 2009–10 | Resigned in January; team already inEurocupLast 16. | |||
| Bilbao | Spanish ACB League | 9th | QF | EuroCup | 3rd | |
| 2010–11 | 2nd | QF | HNQ | |||
| 2011–12 | QF | DNQ | EuroLeague | QF | ||
| 2012–13 | QF | QF | EuroCup | 2nd | ||