Vassilis Xanthopoulos (alternate spellings: Vasilis, Vasileios, Vasilios;Greek: Βασίλης Ξανθόπουλος; born 29 April 1984) is a Greek former professionalbasketball player and coach, who is currently the head coach forPeristeri of theGreek Basketball League and theFIBA Europe Cup.[1] He is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and he played at thepoint guard position.
During his proclub career, Xanthopoulos won the World Club ChampionshipFIBA Intercontinental Cup titlein 2019, aEuropean Triple Crown winner in 2007, the European-wide top-tier levelEuroLeague championshipin 2007, and the European-wide secondary levelFIBA Champions League championshipin 2018.
Xanthopoulos grew up playing for theyouth teams of the Greek clubOlympiacos Piraeus. Xanthopoulos began playing with Olympiacos' junior teams in 1997. He began his senior men'sclub playing career with the Greek clubPeiraikos Syndesmos, of theGreek 3rd Division, in the 2001–02 season.
Xanthopoulos started his professional career with theGreek Basket League clubNear East in 2002.
Xanthopoulos transferred fromNear East to the Greek powerhousePanathinaikos in 2004.
In 2005, Xanthopoulos wasloaned byPanathinaikos toPAOK.
In 2006, Xanthopoulos returned toPanathinaikos Athens, and with them he won theEuropean Triple Crown in 2007. His team accomplished this by winning theGreek League championship, theGreek Cup, and theEuroLeague all in the same season.
In 2007, Xanthopoulos transferred to the Greek clubPanionios.
In 2009, Xanthopoulos moved to the Greek clubPanellinios.
In 2011, Xanthopoulos rejoinedPanionios.
In 2012, Xanthopoulos returned toPanathinaikos as an auxiliary player.[2]
Xanthopoulos moved to theSpanish League clubObradoiro in 2013.
Xanthopoulos returned for a second stint withPanionios in 2014.
In 2015, Xanthopoulos moved toAris, where he spent two seasons.[3]
On July 5, 2017, Xanthopoulos moved toAEK Athens of theGreek Basket League, where he signed a one-year contract, with the option of renewal for another season.[4] With AEK, he won theGreek Cup title,in 2018, as well as theFIBA Champions League title during the same season.
On July 1, 2019, Xanthopoulos andAEK officially parted ways. Three days later, Xanthopoulos joined the Greek clubPeristeri. He averaged 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game with Peristeri. On August 13, 2020, Xanthopoulos left the team.[5]
On August 21, 2020, Xanthopoulos moved to the Greek clubKolossos Rodou.[6] On June 30, 2021, he renewed his contract with theGreek island team, and was namedteam captain. In 17 games, he averaged 4.2 points (shooting with 36% from the 3-point line), 2.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1 steal in 20 minutes per contest. He was ruled out just before the end of the season, due to an unspecified injury.
On August 29, 2022, Xanthopoulos returned toAEK for a second stint, following hisKolossos head coachIlias Kantzouris to the team. In 22 league games, he averaged 2.4 points, 1 rebound and 3.8 assists in 14 minutes per contest.
On July 29, 2023, Xanthopoulos returned toPeristeri, under head coachVassilis Spanoulis.
On May 3, 2025, Xanthopoulos announced his retirement from professional basketball after the last game of the season against Panionios.
Xanthopoulos was a member of the Greek junior national teams. He won the bronze medal at the2002 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, the bronze medal at the2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, and the silver medal at the 2005FIBA Under-21 World Cup. He also played at the2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.
Xanthopoulos was also a member of the senior men'sGreek national team. With Greece's senior national team, he played at the2011 FIBA EuroBasket.
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | 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 | Bold | Career high | Led the league | |
Note: Only games in the primary domestic competitions are included. Therefore, games in cup or European competitions are left out.
| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Panionios | GBL | 24 | 25.5 | .413 | .370 | .412 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 0 | 6.6 |
| 2012–13 | Panathinaikos | GBL | 24 | 14.1 | .457 | .483 | .692 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 3.6 |
| 2013–14 | Obradoiro | ACB | 34 | 17.3 | .296 | .278 | .618 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0 | 2.8 |
| 2014–15 | Panionios | GBL | 24 | 27.0 | .398 | .339 | .813 | 2.5 | 5.4 | 1.6 | .1 | 6.8 |
| 2015–16 | Aris | GBL | 25 | 16.4 | .361 | .265 | .500 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 1.6 | .1 | 2.7 |
| 2016–17 | Aris | GBL | 26 | 21.2 | .347 | .328 | .710 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 0 | 4.2 |
| 2017–18 | A.E.K. | GBL | 26 | 17.4 | .300 | .229 | .750 | 1.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 0 | 2.5 |
| 2018–19 | A.E.K. | GBL | 13 | 16.2 | .361 | .350 | .500 | 1.9 | 2.6 | .5 | .1 | 2.6 |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Vasilis Xanthopoulos won theFIBA Champions League |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Aris | 18 | 19.6 | .571 | .429 | .714 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 1.4 | .0 | 3.3 |
| 2017–18† | A.E.K. | 20 | 17.3 | .529 | .400 | .917 | 1.4 | 2.8 | 1.2 | .0 | 2.7 |
| 2018–19 | A.E.K. | 8 | 16.3 | .375 | .200 | - | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0 | .9 |
