 Alvertis withPanathinaikos in 2008 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1974-06-11)11 June 1974 (age 50) Athens, Greece |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 1996:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1990–2009 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Number | 4 |
| Coaching career | 2014–2014 |
| Career history | |
| As a player: | |
| 1990–2009 | Panathinaikos |
| As a coach: | |
| 2014 | Panathinaikos |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As head coach:
As General Manager:
| |
Fragiskos "Frankie"Alvertis (alternate spelling: Fragkiskos,[1]Greek:Φραγκίσκος "Φράνκι" Αλβέρτης; born 11 June 1974) is a Greek former professionalbasketball player andgeneral manager ofPanathinaikos Athens. As a player, he was the long-timecaptain of Panathinaikos, where he spent his whole professional career. In 1990, Alvertis joined Panathinaikos, after moving to the club fromGlyfada. Alvertis is first on the list of the EuroLeague championships won by a player,with five, since the competition went to theFinal Four format, beginning with the1987–88 season. The former Italian playerDino Meneghin, is first overall, with seven EuroLeague championships won, when including all formats of the competition, dating back to the competition's inaugural1958 season.
As a member of the Greens, he won elevenGreek League championships, fiveEuroLeague Championships, eightGreek Cup titles, and oneFIBA Intercontinental Cup title.[2] Alvertis is commonly referred to as one of the best pure shooters of European basketball during the 1990s decade, and the beginning of the new millennium. He won theGreek League Three-Point Shootout Contest three years in a row (1996 I, 1996 II, 1997), and he shot 41.0 percent fromthree-point range throughout hisEuroLeague career.
Alvertis played in theEuroLeague Final Four for the eight and final time in2007.[3] On February 3, 2008, Alvertis was chosen as one of the50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors, over the previous half-century by theEuroLeague Basketball Experts Committee, in recognition of his major contribution to Panathinaikos' rise on the European continental scene.[4]
Alvertis retired from playing professional club basketball, following the2008–09 season. At the beginning of the2009–10 season, his number 4 jersey wasretired by the club. It was the first Panathinaikos basketball shirt number that the club had ever retired. The retired number 4 jersey was hung up in the rafters above the playing court of theNikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, along with the club's trophy banners. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball. He was inducted into theGreek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.[5]
Alvertis was a member of theGreece men's national basketball team, from 1995 to 2004. As a member of the Greece men's national team, he made it to theFIBA World Championship semifinals in1998, and twice made it to theEuroBasket semifinals, in1995 and1997.[6]
Alvertis' eventful transfer toPanathinaikos fromGlyfada, cost Panathinaikos' men's water polo department, as it included the trade of thePanathinaikos Water Polo Club's main star,Dimitris Seletopoulos, in order to get Alvertis. A great deal had been accomplished for Panathinaikos in the trade however, as the years to come would demonstrate. Alvertis was indeed an intriguing prospect at the time, almost 10 cm (4 inches) taller than the conventionalshooting guard. His potential was proven to be great in the1991 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, where Alvertis led the Greek team to the silver medal alongsidePanagiotis Liadelis.[7] At the same time, Panathinaikos was going through a transition period during which the lackluster team of the late 1980s strove to become a European powerhouse. Consequently, young Alvertis had to wait until the 1993–94 season to get significant playing time on a team with high ambitions, as PAO reached theEuroLeague Final Four. The star of the twenty-year-old player shone right away, particularly in the Top 8 playoff series against reigning championsLimoges.[8] Alvertis averaged 13 points per game, forcing Head CoachBožidar Maljković to state that he already was to be counted as one of the very best players in Europe.
Panathinaikos had a status to confirm in the 1994–95 season and Alvertis helped them do so by elevating his play to an even higher level. Using his sharp shooting with a rare maturity for a player his age, he was a major contributor to his team's march towards a second consecutiveEuroLeague Final Four. In the Top 8 playoffs againstKinder Bologna andPredrag Danilović, he averaged 12.7 points and 3.3 rebounds, while holding Danilović to just 8 points and 4–15 from the field in the decisive Game 3. Although the semifinal againstOlympiacos proved to be tough, as he only shot 1-10 from the field for only 3 points, he scored a season high 29 points in the third place game againstLimoges. Alvertis finished his EuroLeague season averaging 12 points per game.[9]
In the 1995–96 season, Alvertis sawNBA legendDominique Wilkins join the team and the EuroLeague title seemed closer than ever.[10] He averaged 10.8 points per game in the competition, led Panathinaikos in scoring during the winningFinal againstBarcelona with 17 points, and was selected to theEuroLeague All-Final Four Team.[11] In the Greek League semifinals, Panathinaikos faced aPanionios team underDušan Ivković, featuring the likes ofŽarko Paspalj andFanis Christodoulou. Alvertis scored 12 points in the last eight minutes of a dramatic Game 3, leading Panathinaikos to the Finals where they fell to Olympiacos. He also won the1996 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, as he averaged 19.7 points per game againstOlimpia de Venado Tuerto, who were the defendingArgentine National League andFIBA South American League champions at the time.
Alvertis cemented his role as one of Panathinaikos' main stars, in spite of the fact that the team experienced a dispiriting 1996–97 season. Although he increased his scoring average to 12.7 points per game, he was unable to help PAO reach the1997 EuroLeague Final Four as they were bested by eventual champions Olympiacos in the quarterfinal playoffs. His 35 points facingCaja San Fernando set his EuroLeague personal record.[12] The Greek League outcome would add up to the season's drama, as Alvertis' 29 points against PAOK in Game 2 of the quarterfinal playoffs were not enough to prevent a 90–85 defeat.
Strengthened by the addition of anotherNBA legend inByron Scott for the 1997–98 season, Panathinaikos won their first national league title since 1984.[13] In the memorable semifinal playoff series,AEK was coming off of a1998 Euroleague Finals campaign, led by the likes ofBane Prelević,Willie Anderson andVictor Alexander. Alvertis averaged 16.7 points per game and led Panathinaikos in scoring. Following the win in the final series againstPAOK andPeja Stojaković, he was voted to the All-Greek League Team, alongside teammateDino Radja. A dynasty was born in Greek basketball, and Alvertis would soon become its captain.
After an unexpected failure to reach the EuroLeague Top 8 in the1998–99 season, Alvertis won one more Greek League title. Panathinaikos beat Olympiacos in the finals, after breaking home court advantage and winning the decisive Game 5 in thePeace and Friendship Stadium.
In the 1999–00 season, having missed an important part of the season due to an injury, Alvertis still came back on time. Performing efficient basketball, he helped Panathinaikos win their second EuroLeague championship, at the2000 Thessaloniki EuroLeague Final Four, as well as their third straightGreek League championship, downingPAOK in the final. Together withDejan Bodiroga, he led Panathinaikos in scoring in the final playoff series, averaging 15.7 points per game.
The following season, Alvertis helped lead Panathinaikos to the2001 SuproLeague Final Four, averaging 13.4 points per game. The Greens lost toMaccabi Tel Aviv in the final.[14] As for theGreek League, Olympiacos had once again a very solid team that year, featuring Dino Radja,David Rivers andNikos Oikonomou. After the final series was tied at 2–2, Alvertis scored 23 points in Game 5, including seven straight points in the clutch, thus offering Panathinaikos one more Greek League title. His legend, especially among the green fans, was still growing.
After winning everything at the club level, Alvertis' thirst for titles did not subside nonetheless. In the 2001–02 season he led the Panathinaikos offense along with Dejan Bodiroga,Damir Mulaomerović andİbrahim Kutluay, averaging 10.2 points per game;[15] in the2002 EuroLeague Final againstKinder Bologna, he scored 11 points, showing great leadership throughout the game. By lifting his third EuroLeague title, Alvertis proved that the sky was the limit concerning the number of his titles.
Owing to the renovation of theNikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall for the2004 Athens Olympic Games, Panathinaikos had to move to the 2,500 capacitySporting Arena for the 2002–03 season. The club's budget consequently decreased by nearly half, thus hurting the team's strength. Despite that, Panathinaikos led its regular season EuroLeague group with an 11–3 record. After averaging 12.7 points per game in the first three Top 16 games, Alvertis’ season was cut short by an injury which caused him to miss the remaining three games.[16] As a result, Panathinaikos did not manage to make it to the2003 EuroLeague Final Four, without its natural leader. In theGreek League, Alvertis was there to assure PAO's dominance, winning its fifth title in six seasons. He averaged 12 points per game in the finals againstAEK, and was voted theGreek League MVP.[17] Prior to that, he had led the Greens to their firstGreek Cup since 1996, scoring 22 points in the final againstAris, and being named the tournament's MVP.[18]
The 2003–04 season presented many similarities to the previous one, as Panathinaikos remained in the Sporting Arena. Despite Alvertis averaging 11.2 points per game and providing veteran leadership in the locker room, hisEuroLeague season ended again on an injury in the fourth game of the Top 16 against Barcelona. Panathinaikos was not able to reach further to the2004 EuroLeague Final Four.[19] Alvertis’ sixthGreek League title came after averaging 11 points in the playoffs, including a 21 points outing against Olympiacos in the quarterfinals. The latter was the seventh and last time he led all Panathinaikos scorers in a playoff matchup versus their archrivals.
The 2004–05 season meant an adjustment for the captain of Panathinaikos. Unable to contribute to Head CoachObradović's demanding systems as efficiently as before, he was not starting in any of the games anymore. Nevertheless, he came off the bench as a spot shooter, who gave the team valuable perimeter scoring and experience.[20] Along with the team's new starsDimitris Diamantidis,Jaka Lakovič, andMike Batiste, PAO made it to the2005 EuroLeague Final Four in Moscow, where they lost toŠarūnas Jasikevičius' andAnthony Parker'sMaccabi Tel Aviv. Alvertis finished the EuroLeague season with an average 8.4 points per game, the lowest since his first EuroLeague campaign in the 1993–94 season. Finally that same season, he lifted another Greek League trophy, after averaging 12 points per game againstAEK in the Greek League's Finals.
During his sixteenth season with Panathinaikos, Alvertis had the same role as in the previous year. Coming off the bench, he helped his team make the EuroLeague Top 8. In their playoff series,TAU Ceramica pulled off an upset during the decisive third game in Athens, thus preventing PAO from reaching the2006 EuroLeague Final Four. This disappointment was slightly relieved by the team's sweep against Olympiacos, in the Greek League Finals.
The 2006–07 season was a great one for Panathinaikos, as they won theEuroLeague Final in Athens, as well as the Greek League and the Greek Cup titles.[11] Alvertis’ contribution had not been significant on the court, but the captain of the Greens was ready to serve his team whenever they needed him. The 2007–08 season confirmed that, with Alvertis being the soul of the Greens in the locker room, even though his contribution on the court was again limited. PAO won both the Greek League and the Greek Cup yet another time. The 2008–09 season was his last on the team's roster, as his role was at that point had become merely symbolic.
2009-Today
“Fragi” is always a symbol forPanathinaikos. After his retirement, Alvertis have never get out of this team. He was always there to help the team achieve all the targets. From 2009, until 2020 he has contributed in many positions:technical director,coach,assistant coach,Panathinaikos academies manager. In 2020, he became the co-general manager of the Greek clubPanathinaikos Athens. On April 12, 2022,Fragkiskos Alvertis was removed from his administrative positions and replaced withArgyris Pedoulakis, after a rather unfortunate seasonin EuroLeague. As general manager in two years, Alvertis won 3 titles:2020–21 Greek Basket League,Greek Basketball Cup 2020-21,2021-22 Greek Basketball Super Cup .
As one of the best European prospects at the age of 17, Alvertis was selected to the Greek junior national team. With Greece's junior national team, he won the silver medal at the1991 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. He also played at the1992 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, in which Greece finished in fourth place. He won another silver medal with Greece's junior national team, at the1992 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.[21]
Alvertis' first appearance with theGreece men's national basketball team, was in afriendly game againstGermany on 28 May 1993, when he was 18. The first major tournament in which Alvertis represented theGreece men's national basketball team was theEuroBasket 1995, when he was 21. Greece made it to the tournament's semifinals and finished the competition in fourth place. Serving asGiorgos Sigalas' substitution, Alvertis did not start in any of the games, nor did he get very significant playing time. He finished the tournament averaging 4.9 points per game.[22]
The following year, Alvertis was already a permanent member of the Greek team and took part at the1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Even though he still was not starting the games, his contribution rose to 8.6 points per game, as Greece finished at an all-time Olympics best fifth position.[23] It was obvious however, that the departure of the legendary Greece men's national team playerPanagiotis Giannakis, and the imminent departure of another Greek legend,Fanis Christodoulou, would increase Alvertis’ responsibilities.
At theEuroBasket 1997, Greece once again started the tournament with very high ambitions, and a victory against title contenderRussia, in the qualifying group raised their hopes even higher. Alvertis’ role on the team remained unaltered, as he remained a secondary, but significant option on offense, averaging 6.9 points per game.[24] Greece eventually fell to the tournament's eventual champions,FR Yugoslavia, in the semifinal, losing by a score of 80–88. The Greek team finished in fourth place, losing the bronze medal game to Russia, by a score of 98–78.
Eager to confirm they were a part of the world basketball elite, Greece aimed at reaching the semifinals in the1998 FIBA World Championship, in Athens. Head CoachPanagiotis Giannakis was confident that the Greek team would fulfill its mission, and he put Alvertis, alongside his Panathinaikos teammateNikos Oikonomou, in charge of the team's offense. Alvertis averaged 13.2 points and a surprisingly high 6.2 rebounds per game, being a major contributor to Greece's fourth-place finish at the tournament.[25] He most notably scored the three-pointer that sealed the fate of the quarterfinals match againstSpain, giving Greece a 65–58 advantage with 53 seconds left in the game. His leading role in the team had become indisputable, especially since the great Greek playerPanagiotis Fasoulas had retired from the national team after the end of the tournament.
At theEuroBasket 1999, Alvertis seemed ready to lead Greece to its first medal since 1989. After leading the team in offense, with an average of 18.1 points per game in the qualifying round, everything seemed to indicate a great upcomingEuroBasket for the Greek star.[26] Nevertheless, misfortune is part of the game of basketball. A few days before the tournament, Alvertis suffered a severe injury during practice. That injury caused him to not only miss the EuroBasket tournament, but also a major part of the 1999–00 club season. Without its offensive leader, and without key playersNikos Oikonomou andEfthimios Rentzias, who were also injured, Greece finished in an embarrassing sixteenth and last place at the tournament. They consequently failed to qualify for the2000 Summer Olympics, and were doomed to two years of exclusion from every major tournament.
Greece had to wait for theEuroBasket 2001 in order to make its comeback on the international scene. The team was obviously in the middle of a transition period, during which its young starsTheo Papaloukas,Antonis Fotsis, andLazaros Papadopoulos were unable to build a highly competitive team right away. Alvertis, coming off a great club year with Panathinaikos, andGiorgos Sigalas, had to show to the younger generation of Greek players the road to success. The first game against reigning championItaly proved that Alvertis was ready to fulfill his role as a leader. His buzzer-beating three pointer gave Greece a very impressive 83–82 win. The team, however, had not reached the level of a medal contender yet. The 105–82 loss againstRussia in the next game confirmed that. Consequently, in order to reach the quarterfinals, Greece's game against rising powerGermany appeared to be a difficult task. After leading the game by 22 points in the eighteenth minute of the game, the Greek team eventually collapsed against the frontcourt ofDirk Nowitzki,Ademola Okulaja andShawn Bradley, and lost by a score of 80–75. Alvertis averaged 16 points in the tournament, but Greece ended up in ninth place.[27] It was his last opportunity to reach success with the national team as its leader, especially since Greece had not qualified for the2002 FIBA World Championship. The transition period to the young generation was soon going to be over.
Prior to theEuroBasket 2003, Alvertis was a player whose leadership and experience withPanathinaikos and the Greece national team were priceless. Consequently, although his role within the Greece national team had become secondary on the court, it was still a leading one off the court. He was in charge of transmitting values such as commitment, partnership, and ambition to the new generation of Greek stars. After Greece finished in fifth place at both theEuroBasket 2003 and the2004 Summer Olympics, the veteran star announced his retirement from the Greece men's National Team. Alvertis kept his word that he was staying retired from the national team, even thoughHead Coach Giannakis initially thought about including him on the Greek team that would eventually win the gold medal at theEuroBasket 2005. Alvertis had already seen that the future of the Greece national team was in good hands.
In total, Alvertis had 155appearances with the Greece men's national team. In those 155 appearances, he scored a total of 1,605 points, for a career scoring average of averaging 10.4 points per game.[28]
Alvertis was regarded for most of his career as one of the best sharp shooters in Europe.[4] While his relative lack of athleticism and average all around skills did not allow him to create his own shot on a consistent basis, his exceptional shooting prowess, with a rare combination of height and mechanics, turned him into a very hard to defend mismatch on the perimeter. As a consequence, he converted at a quite efficient rate, in numerous clutch situations over the years.
Alvertis was also an accomplished defender, that was often credited with effectively defending the opposing team'sshooting guard orsmall forward.[29] Over the last five years of his career, he mainly played at thepower forward position, due to his height and size, thus adjusting to the increased pace of the game in the new millennium.
Finally and above all, Alvertis was a charismatic team leader, both on the court, and especially off the court. He always kept his teammates focused on the team's success, and symbolized the very core of Panathinaikos' winning culture. Panathinaikos's Head CoachŽeljko Obradović once said, "Alvertis is the bestcaptain I ever had", paying tribute to the team leadership skills of his star.[29]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Alvertis won theEuroLeague |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | Panathinaikos | 21 | — | 23.0 | .432 | .446 | .636 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | .0 | 8.0 | — |
| 1994–95 | Panathinaikos | 21 | — | 28.0 | .426 | .354 | .776 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | .0 | 12.0 | — |
| 1995–96† | Panathinaikos | 21 | — | 29.4 | .456 | .400 | .773 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | .0 | 10.8 | — |
| 1996–97 | Panathinaikos | 20 | — | 28.5 | .447 | .391 | .884 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | .0 | 12.7 | — |
| 1998–99 | Panathinaikos | 17 | — | 29.3 | .468 | .410 | .750 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.9 | .0 | 11.5 | — |
| 1999–00† | Panathinaikos | 10 | — | 22.5 | .528 | .438 | .900 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 7.9 | — |
| 2000–01 (SuproLeague) | Panathinaikos | 24 | — | 26.5 | .446 | .415 | .800 | 3.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 13.4 | — |
| 2001–02† | Panathinaikos | 22 | 13 | 26.0 | .463 | .373 | .810 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 10.2 | 9.1 |
| 2002–03 | Panathinaikos | 17 | 12 | 23.7 | .462 | .436 | .833 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.8 | .0 | 9.9 | 6.9 |
| 2003–04 | Panathinaikos | 16 | 6 | 23.7 | .474 | .429 | .826 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 11.2 | 8.4 |
| 2004–05 | Panathinaikos | 20 | 0 | 18.6 | .457 | .478 | .756 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 8.4 | 6.5 |
| 2005–06 | Panathinaikos | 16 | 0 | 17.0 | .500 | .500 | .864 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.0 | 6.6 |
| 2006–07† | Panathinaikos | 11 | 2 | 9.2 | .323 | .304 | .818 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | .0 | 3.3 | 0.8 |
| 2007–08 | Panathinaikos | 12 | 1 | 8.3 | .286 | .375 | .259 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 1.6 |
| 2008–09† | Panathinaikos | 1 | 0 | 3.8 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | -2.0 |
| Career | 249 | — | 23.4 | .450 | .410 | .798 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 9.8 | 6.2 | |
