| Basketball in Greece | |
|---|---|
| Country | Greece |
| Governing body | Hellenic Basketball Federation HEBA |
| National team | Greece |
| First played | 1910 |
| Clubs | 13(Men) |
| National competitions | |
| Club competitions | |
| International competitions | |
BasketballinGreece erupted with the win of theGreece men's national basketball team at the1987 EuroBasket inAthens, which caused a generalbasketball craze in the country. Since then, the Greece men's national teams have achieved consistent international success, leading Greece to joinRussia,Serbia,Croatia,Italy,Spain,France, andLithuania in the circle of European basketball powers. In addition to the Greece national team's triumph in 1987, they won the gold medal at the2005 EuroBasket, silver medals at the1989 EuroBasket, and the2006 FIBA World Cup, and the bronze medal at the2009 EuroBasket.
At the professionalclub level, the Greece men's basketball clubs have, in European-wide Cup competitions, organized under bothFIBA andEuroLeague Basketball, won 19 European championships, 10 of which have been won in the1st-tier levelEuroLeague competition, as well as three world club championships at theFIBA Club World Cup, bringing the total amount of international titles won by Greek men's clubs to 21. At the women's professional club level,Athinaikos won the title of the 2nd-tierEuroCup, in2010.
The sport ofbasketball has a long history in the country of Greece, having first come to the country in the year 1910. The first official championship of theGreek League, then called the Panhellenic Championship, was contested as regional champions playing against each other to decide a winner, starting with the 1927–28 season.
The great Greek athlete,Faidon Matthaiou, is considered to be thepatriarch of the sport in the country. He was the country's first great player in the sport. He ledGreece's senior national team to the bronze medal at the1949 EuroBasket, in the first tournament it competed in, right after the national team had been formed. Matthaiou would go on to become one of the best players in Europe in the 1950s.
The first greatclub team in the history of Greek basketball was theGreek League clubPanellinios. Panellinios featured 5 great players, known as the "Golden Five" ("Chrysi Pentada"), or "The Fabulous Five":[1]Themis Cholevas (PG),Dinos Papadimas (SG),Mimis Stefanidis (SF),Panos Manias (PF), andAristeidis Roubanis (C).[2] The Golden Five, and itshead coach,Nikos Nisiotis, was considered to be one of the best teams in Europe at the time in the 1950s, as it won the invitational European club tournament 2 out of 3 years, and made the final in the other year. The invitational European club tournament was the forerunner tournament of theEuroLeague.
During that era, Panellinios took part in the biggest international club tournaments in Europe, the predecessors of the EuroLeague that were then held instead of the EuroLeague tournament. The club advanced to the final of the 1954 San Remo Tournament, which they lost 81–74 to theItalian League clubBorletti Milano. Panellinios then won the 1955 Brussels Tournament, by defeating theYugoslav League clubCrvena zvezda in the final, by a score of 91–67. Panellinios also won the 1956 San Remo Tournament, by defeating the Italian League clubMinganti Bologna, by a score of 67–37.
Nisiotis is credited by most as being mainly responsible for the development of the sport in Greece in the 1930s and 1940s. Panellinios also featured the great scorerAntonis Christeas.
The Spanoudakis brothers,Ioannis andAlekos, who were players ofOlympiacos, were among the first early important pioneers of the modern style sport in the country.Boston Celtics playersBob Cousy, and theGreek American playerLou Tsioropoulos, came to Greece in the 1950s, and gave teaching clinics on what the Celtics were doing, and how they were playing the game at the time. The Spanoudakis brothers learned directly from them, and were among the first players in Greece to incorporate much of the American style of basketball, and to begin playing a brand of basketball in Greece that incorporated many of the moves and plays that they had been shown by the Celtics players.
In the 1963–64 season, the top men's basketballGreek League formed into a national league system for the first time. Up until that point, the Greek men's national basketball championship had been contested by teams locally at the regional level, with the champions of each regional level then playing against each other. With the start of the 1963–64 season, a true nationwide league system, called the Alpha National Category, was formed for the first time
The next great club team in men's Greek basketball wasAEK, which became the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any sport. AEK was led by great players such as:Georgios Amerikanos,Georgios Trontzos, who was the second 7 footer to play forGonzaga University,Christos Zoupas, andAntonis Christeas, who had also been a part of the great GreekPanellinios teams of the 1950s.
AEK made it to the1966 Final Four of theFIBA European Champions Cup of the1965–66 season, which was the first time that theEuroLeague ever used afinal four system, thus becoming the first Greek team to ever play in a final four in the EuroLeague. AEK also won the championship of theEuropean-wide 2nd-tier levelCup Winners' Cup of the1967–68 season, which was the first European trophy won by any Greek sports team.[3] In the final game againstSlavia VŠ Praha, which took place inPangrati,Athens, atPanathenaic Stadium, the attendance was 80,000 people seated in the stadium, and 40,000 people standing, with an additional 3,000 police officers to keep order.[4]
AEK won 5 Greek League championships in the decade of the 1960s, in a sequence of 4 in a row and 5 out of 6 (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968), surrounded by an earlier Greek League championship in 1958, and another later one in 1970. Making it a total of 7 Greek League championships won in 11 seasons for the club in that era.
The next great individual Greek player wasGeorgios Kolokithas, who was considered to be one of the greatest scorers in European basketball in his time in the 1960s. He was theGreek League Top Scorer 3 times, in the years 1964, 1966, and 1967. He was also theEuroBasket Top Scorer twice, in the years1967 and1969. He was named to theFIBA European Selection in 1970. After the great career that he had, Kolokithas was named one ofFIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.
TheGreek Women's League began with the 1967–68 season.
The decade of the 1970s was dominated at the men's top club level byPanathinaikos, as they won theGreek Basket League championship in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1977. In total, the club won 6 Greek League championships during the 1970s. During this era, the club featured famous Greek players such as:Georgios Kolokithas,Apostolos Kontos,Dimitris Kokolakis,Memos Ioannou, andTakis Koroneos.
Olympiacos also won 2 Greek League championships during the 1970s, winning the title in both 1976 and 1978. The club featured famous Greek players likeSteve Giatzoglou andGeorgios Kastrinakis, as well as players likeGeorgios Barlas,Paul Melini, andPavlos Diakoulas. In 1976, the first official men'sGreek Cup tournament was held. Olympiacos dominated the Greek Cup in its early years, as they won the first 3 editions of the tournament (1976, 1977, and 1978). Previously, two Attica State Cup tournaments had been held in the years 1967 and 1971, withAEK winning both of those tournaments.
Aris finished the decade by winning its first Greek League championship since 1930, in 1979. Aris was led by the great scorer of the time,Charis Papageorgiou. The great Greek scorerVassilis Goumas, had the best years of his career in the '70s.
The decade of the 1980s began with another run of dominance byPanathinaikos in men's club basketball. They won the first 3 championships of the decade (1980, 1981, and 1982). In 1983,Aris won the Greek League championship, being led by its legendary scorerNikos Galis. Panathinaikos won the championship again in 1984, beginning the decade by winning 4 of the first 5 Greek League championships.
Panathionaikos' great team to begin the decade of the 1980s, featured players like:Apostolos Kontos,Dimitris Kokolakis,Takis Koroneos,David Stergakos,Memos Ioannou, andLiveris Andritsos. After that, the legendary Aris Greek League dynasty of the 1980s, which was called, "The Emperor" rose.
Aris won the Greek League championship in every remaining year of the decade, and also won the first two championships of the 1990s (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991). Aris also dominated theGreek Cup in the last half of the decade, as they won it in 1987, 1988, and 1989, and added two of the first three cups of the 1990s as well (1990, 1992). Aris also had good success on the European-wide level in this era, as they made it to the top-tier levelEuroLeague Final Four in 3 straight years,1988 EuroLeague Final Four,1989 EuroLeague Final Four, and1990 EuroLeague Final Four.
During these years, Aris was coached byGiannis Ioannidis, and was led by the legendary Greek playersNikos Galis andPanagiotis Giannakis. During the club's dynasty, it also featured players like:Lefteris Subotić,Nikos Filippou,Vangelis Vourtzoumis,Vassilis Lipiridis,Georgios Doxakis,Manthos Katsoulis, andMichalis Romanidis. At one point during Aris' Greek League dynasty, the club was so dominant, that it won 80 consecutive games in the top-tier level Greek League, from 1985 to 1989.[5]
TheGreece men's national basketball team qualified for the1986 FIBA World Cup, and finished the tournament in 10th place. The top 10 world finish in 1986, was a prelude to the long success that was to come for the Greece men's national team. The next year, Greece hosted the1987 EuroBasket, and the Greece national team won the tournament's gold medal. During the tournament, they had wins over the legendary 1980s European national teams of theSoviet Union andYugoslavia. Greek basketball playerNikos Galis was namedthe tournament's MVP.
Greece then won the silver medal at the nextEuroBasket tournament,1989 EuroBasket. Over the two EuroBasket tournaments of 1987 and 1989, Greece had a total of four wins against the Soviet Union (twice) and Yugoslavia (twice). This established Greece's senior men's national team, as one of the top 4 best national teams in the world at the time, along with theUSA,Soviet Union, andYugoslavia. During this era, Greece's senior national team was led by great players likeNikos Galis,Panagiotis Giannakis,Panagiotis Fasoulas, andFanis Christodoulou.
In Greek men's club basketball, the 1990s started off with the ending of the greatAris dynasty of the 1980s. At the tail end of its dynasty, Aris won theGreek League championship in 1990 and 1991, theGreek Cup title in 1992, and theEuropean-wide 2nd-tier levelFIBA Saporta Cup, in1993. They also won the European-wide 3rd-tier levelFIBA Korać Cup in1997, and the Greek Cup in 1998. Aris' main rivals,PAOK, also had a lot of success around this time.
PAOK won the Greek League championship in 1992, the Greek Cup in 1995, the European-wide 2nd-tier level Saporta Cup, in1991, and the European-wide 3rd-tier levelFIBA Korać Cup, in1994. They also played at the1993 EuroLeague Final Four. In those days, PAOK was coached byDušan Ivković andSoulis Markopoulos, and featured players like:Bane Prelević,Walter Berry,Panagiotis Fasoulas,Cliff Levingston,Ken Barlow,Zoran Savić,Efthimis Rentzias, andPeja Stojaković. Then it was the biggest Greek clubs,Olympiacos andPanathinaikos, that began to have a lot of success in Greece and Europe.
Olympiacos won 5 straight Greek League championships, from 1993 to 1997, forming its own Greek League dynasty in the 1990s. They also won 2 Greek Cups, in 1994 and 1997. In this same time period, they made it to theEuroLeague Final Four in1994,1995,1997, and1999. They played in theEuroLeague Final in 1994, 1995, and 1997. In 1997, they won theTriple Crown in basketball, as they won the Greek League, the Greek Cup, and the EuroLeague, all in the same season, becoming the first Greek team to do so. In those years, Olympiacos was coached byGiannis Ioannidis andDušan Ivković, and featured players like:Žarko Paspalj,Walter Berry,Argiris Kambouris,Georgios Sigalas,Franko Nakić,Milan Tomić,Dragan Tarlać,Roy Tarpley,Panagiotis Fasoulas,Efthimis Bakatsias,Eddie Johnson,Sasha Volkov,David Rivers,Nasos Galakteros,Willie Anderson,Dimitris Papanikolaou,Chris Welp, andAleksey Savrasenko.
While Olympiacos was dominating in Greece, and having great success in Europe, Panathinaikos also had great success in Europe. Panathinaikos made the EuroLeague Final Four in 1994, 1995, and1996. In 1996, they won the EuroLeague championship, and became the first Greek team to ever win Europe's top-tier level basketball club championship. The 1996 EuroLeague champion team was coached byBožidar Maljković, and featured players like:Fragiskos Alvertis,Dominique Wilkins,Stojko Vranković,Panagiotis Giannakis,Michael Koch, andNikos Oikonomou.
AEK Athens also made it to theEuroLeague Finals in 1998. It was during the 1990s, that the Greek League was widely considered to be the best men's club national domestic basketball league in Europe. TheGreek Women's Cup also began in the 1990s, as it started with the 1995–96 season.
The decade of the 2000s in Greek basketball was marked by the dominance ofPanathinaikos at the men's top-tier club level. Panathinaikos' dynasty began at the end of the 1990s, when they won theGreek League championship in 1998 and 1999, following theirEuroLeague championshipin 1996. They then won the Greek League championship in 2000 and 2001, making it a run of 4 straight Greek League championships.
Their 1998 and 1999 Greek League championship teams were coached byLefteris Subotić. Starting with the 1999–00 season, the legendary Serbian coach,Željko Obradović, became the club'shead coach. Under Obradović, the club also won the2000 EuroLeague championship, played in the finals of the2001 FIBA SuproLeague, and won the2002 EuroLeague championship. In those years (1997–98 to 2001–02), Panathinaijos featured players like:Fragiskos Alvertis,Dino Rađja,Byron Scott,Fanis Christodoulou,Nikos Oikonomou,Antonis Fotsis,Georgios Kalaitzis,Nando Gentile,Nikos Boudouris,Željko Rebrača,Johnny Rogers,Oded Kattash,Darryl Middleton,İbrahim Kutluay,Lazaros Papadopoulos,Giannis Giannoulis,Pepe Sánchez,Michael Koch, and the great Serbian legend,Dejan Bodiroga.
In 2002,AEK Athens briefly stopped the Panathinaikos run of 4 straight championships, as they won the 2002 Greek League championship. AEK also won theGreek Cup title in 2000 and 2001. In those years, AEK was coached byDušan Ivković andDragan Šakota, and featured players like:İbrahim Kutluay,Andrew Betts,Michalis Kakiouzis,Dimos Dikoudis,Martin Müürsepp,Nikos Chatzis,Geert Hammink,J. R. Holden,Christos Tapoutos,Jim Bilba,Ioannis Bourousis,Pero Antić,Arijan Komazec,Chris Carr, andNikos Zisis.
Panathinaikos then continued their dominance undercoach Obradović, winning the next 9 straight Greek League championships (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011). They also won the Greek Cup title in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. In addition to that, Panathinaikos won theEuroLeague championship in 2007, theEuroLeague championship in 2009, and added theEuroLeague championship in 2011, to begin the next decade.
They also won theTriple Crown, in 2007 and 2009. This was the high point period of the club's great dynasty. During these years, the club featured several well-known players, such as:Dimitris Diamantidis,Antonis Fotsis,Kostas Tsartsaris,Dimos Dikoudis,Mike Batiste,Sani Bečirovič,Drew Nicholas,Dušan Kecman,Giorgi Shermadini,Stratos Perperoglou,Šarūnas Jasikevičius,Nikos Chatzivrettas,Dejan Tomašević,Nikola Peković,Ramūnas Šiškauskas, andVassilis Spanoulis.
During the 2000s, theGreece men's national basketball team was consistently ranked among the top 4-5 best national teams in the world, by theFIBA World Rankings. During this time, Greece had numerous top 5 place finishes in all of the world's three biggest and most important senior level tournaments, theFIBA EuroBasket, theFIBA World Cup, and theSummer Olympic Games.
From 2003, to 2009, Greece had an impressive run of top 5 finishes in the three biggestFIBA tournaments – under head coachGiannis Ioannidis, Greece finished in 5th place in Europe, at the2003 EuroBasket. Then, under head coachPanagiotis Giannakis, Greece finished in 5th place in the world at the2004 Summer Olympics. Following that, Greece finished 1st in Europe, as they won the gold medal at the2005 EuroBasket; and then they finished 2nd in the world, as they won the silver medal at the2006 FIBA World Cup, where they also beatTeam USA.
They followed that up with a 4th-place finish in Europe, at the2007 EuroBasket, a 5th-place finish in the world, at the2008 Summer Olympics, and a 3rd-place finish in Europe, at the2009 EuroBasket. The 2005 and 2006 medal-winning teams were coached by Giannakis, and featured players like:Dimitris Diamantidis,Theo Papaloukas,Vassilis Spanoulis,Nikos Zisis,Lazaros Papadopoulos,Michalis Kakiouzis,Dimos Dikoudis,Antonis Fotsis,Kostas Tsartsaris,Nikos Chatzivrettas,Ioannis Bourousis,Sofoklis Schortsanitis, andPanagiotis Vasilopoulos. The 2009 medal-winning team was coached by LithuanianJonas Kazlauskas, and returned Spanoulis, Zisis, Fotsis, Bourousis, and Schortsanitis, from the earlier medal-winning teams. Only Spanoulis, Zisis, and Fotsis, were a part of all three of the medal-winning teams.
The first official men's basketball championship in Greece was held in the 1927–28 season. Until 1963 however, there was no unified national championship, and the champion was chosen through games between the regional champions. In 1963, the A National Category (Greek:Α' Εθνική Κατηγορία) was created. In 1992, the championship abandoned its amateur status and was officially recognized byFIBA Europe as a fullyprofessional league under the name HEBA A1 (ΕΣΑΚΕ Α1), organized by theHellenic Basketball Clubs Association (HEBA). The league now operates under the name of Greek Basket League.
The Basket League is ranked as one of the 5 "A" level national domestic leagues in European basketball by the European national basketball league rankings, and was considered Europe's best pro national domestic league during the 1990s. This professional league consists of 14 teams. Under the regulations, the bottom two teams at the end of the regular season arerelegated to theGreek A2 Basket League (Ελληνική Α2 καλαθοσφαίρισης), while conversely, the top two teams from the A2 arepromoted to the Basket League. The first placing 8 teams of the regular season qualify for the league's playoffs.
TheGreek Women's Basket League began in 1967, and consists of 12 teams. The Women's A National Category (Α' Εθνικής Κατηγορίας Γυναικών) began with the 1984–85 season, and it became known as the Women's A1 National Category (Α1 Εθνικής Κατηγορίας Γυναικών) in 1997.
The men's Greek Basketball Super Cup was held for the first time in2020.
The men's Greek Basketball Cup was held for the first time in 1976. After 45 cups,Panathinaikos has won the most Greek Cups with 19. From 1995 to 2004, the tournament was held in a Final Four style tournament. It is organized by theHellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.).
In the women's competition, the cup tournament was first held in the year 1996.
Greek men's professional basketball teams have a total of 29 appearances in the finals of European cup competitions, of which they have won a total of 18 trophies. One of the greatest achievements of Greek basketball are the victories ofPanathinaikos (1996,2000,2002,2007,2009,2011,2024) andOlympiacos (1997,2012,2013) in theFinals of the1st-tier level men'sEuroLeague competition. Panathinaikos also won the international worldwide club title, theFIBA Club World Cup competition, in the year1996. Olympiacos also won the same title in2013.AEK Athens also won that title in2019.
Since winning the Greece men's basketball1987 EuroBasket, the record of Greece national basketball shows numerous successes. The men's national youth teams especially have recorded successes in international competitions.
Since the Greece men's national basketball team won its firstFIBA EuroBasket gold medal in1987, it has been a regular competitor at the EuroBasket,FIBA World Cup, and theSummer Olympics. The men's national team from 1987 included legendary players such as:Nikos Galis,Panagiotis Giannakis,Panagiotis Fasoulas, andFanis Christodoulou. Panagiotis Giannakis also later became the senior team'shead coach, and he led the Greeks to win the European Championship (EuroBasket) again, in the year2005, at Belgrade. Giannakis became the first person to have succeeded in winning the FIBA European Championship (EuroBasket), both as a player and as a head coach. After theGreece national football team had earlier in2004, won theEuropean Championship infootball, it gave Greece the rare distinction of being the European champion in the two most important team ball sports at the same time. At the2006 FIBA World Cup held in Japan, Greece reached the final, and won the silver medal. They accomplished this after becoming the only team at the tournament to beatTeam USA, whom they defeated in the semifinals, by a score of 101–95.
Greece's senior men's team then won the bronze medal at the2009 EuroBasket.
TheGreece men's national basketball team took part in its firstFIBA European Championship (EuroBasket) at the1949 EuroBasket, where they won the bronze medal. Greece's first big success as a nation in basketball was when their senior men's national team won the gold medal at the1987 EuroBasket, which led to a breakthrough for the sport ofbasketball in the country. In the 1987 EuroBasket tournament's final, which was played inPiraeus, atPeace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), Greece defeated the heavily favoredSoviet national basketball team (which included star playerŠarūnas Marčiulionis) inovertime, by a score of 103 to 101.
TheMVP of that EuroBasket wasNikos Galis, who to this day, still remains one of the biggest sports icons in Greece. In the subsequent EuroBasket tournament in1989, Greece again reached the final, where they lost to theYugoslavia national team, which led by its star player,Dražen Petrović, went undefeated during the tournament. By taking the silver medal at the 1989 EuroBasket, Greece cemented its position among Europe's leading basketball nations.
Greece also won the gold medal at the2005 EuroBasket, which was held inSerbia, after defeatingDirk Nowitzki-ledGermany, in the finals, by a score of 78 to 62.
Greece's senior men's national basketball team took part in theWorld Cup for the first time at the1986 tournament, where they finished in tenth place. Greece made it to the semifinals of both the1994 FIBA World Cup and the1998 FIBA World Cup, which Greece also hosted. At the2006 FIBA World Cup, which was held in Japan, Greece won the silver medal, after defeating the heavily favoredUSA, by a score of 101 to 95 in the semifinals. Greece also took the bronze medal at the2009 EuroBasket.
TheGreek Under-19 national team won the gold medal at the1995 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. As the tournament's host nation, the Greece's Under-19 national team won the gold medal, by defeating theAustralian Under-19 national team, by a score of 91–73 in the final. The Greek gold medal-winning under-19 team of 1995 included such players as:Michalis Kakiouzis,Nikos Chatzis,Georgios Kalaitzis,Dimitris Papanikolaou,Georgios Karagkoutis,Vassilis Soulis,Dimitris Despos, andEfthimis Rentzias, who was voted theMVP of the tournament.
Greece has often taken part in theMediterranean Games. The greatest success of the men's national team at the Mediterranean Games is the gold medal, which they won in1979. Furthermore, Greece has won four silver medals at the tournament, in the years1991,2001,2005, and2009. In addition to that, they have also won three bronze medals at the tournament, in the years1955,1971, and1987.
TheGreek women's national team won the bronze medal at the competition in1991.
The first professional basketballindoor arena in the country was opened in 1959, inAthens. Located at theLeoforos Alexandras Stadium, thePavlos and Thanasis Giannakopoulos Indoor Hall holds 1,500 spectators, and is still home to theladies' basketball department of Panathinaikos. Because of its confined environment, the sports hall was named The Tomb of The Indian, after theFritz Lang feature filmThe Indian Tomb.[6] In the subsequent years, a number of other arenas have arisen in Greece, located mainly in Athens and Thessaloniki. In 1966, inThessaloniki, theAlexandreio Melathron was opened. This 5,138-seat arena (can hold up to 7,000 with temporary seating) was for decades home to both of the two arch-rivalsAris andPAOK.[7]
ThePeace and Friendship Stadium (SEF), originally a 17,000 capacity (later reduced to 12,000) multi-purpose hall, opened inPiraeus, Athens in 1985. The arena was for the next ten years, the biggest indoor sports hall in Greece, and it hosted events such as the1987 EuroBasket, the1994 World Volleyball Championship, the1995 European Volleyball Championship, the1998 FIBA World Cup, and the 1999Olympic Weightlifting World Championship. SEF is the home of theOlympiacos men's basketball club.[8]
Peristeri's home arena, the 4,000 capacityPeristeri Indoor Hall, opened up in 1989. By the early 1990s, the sport of basketball had become well established in Greece, and theGreek Basket League had become the strongest professional national domestic league in Europe, as well as the richest. A rising number of television viewers in Greece were watching the league, there was a high level of Greek media interest in the sport, and the application of the country to host major sports events had left many of the nation's existing gyms too old and too small for the times. So, in Athens, theNikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall was opened in 1995. It holds 19,250 spectators (21,098 standing room capacity), and it is still one of the two biggest indoor sports halls in Europe, where regular basketball games are held. The Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall has hosted the1995 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, the1995 EuroBasket, the1998 FIBA World Cup, and the2004 Summer Olympics. Currently, the men's clubPanathinaikos plays its home games in the Olympic Hall. the men's sections ofAEK Athens andMaroussi have also played home games there.[9]
Also in 1995, the 4,200 capacity (expandable to 5,500) arenaLarrisa Neapolis, and the 4,200 capacity arenaDimitris Tofalos were built. The Greek clubLarissa has recently used the Larissa Neapolis Arena to host its home games, while the Greek clubPromitheas Patras, has recently used the Dimitris Tofalos Arena to host its home games. In 2000, the first modern indoor sports arena in Thessaloniki was built,P.A.O.K. Sports Arena. The arena is under the possession ofPAOK, and it holds 8,500 spectators.[10] For the2004 Summer Olympics, theHelliniko Indoor Arena was built. It holds 15,000 spectators, and has been used at various times, as the home arena of the Greek men's clubsPanionios,Panellinios, andAEK Athens.[11]
In 2004, the 10,000 seatAno Liosia Olympic Hall was completed. It currently hosts the home games ofAEK Athens.Panionios' new 4,200-seat arena, the Boban Janković Indoor Hall, is scheduled to open up in 2021.
Greece is the host of theAcropolis International Basketball Tournament, which takes place most years inAthens, since1986. Specifically, these are:
Men's competitions:
Women's competitions:
The following is a list of some notable Greek basketball players and some of their important career accomplishments:
.jpg)
Gold:2005
Bronze:2009
Gold:1987
Silver:1989
Gold:2005 Silver:2006 Gold:1987 Silver:1989
Gold:2005 Bronze:2009 Silver:2006 Gold:1987 Silver:1989
Gold:1987 Silver:1989
Gold:2005 Silver:2006.jpg)
Silver:2006 Bronze:2009
Gold:2005 Silver:2006 Bronze:2009.jpg)
Ladies, in alphabetical order:
Gold:2005 Silver:2006 Silver:1989 Gold:1987With the financial rise of the professional men's club basketball competition, theGreek Basket League, during the 1990s, and the media interest for the league in Greece that was generated by large television viewership – there came a desire among viewers and fans to see Greek clubs bring in professional basketball players from abroad. Due to the Alpha 1 League's (its name at the time) immigration provisions, top foreign prospects chose the path ofnaturalization, in order to circumvent the league's rules. Among them were players from the formerYugoslavia, likePeja Stojaković andMarko Jarić, and from the ex-USSR, likeTiit Sokk. With theBosman ruling in Europe in 1995, the Greek sports market was finally opened to foreign players, and as a result, today major players from around the world are active in the Basket League. The most notable foreign player that has played in the Greek League, is probably the American playerDominique Wilkins, who scored more than 26,000 points in theNBA, and is a member of theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He left theBoston Celtics in 1995, and signed withPanathinaikos. Another well-known American player that moved to the Greek League, was the three-time NBA champion with theLos Angeles Lakers,Byron Scott, who later became ahead coach in the NBA. A super talent who moved to Greece from the NBA wasRoy Tarpley. In 1986, Tarpley was selected by theDallas Mavericks, in the first round, with the seventh (7th) overall pick of the1986 NBA draft. Tarpley made theNBA All-Rookie Team in his first season, and won theNBA Sixth Man of the Year Award the following year, when he averaged 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. In 1991, he was banned from the league for violating the NBA's drug-use policies, and in the 1992–93 season, he decided to come to the Greek League, first forSato Aris, and then forOlympiacos. Some of the other prominent American players that moved to the Greek League, wereKen Barlow,Walter Berry,Rolando Blackman,P. J. Brown,Antonio Davis,Tony Delk,Eddie Johnson,Jeff Malone,Audie Norris,Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf,David Rivers, the four-time NBA championJohn Salley, the two-time NBA championCliff Levingston, the future NBA head coachScott Skiles, andMitchell Wiggins.
Three of the most significant foreign European players in the history of the Basket League, are the Serbian playerDejan Bodiroga, the Croatian playerDino Rađja, and the Lithuanian playerŠarūnas Jasikevičius. All three were named among the50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008, and Bodiroga and Jasikevičius were also named to theEuroLeague 2001–10 All-Decade Team. Bodiroga, a two-timeFIBA World Cup champion, and a three-timeEuroBasket champion, played for four years with Panathinaikos, and with them he won theEuroLeague championship twice. Despite the fact that he never played in the NBA, he was widely regarded as one of the world's best players at that time. Following a successful NBA career, Rađja moved to the Greek League, and he later became one of the few players to star for both of the arch-rivals Panathinaikos andOlympiacos. Jasikevičius, who is widely considered one of the best European players of all time, also moved from the NBA to the Greek League. Another well-known foreign European player to play in the Greek League was the Serbian playerDejan Tomašević.
Other well-known foreign European players that have played in the Greek League include: the SerbsBoban Janković,Žarko Paspalj,Željko Rebrača,Zoran Savić, the CroatsArijan Komazec,Stojko Vranković,Zdravko Radulović,Damir Mulaomerović, andNikola Vujčić, the SlovenesRasho Nesterović andJure Zdovc. As well as the LithuaniansArtūras Karnišovas,Ramūnas Šiškauskas, andLinas Kleiza. As well as the FrenchmanJim Bilba, the UkrainianSasha Volkov, and the MontenegrinNikola Peković.
There have also been some other notable foreign players that have played in the Greek League. Some of them include players like: the Puerto Rican playerJosé "Piculín" Ortiz, the IsraeliOded Kattash, the GermanMichael Koch, the Turkish playerİbrahim Kutluay, and the AustraliansAndrew Gaze andShane Heal. In recent years, key American players likeByron Dinkins,Maurice Evans,Alphonso Ford,Lawrence Funderburke,J.R. Holden,Roger Mason,Jeremiah Massey,Von Wafer,Josh Childress, andAcie Law have also played in the Greek League.
Many foreign coaches have been active in theGreek League. The most important one among them is the Serbian coachŽeljko Obradović, who was the head coach atPanathinaikos, from 1999 until 2012. Since starting his coaching career in 1991, Obradović has won nineEuroLeague championships, five of them with Panathinaikos, making him the most successful head coach in European men's pro club basketball history. Another foreign coach who has worked in the Greek League isBoža Maljković, who won 4 EuroLeague championships in his coaching career. In1996, he led Panathinaikos to their first EuroLeague championship, which was also the first ever for a Greek club.
Another foreign head coach who worked in the Greek League was the multipleFIBA World Cup, andEuroBasket championDuda Ivković. Ivković coached five teams in Greece (Aris,PAOK,Panionios,Olympiacos, andAEK), and he twice led Olympiacos to the EuroLeague championship. The three-time European-winning head coach (2×EuroLeague and theFIBA SuproLeague), the IsraeliPini Gershon, also coached in the Greek League. Obradović, Maljković, Ivković, and Gershon were honored in 2008, when they were named four of the50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. Some other important foreign coaches that have coached in the Greek League, are the AmericanNBA head coachScott Skiles, the legendaryKrešimir Ćosić,Vlade Đurović, "the two Cups"Željko Pavličević,Zvi Sherf,Dragan Šakota,Petar Skansi,Jonas Kazlauskas,Duško Ivanović,Sasha Djordjević,Xavi Pascual,Jure Zdovc, andDavid Blatt.
Historically, the best Greek players generally did not play abroad because of the financial strength ofBasket League, enabling its clubs to keep the country's top players at home. Until the late 1990s, virtually all of theGreece emn's national basketball team members played their club basketball in Greece. This situation began to change in the early 2000s, when the top leagues inRussia andSpain experienced huge financial growth, and a few top players chose to chase the even greater financial rewards and competitive challenge of theNBA.
This can be illustrated by the makeup of Greece's twoEuroBasket-winning teams. All 12 players on the1987 EuroBasket roster were under contract to Greek clubs, while five members of the2005 EuroBasket squad were playing outside Greece. More recently, this phenomenon has begun to change as many Greek clubs, most notably long-time rivalsPanathinaikos andOlympiacos, have offered top-notch salaries, to once again attract Greece's top players back home. Today, relatively few Greeks play in foreign leagues, and generally, they are usually not the country's best players. The final 12-man Greek squad for the2010 FIBA World Championship included only three players who were under contract with a club in another country. Only one of the three,Nikos Zisis, had played outside the country for more than one season, going into the 2010 World Championship (he was preparing to start his second season withMontepaschi Siena of theItalian League). At the same time,Georgios Printezis was entering his second season atUnicaja of theSpanish League, andSofoklis Schortsanitis had just left Olympiacos forMaccabi Tel Aviv of theIsraeli League.
In addition to the players already named above, some of the other Greek players who have played for significant periods outside the country include:
Among the favorite foreign leagues for Greek players are Russia'sRussian Professional Championship (in its various forms over the years –Russian Superleague A,Russian PBL, andVTB United League), theLiga ACB in Spain, and theLega Basket Serie A in Italy.
The Greek diaspora has produced a number of prominent players who chose to start or establish their careers in Greece.
Perhaps the country's most celebrated player,Nikos Galis, is the son of Greek emigrants. He was born and raised inNew Jersey. More recently,Pat andNick Calathes, born and raised inFlorida, who are descended from their Greek grandfather, chose to start their professional careers in Greece. The older Pat began his career atMaroussi, went from there toKolossos Rodou, and then joinedPanathinaikos, where Nick had played since beginning his professional career. Both remained at PAO through the 2011–12 season, after which they left Greece to continue their careers elsewhere in Europe (Pat in Israel and Nick in Russia). Pat then played in Panathinaikos again, while Nick has also returned to Panathianikos, after a two-year stint in theNBA.Michael Bramos is another American born player from the Greek diaspora, that chose to begin his pro career in Greece withPeristeri.
Lazaros Papadopoulos andJake Tsakalidis were born to diaspora Greeks in the formerSoviet Union, in modern-dayRussia andGeorgia respectively, but moved to Greece with their families at young ages, and they were developed in Greece. Both began their professional careers in Greece, but had extensive tenures outside the country, before eventually returning. Papadopoulos established himself as a star with Panathinaikos, but spent many of his best years in Russia, Spain, and Italy, while Tsakilidis spent seven years in theNBA, after starting withAEK.Sergei Bazarevich, was also born and raised in the Soviet Union, and also had Greek lineage. He played in both Greece and the NBA.
Former GreekNBA player,Kosta Koufos, is also from the Greek diaspora, but he has never played with a Greek pro club. Like Galis, he is the son of Greek emigrants, and was born and raised in the U.S. (in his case,Ohio), but he went directly fromOhio State University, to the NBA, without a stopover in Greece. However, Koufos chose to represent theGreece men's national basketball team internationally, as did the Calathes brothers and Bramos. Recently, the Greek diaspora produced players like:Tyler Dorsey,Naz Mitrou-Long, andZach Auguste, whom have chosen to represent Greece internationally.
The first Greek-born basketball player that made the leap to theNBA wasAntonis Fotsis. Fotsis was selected in the2001 NBA draft, by theMemphis Grizzlies, and he played with them in the NBA for one season. After one season in the NBA, Fotsis returned to Greece, reportedly due to homesickness.Efthimios Rentzias andAndreas Glyniadakis also played in the NBA for one season, before returning to play in Europe.
Vassilis Spanoulis, who was regarded to be the top Greek basketball talent, and the main Greek-born NBA prospect, moved to the NBA in 2006, to play with theHouston Rockets, but he returned to Greece after a disappointing season, both for himself and the Rockets. This was mainly due both to some personal disagreements that he had with then Rockets head coachJeff Van Gundy, and because of personal family problems.[19]
Giannis Antetokounmpo is a Greek professional basketball player of Nigerian descent, who currently plays for theMilwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nickname is "The Greek Freak". His older brother,Thanasis, has also played in the NBA games with theNew York Knicks and the Bucks. Another one of the Antetokounmpo brothers,Kostas, has also played in the NBA.
Jake Tsakalidis, who was born inGeorgia, and raised and developed basketball-wise in Greece, played in the NBA from 2000 to 2007, after beginning his career in Greece.Sergei Bazarevich, born and raised in the Soviet Union, and of Greek descent. Some other NBA players with Greek citizenship include:Peja Stojaković,Rasho Nesterović,Marko Jarić, andDragan Tarlać, whom all moved to Greece at a young age, theGreek-American playersKurt Rambis,Kosta Koufos,Nick Calathes, andTyler Dorsey, as well as the Greek-Canadian playerNaz Mitrou-Long. The Lebanese-bornRony Seikaly, who played in the NBA from 1988 to 1999, and also played with the senior men'sUSA national team, was also raised and developed basketball-wise in Greece.
The Greek playersKostas Papanikolaou andGeorgios Papagiannis, have also played in the NBA.
Anastasia Kostaki andEvanthia Maltsi are female Greek professional basketball players that have played in theWNBA.
This is a list of the basketball players that have won the most championships over the years in the men's1st-tier levelGreek League.
| Ranking | Player | Championships Won |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Dimitris Kokolakis | 12 |
| 2. | Fragiskos Alvertis | 11 |
| – | Takis Koroneos | 11 |
| 4 | Antonis Fotsis | 10 |
| 4. | Kostas Tsartsaris | 10 |
| 6. | Nikos Filippou | 9 |
| – | Apostolos Kontos | 9 |
| – |  Mike Batiste | 9 |
| – | Dimitris Diamantidis | 9 |
| 10. | Nikos Galis | 8 |
| – | Georgios Kalaitzis | 8 |
| – | Michalis Romanidis | 8 |
| – | Georgios Doxakis | 8 |
| – | Antonis Christeas | 8 |
| 15. | Vassilis Spanoulis | 7 |
| 15. | Panagiotis Giannakis | 7 |
On a daily basis, 16 newspapers in the country of Greece publish what is happening in the sport of basketball. Although the media's main focus is always on the men's professional clubGreek League, they will also report on the lower level divisions, like the men'sA2 League, as well as theNBA, and the other major European national domestic leagues, like theSpanish ACB League and big international club competitions like theEuroLeague.
Greek television has the ability to broadcast all of the men's Greek League games. The men's professional club Greek League has the TV rights to distribute itself on the Greek public broadcasterERT, the private channelANT1, and thepay TV stationNovasport. EuroLeague games are also broadcast on Novasport, and the private channelSkai TV. Live broadcasts of the Greek League men's national championship, and European-wide professional club games are also offered by the country's large number ofsports radio stations.
| Men's League competitions | |
|---|---|
| Men's Cup competitions | |
| Men's National teams | |
| Women's League competitions | |
| Women's Cup competitions | |
| Women's National teams | |
| See also |
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