Coordinates	30°19′10″N81°39′36″N
nickname	Sabas
position	Center
height ft	7|height_in3
weight lbs	292
number	11
nationality	n
birth date	December 19, 1964 Kaunas, Lithuania SSR – USSR
debutyear	1981
finalyear	2005
draftyear	1986
draftround	1
draftpick	24
teams	Žalgiris (1981–89, 2001–02, 2003–05) CB Valladolid (1989–92) Real Madrid (1992–95) Portland Trail Blazers (1995–2001, 2002–03)
stats league	NBA
stat1label	Points
stat1value	5,629
stat2label	Points Per Game
stat2value	12.0
stat3label	Rebounds Per Game
stat3value	7.3
letter	s
bbr	sabonar01
highlights	8x European Player of the Year: *6x Euroscar Player of the Year 1984, 1985, 1988, 1995, 1997, 1999 *2x Mr. Europa Player of the Year 1985, 1997 1985 European Championship MVP 1993, 1994 Spanish League Finals MVP 1994, 1995 Spanish League MVP 1995 Euroleague Final Four MVP 1996 NBA All-Rookie First Team 2004 Euroleague Regular Season MVP 2004 Euroleague Top 16 MVP 2004 All-Euroleague First Team 2008 35 Greatest Euroleague Players 2010 FIBA Hall of Fame Inductee 2011 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
hof player	arvydas-sabonis }}

}} }} }} }} }}

Arvydas Romas Sabonis (born December 19, 1964) is a retired Lithuanian professional basketball player and a businessman. He was an eight-time European Player of the Year, winning the Euroscar Award six times, and the Mr. Europa Award twice, as the best European player and played in a variety of leagues, including seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States. Sabonis played the center position and also won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea for the Soviet Union, and later earned bronze medals at the 1992 and 1996 games while playing for Lithuania. He retired from professional basketball in 2005.

Sabonis is considered one of the best big man passers as well as one of the best overall centers in the history of the game. Bill Walton once called Sabonis a 7' 3" Larry Bird due to his unique court vision, shooting range, rugged in-game mentality, and versatility.

On August 20, 2010, Sabonis was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in recognition of his great play in international competition. On April 4, 2011, Sabonis was named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and he was inducted on August 12, 2011. Sabonis has the distinction of being the tallest player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Early years

Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, Sabonis began playing basketball at age 13. By the time he was 15 years old he was a member of the Soviet national junior team.

Professional career

Sabonis made his professional debut in 1981 with one of the oldest basketball teams in Lithuania -BC Žalgiris in his hometown, Kaunas. He won three consecutive Soviet League titles and reached the 1986 Euroleague finals with the team.

Sabonis was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 77th pick of the 1985 NBA Draft. However, the selection was voided because Sabonis was under 21 at the time of the draft. The following spring, he suffered a devastating Achilles' tendon injury. Nevertheless, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 24th pick of the 1986 NBA Draft.

Sabonis was not allowed to play in the NBA by Soviet authorities until 1989. However, he did go to Portland to rehabilitate his injury with Blazers trainers. He also practiced with the team.

In the 1988 Summer Olympics, Sabonis led the Soviet Union to a gold medal with a win against a United States team that featured future NBA All-Stars David Robinson, Mitch Richmond and Danny Manning in the semi-finals. The team later beat Yugoslavia in the finals.

The 1985–1988 stretch of a heavy playing schedule and lack of rest took a significant toll on Sabonis' future health and durability. Various leg injuries weren't given much time to heal due to the Cold War climate that surrounded international competition as well as BC Žalgiris – CSKA Moscow games. In a 2011 interview, Sabonis expressed an opinion that overuse by the coaches of the Soviet national program was a major contributing factor to his first Achilles' tendon injury back in 1986. Another key moment for his future health took place in 1988 when Sabonis had a surgical Achilles procedure performed in Portland but was rushed back on the floor with the USSR Olympic team before a full recovery. The decision to include a limping Sabonis on the USSR roster for the 1988 Olympic games was protested at the time by Portland medical staff and was later heavily criticized. Eventually Sabonis would develop chronic knee, ankle and groin issues that substantially limited his mobility and explosiveness by the mid-90s.

In 1992, after playing with CB Valladolid for three seasons, Sabonis joined Real Madrid and won two Spanish League titles and a Euroleague title in 1995. During the 1994–95 regular season with Real Madrid, he averaged 22.8 points, 13.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocked shots, and 2.4 assists per game.

In 1995, Sabonis signed with the Blazers. He had a successful rookie campaign, averaging 14.5 points on 55% shooting and 8.1 rebounds while playing less than 24 minutes per game. Sabonis was selected to the All-Rookie First Team and was runner-up in both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year votings. His postseason averages were up to 23.6 points and 10.2 rebounds.

Sabonis averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 1997–98, all career-highs.

He won the European Player of the Year twice while playing with the Blazers. He also became a fan favorite.

The question that surrounds Sabonis' NBA career revolves around how good he could have been had he played in the NBA during his prime. Sabonis was nearly 31 when he joined the Blazers, by which time he had already won multiple gold medals, suffered through numerous injuries and had lost much of his mobility and athleticism. In Bill Simmons' "Book of Basketball", Arvydas Sabonis the international player is idealized while Arvydas Sabonis the Blazer is described as "lumbering up and down the court in what looked to be concrete Nikes" and ranking "just behind Artis Gilmore on the Moving Like a Mummy Scale." In ESPN's David Thorpe's view, Sabonis would be the best passing big in NBA history and possibly top 4 center overall, had he played his entire career there. In Clyde Drexler's view, if Sabonis had been able to spend his prime in Portland next to the plethora of other Trail Blazers' All Stars (Drexler, Terry Porter, Buck Williams and "Cliff" Robinson), Trail Blazers would "have had four, five or six titles. Guaranteed. He was that good. He could pass, shoot three pointers, had a great post game, and dominated the paint."

After the 2000–2001 NBA season, Sabonis refused to sign an extension with Trail Blazers and retired from the NBA. In his own words, he "was tired mentally and physically." Instead, he returned to Europe where he signed a one year deal at nominal salary with Žalgiris, expecting to join the team for most important games down the stretch. However, he ended up missing that season in its entirety resting and recovering from injuries. Sabonis rejoined Trail Blazers for one final season in 2002–2003.

Sabonis came back to Žalgiris to play his final season in 2003 – 2004. He led the team to the Top 16 stage of the Euroleague that year and was named the Regular Season MVP and the Top 16 MVP. He also became the team's president. Sabonis would officially retire in 2005.

Personal life

Sabonis is married to Ingrida, a former Miss Vilnius, fashion model, and movie actress. They have a daughter named Aušrinė and three sons: Domantas, Tautvydas, and Žygimantas. Tautvydas plays for the CB Málaga junior team, and was a member of the Lithuania under-19 national team that won the 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. The other two sons also represent Lithuanian national teams in FIBA youth tournaments of their age groups; as of August 2011, Domantas was touted as Lithuania's top under-15 player.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | Portland | 73 || 21 || 23.8 || .545 || .375 || .757 || 8.1 || 1.8 || .9 || 1.1 || 14.5 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Portland | 69 || 68 || 25.5 || .498 || .371 || .777 || 7.9 || 2.1 || .9 || 1.2 || 13.4 |- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Portland | 73 || 73 || 32.0 || .493 || .261 || .798 || 10.0 || 3.0 || .9 || 1.1 || 16.0 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Portland | 50 || 48 || 27.0 || .485 || .292 || .771 || 7.9 || 2.4 || .7 || 1.3 || 12.1 |- | align="left" | 1999-00 | align="left" | Portland | 66 || 61 || 25.6 || .505 || .368 || .843 || 7.8 || 1.8 || .6 || 1.2 || 11.8 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Portland | 61 || 42 || 21.3 || .479 || .067 || .776 || 5.4 || 1.5 || .7 || 1.0 || 10.1 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Portland | 78 || 1 || 15.5 || .476 || .500 || .787 || 4.3 || 1.8 || .8 || .6 || 6.1 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 470 || 314 || 24.2 || .500 || .328 || .786 || 7.3 || 2.1 || .8 || 1.1 || 12.0 |-

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 1995–96 | align="left" | Portland | 5 || 5 || 35.4 || .432 || .556 || .717 || 10.2 || 1.8 || .8 || .6 || 23.6 |- | align="left" | 1996–97 | align="left" | Portland | 4 || 4 || 27.0 || .429 || .250 || .875 || 6.5 || 2.3 || .8 || .8 || 11.3 |- | align="left" | 1997–98 | align="left" | Portland | 4 || 4 || 26.8 || .450 || .500 || .857 || 7.8 || 1.5 || 1.8 || .8 || 12.3 |- | align="left" | 1998–99 | align="left" | Portland | 13 || 13 || 30.2 || .398 || .200 || .907 || 8.8 || 2.2 || 1.2 || 1.2 || 10.0 |- | align="left" | 1999–00 | align="left" | Portland | 16 || 16 || 30.8 || .453 || .286 || .796 || 6.7 || 1.9 || .9 || .8 || 11.3 |- | align="left" | 2000–01 | align="left" | Portland | 3 || 3 || 34.7 || .483 || .000 || .750 || 8.3 || 2.7 || .3 || 2.3 || 11.3 |- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Portland | 6 || 1 || 14.3 || .667 || .000 || .800 || 4.0 || .8 || .7 || .7 || 10.0 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 51 || 46 || 28.8 || .452 || .319 || .802 || 7.4 || 1.9 || .9 || .9 || 12.1

See also

List of tallest players in National Basketball Association history

References

External links

NBA.com Profile – Arvydas Sabonis

Euroleague.net Profile – Arvydas Sabonis

Fibaeurope.com Profile

Arvydas Sabonis Player Profile (InterBasket)

The Sabonis Network

}} Juan Antonio San Epifanio | years= 1985 | after= Dražen Petrović}} Toni Kukoč | years= 1997 | after= Predrag Danilović}}

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Category:Lithuanian basketball players Category:Lithuanian businesspeople Category:Lithuanian expatriate basketball people in the United States Category:Soviet basketball players Category:Expatriates in Spain Category:People from Kaunas Category:Olympic basketball players of Lithuania Category:Olympic basketball players of the Soviet Union Category:Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Category:Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Atlanta Hawks draft picks Category:Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Category:Portland Trail Blazers players Category:Liga ACB players Category:Real Madrid Baloncesto players Category:CB Valladolid players Category:BC Žalgiris players Category:Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Category:Olympic bronze medalists for Lithuania Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Eurobasket-winning players Category:Olympic medalists in basketball

ca:Arvydas Romas Sabonis de:Arvydas Sabonis es:Arvydas Sabonis eu:Arvydas Sabonis fr:Arvydas Sabonis gl:Arvydas Sabonis hr:Arvydas Sabonis it:Arvydas Sabonis he:ארבידאס סאבוניס lv:Arvīds Sabonis lt:Arvydas Sabonis nl:Arvydas Sabonis ja:アルビダス・サボニス pl:Arvydas Sabonis ru:Сабонис, Арвидас sr:Арвидас Сабонис fi:Arvydas Sabonis sv:Arvydas Sabonis tr:Arvydas Sabonis bat-smg:Arvīds Sabuonis zh:阿维达斯·萨博尼斯

Coordinates	30°19′10″N81°39′36″N
name	Sabonis Tracks
type	EP
artist	Built to Spill
cover	sabonis.jpg
released	2001
genre	Rock
label	Warner Bros.}}

Sabonis Tracks is a 4-track promo CD by Built to Spill.

Track listing

# "Strange" # "The Weather" # "What Goes On" (live) (originally by The Velvet Underground) # "Linus and Lucy" (live) (originally by Vince Guaraldi)

Category:Built to Spill albums

Coordinates	30°19′10″N81°39′36″N
Position	Guard
Number	10
height ft	6
height in	5
weight lbs	195
Birth date	August 03, 1964 Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Debutyear	1986
Finalyear	1998
Draftyear	1986
Draftround	2
Draftpick	30
Draftteam	Seattle SuperSonics
College	NC State
High school	William G. Enloe High School
Teams	Seattle SuperSonics (1986-1998)
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	4,733
Stat2label	Rebounds
Stat2value	3,222
Stat3label	Assists
Stat3value	4,893
Letter	m
Bbr	mcmilna01
Highlights	2x NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1994, 1995)
Coach	Seattle SuperSonics (2000–2005) Portland Trail Blazers (2005–present) }}

Nathaniel "Nate" McMillan (born August 3, 1964 in Raleigh, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player and current head coach of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Prior to his coaching stint with the Blazers, McMillan was head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics for five years, after succeeding Paul Westphal in 2000.

Early life and college career

McMillan grew up in the heart of North Carolina's basketball country and attended Raleigh's Enloe High School, where he went unnoticed by major college scouts. After a brief basketball career at Chowan College in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, he returned to Raleigh to play for Jim Valvano at North Carolina State University, before entering the NBA. McMillan helped lead NC State to a first place tie in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season in 1985, and the Elite Eight in both the 1985 and 1986 NCAA Championship Tournaments.

NBA career

McMillan was drafted by the Sonics with the 30th pick in the 1986 draft. He would spend his entire NBA career in Seattle. During his 12-year playing career, McMillan put up career averages of 5.9 points, 6.1 assists and 1.9 steals. He still shares (with Ernie DiGregorio) the NBA rookie record for assists in a single game with 25. McMillan was known for his superb defense, leading the NBA in steals per game for the 1993-94 season and being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. McMillan was also known for his balanced play, which led to four career triple-doubles. Known as "Mr. Sonic" for his 19 years of service to the team, his #10 jersey was retired by the Sonics. He was also known to be one third of the "Big Mac" team of the Seattle SuperSonics in the late 80's and early 90's, the others being Xavier McDaniel and Derrick McKey.

Coaching career

After retiring in 1998, McMillan stayed with the Seattle franchise, earning a place as an assistant coach. He held this role until 2000, when he was named interim coach of the Sonics. Although the team missed the playoffs during his first year as coach, he provided a major turnaround after the franchise got off to a miserable start that year, and he was hired as head coach for the next 2001-02 campaign. McMillan led the clubs to the playoffs in his second year before back-to-back mediocre seasons. In his final year as Sonics coach, McMillan led the team to a Northwest Division title 2005.

After 19 years with the Seattle organization, McMillan left Seattle on July 7, 2005 to become the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. He took over a team riddled with cap problems and off-the-court drama, but has steadily calmed the waters in Portland.

McMillan was an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski for the US national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship and in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning bronze and gold medals, respectively. He is also a member of the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame, due to his All-American performance at Chowan.

On December 5, 2009, McMillan ruptured his right Achilles tendon while scrimmaging with the Trail Blazers during practice. McMillian coached much of the season in a protective boot after surgery and led the team to 50 wins in spite of an historic number of injuries to his key players.

Head coaching record

|- | align="left" |SEA | align="left" | |67||38||29||.567|| align="center" |5th in Pacific||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed Playoffs |- | align="left" |SEA | align="left" | |82||45||37||.549|| align="center" |4th in Pacific||5||2||3||.400 | align="center" |Lost in First Round |- | align="left" |SEA | align="left" | |82||40||42||.488|| align="center" |5th in Pacific||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed Playoffs |- | align="left" |SEA | align="left" | |82||37||45||.451|| align="center" |5th in Pacific||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed Playoffs |- | align="left" |SEA | align="left" | |82||52||30||.634|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||11||6||5||.545 | align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals |- | align="left" |POR | align="left" | |82||21||61||.256|| align="center" |5th in Northwest||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed Playoffs |- | align="left" |POR | align="left" | |82||32||50||.390|| align="center" |3rd in Northwest||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed Playoffs |- | align="left" |POR | align="left" | |82||41||41||.500|| align="center" |3rd in Northwest||—||—||—||— | align="center" |Missed Playoffs |- | align="left" |POR | align="left" | |82||54||28||.659|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||6||2||4||.333 | align="center" |Lost in First Round |- | align="left" |POR | align="left" | |82||50||32||.610|| align="center" |3rd in Northwest||6||2||4||.333 | align="center" |Lost in First Round |- | align="left" |POR | align="left" | |82||48||34||.585|| align="center" |3rd in Northwest||6||2||4||.333 | align="center" |Lost in First Round |-class="sortbottom" | align="left" |Career | ||887||458||429||.516|| ||34||14||20||.412

Personal life

McMillan lives in West Linn, Oregon. His son Jamelle McMillan is also a successful basketball player, and played as a guard for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

See also

List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders

List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game

References

External links

Career NBA stats as a player

Career NBA stats as a coach

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball coaches Category:African American basketball players Category:Chowan University alumni Category:Basketball players from North Carolina Category:Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Category:NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Category:National Basketball Association head coaches Category:National Basketball Association players with retired numbers Category:People from Raleigh, North Carolina Category:People from West Linn, Oregon Category:Portland Trail Blazers head coaches Category:Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches Category:Seattle SuperSonics head coaches Category:Seattle SuperSonics draft picks Category:Seattle SuperSonics players Category:Point guards Category:Shooting guards

de:Nate McMillan es:Nate McMillan fr:Nate McMillan it:Nate McMillan ja:ネイト・マクミラン pt:Nate McMillan fi:Nate McMillan

Coordinates	30°19′10″N81°39′36″N
position	Shooting Guard
name	Nikos GalisΝίκος Γκάλης
nickname	Iron ManThe GangsterNick The Greek
height ft	6
height in	0
weight lb	177
league	Greek LeagueEuroleague(retired)
jersey	| number 6
nationality	Greek / American
birth date	July 23, 1957
birth place	Union City, New Jersey, USA
college	Seton Hall University
draft	68th overall
draft year	1979
draft team	Boston Celtics
career start	1979
career end	1994
former teams	Aris Thessaloniki (1979–92)Panathinaikos Athens (1992–94)
awards	Haggerty Award: 197911x Greek League Scoring Leader: 1981-91EuroBasket 1987: MVPMediterranean Player of the Year: 19872x European Player of the Year: Mr. Europa, Euroscar 19874x Greek League MVP: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame: 1991Greek Basketball Hall of FameFIBA Hall of Fame: 2007Euroleague's 35 Greatest All-Time Players: 2008 }}

Nikolaos Georgalis (), commonly known as either Nikos Galis (), or Nick Galis (alternate spellings include: Nikos Gallis, Nick Gallis, Nicolaos Georgalis, Nicolaos Georgallis, Nikolaos Galis, Nikolaos Gallis) (born July 23, 1957 in Union City, New Jersey, USA), is a retired Greek professional basketball player. He is an inaugural member of the FIBA Hall of Fame and was named one of the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors, as one of the league's 35 greatest players, on February 3, 2008.

Galis played the shooting guard position and spent most of his career in Aris, before having a late stint with Panathinaikos. He is the Euroleague's all-time leader in both career points scored and points per game (counting both FIBA and ULEB games), leading the competition in scoring eight times. He reached the Euroleague Final Four on four occasions, three consecutive ones with Aris (1988-90), and another one with Panathinaikos (1994). He is also the Greek Championship's all-time leading scorer in both career points scored and points per game (counting all the formats in league history). In addition to that, he holds the FIBA World Championship scoring records for the highest career points per game average, as well as the most points ever scored at a World Championship tournament, which he set at the 1986 FIBA World Championship.

Galis led the Greek national team to a EuroBasket gold medal in 1987, as well as to a EuroBasket silver medal in 1989, earning the tournament MVP honor in 1987, and being elected to the All-EuroBasket Team both times. Following the stunning success of the EuroBasket title in 1987, he won the Mr. Europa Player of the Year and the Euroscar awards the same year. Galis is widely regarded as one of Europe's all-time greatest players in professional club basketball history, as well as one of the all-time greatest players in FIBA international basketball history. He is highly revered in Greece, where he is considered by many to be the greatest individual athlete that the country has ever had. His years at Aris lifted Greek basketball from relative obscurity, into common public entertainment, with Galis being the figure that eventually inspired thousands of Greeks to take up the sport of basketball.

US career

The child of a poor immigrant family from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Nisyros, Nick took up boxing in his early years, his father George Georgalis having also been a boxer in his youth. He was persuaded to give up boxing by his mother Stella Georgalis, who was terrified each time that her son would return with a new facial injury. As a result, he started playing basketball and attended Union Hill High School in Union City, New Jersey.

After high school, Galis enrolled at Seton Hall University as a college basketball player. In his senior season, Galis saw his scoring average reach 27.5 points per game, which was third in the nation behind Idaho State's Lawrence Butler (30.1 ppg) and Indiana State's Larry Bird (28.6 ppg), including a 48 point outburst against the University of Santa Clara. Galis' coach at Seton Hall, Billy Raftery, would later state that Galis was the best player he ever coached. Finishing his collegiate career in 1979, Galis signed with agent Bill Manon, who also managed Diana Ross. Manon did not have Galis work out with any NBA team. Galis was eventually selected by the Boston Celtics in the 4th round of the 1979 NBA Draft, 68th overall.

Due to a severe injury that he suffered during the Celtics pre-season training camp, the franchise was no longer interested in offering him a contract because Gerald Henderson had taken his place and his injury would keep him out for the foreseeable future. It was then that Galis decided to pursue a professional career in Greece's A1 League. Galis would later be offered NBA contracts by the Celtics and the New Jersey Nets while he was playing in Greece, but he turned the offers down because at the time FIBA did not have professional status, something it did not gain until the year 1989, and therefore Galis would not have been allowed to play for the Greek national team if he was an NBA player. Since playing for Greece's national team meant so much to Galis, he stayed in Greece. Celtics legend Red Auerbach later said that the single biggest mistake he ever made in his career was not keeping Galis.

College stats

{| bgcolor="#f7f8ff" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | align="center"|Season | align="center"|Team | align="center"|Competition | align="center"|Games Played | align="center"|Field Goal% | align="center"|Free Throw% | align="center"|Rebounds | align="center"|Assists | align="center"|Points |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1975-76 |Seton Hall |NCAA D-I |24 |48.0 |73.0 |1.1 |1.8 |3.2 |-align=left |1976-77 |Seton Hall |NCAA D-I |29 |38.1 |81.9 |2.3 |4.7 |12.9 |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="left" |1977-78 |Seton Hall |NCAA D-I |27 |52.1 |82.6 |2.4 |4.5 |17.3 |-align=left |1978-79 |Seton Hall |NCAA D-I |27 |57.6 |82.6 |3.5 |3.9 |27.5 |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="left" |Career Totals |Seton Hall |NCAA D-I |107 |50.0 |81.7 |2.3 |3.7 |20.3 |}

Greek career

Galis made the move across the Atlantic and signed to play with Aris of Thessaloniki, Greece in 1979. Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiacos Piraeus had also shown some interest in signing the newcomer, but it was Aris' interest that was the most persuasive. His move to the country helped Greek basketball reach heights never before imagined. In 1983, while playing in a game with the Greek national team against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Chapel Hill, Greece's shooting guard Galis, while being guarded by North Carolina's shooting guard Michael Jordan, scored 50 points during the game. He played in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he led all players in scoring average with 33.5 points per game. In that tournament, he had a 53 point outburst against the Panamanian national basketball team.

Galis next led the Greek national basketball team to the EuroBasket 1987 gold medal. Averaging 37.0 points per game during the tournament, he was named the MVP of the tournament after scoring 40 points in the final against the Soviet Union national basketball team and its legendary player Šarūnas Marčiulionis for a 103-101 victory.

Galis also led Greece to the second place at the EuroBasket 1989, averaging 35.6 points per game. Galis is remembered for a stunning effort against the Soviet team led by Marčiulionis and its other star player, Arvydas Sabonis, in the semi-final game. He scored 45 out of his team's 81 total points in a dramatic, last-gasp 81-80 victory. The team settled for a second place finish against the ever-dominant Yugoslavian national basketball team.

Aris Thessaloniki

Averaging more than 30 points per game every season, Galis was the indisputable leader of Aris Thessaloniki. Playing alongside other great players at Aris such as Panagiotis Giannakis and Slobodan Subotić, Galis won 8 Greek Championships (7 of them consecutively and 3 undefeated, in the years 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991), 6 Greek Cups (4 of them consecutively, in the years 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992), and led Aris to 3 consecutive appearances at the European Champions' Cup Final Four (1988–1990). In the one disappointment of an otherwise glittering career with Aris, all three European Champions' Cup appearances ended in defeat in the semi-finals, thus depriving him of the opportunity to shine on Europe's biggest club stage. The team's performances and general standard of play however won the heart of every basketball fan in Greece, as well as creating thousands more Aris supporters. Indeed, cinemas and theaters would often reduce their admission prices on Thursday evenings when Aris was playing and the entire country settled down to watch them on television.

After a disappointing season of his team in 1992, Galis was forced to leave Aris. The new president of Aris and the fact that the team was then in decay were the main causes for his departure. Galis, who adored Thessaloniki, insisted about remaining in the club and playing for the team, as he believed that he still could offer much.

Panathinaikos

Galis moved to Athens for Panathinaikos and was the captain and the player that led Panathinaikos to a rebirth after the disappointing previous season that found the club in 8th place.

Galis inspired the young players of Panathinaikos such as Fragiskos Alvertis and Nikos Ekonomou and gradually brought back hope to the fans, to the point that Glyfada Indoor Hall was always overcrowded. In his first season (1992-93) that Galis played in Athens, Panathinaikos took second place in the Greek Championship, and won the Greek Cup, the 7th Greek Cup for Galis.

The following year, Galis was the European Champions' Cup top scorer (23.8 points per game in 21 games) and passer (4.7 assists per game in 21 games). He led Panathinaikos to the Final Four where they placed 3rd, a success that Panathinaikos had never reached before. He had to be content with being the top scorer in the 3rd-place match against FC Barcelona. He made one of his greatest career games against Virtus Bologna at the quarter-finals.

In his third season in Panthinaikos, Galis teamed up with Panagiotis Giannakis and Žarko Paspalj to make a strong effort to win the Champions' Cup. Galis was the player who led Panathinaikos to the Top 16 group, as he prevented the elimination of Panathinaikos by Budivelnik Kiev. He was also the leader of the team in the win against Olympiacos in a Greek Cup game at Sporting Sports Arena. But his career ended controversially on October 18, 1994 (a few games after the start of the 1994-95 season), when Kostas Politis (coach of Panathinaikos at that time) chose not to include him in the starting line-up of a Greek Championship game against Ambelokipi. Galis left the court, never again to return to action.

Professional career scoring statistics

{| bgcolor="#f7f8ff" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | align="center"|Competition | align="center"|Games Played | align="center"|Points Scored | align="center"|Scoring Average |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |Greek Championship |384 |12,849 |33.5 |-align=left |Greek Cup |55 |1,935 |35.2 |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="left" |European Cups |146 |4,807 |32.9 |-align=left |FIBA International Competitions(Greek National Team) |169 |5,163 |30.6 |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="left" |Career Totals |754 |24,759 |32.8 |}

Greek Championship season by season scoring stats

(Counting regular season and playoffs.)

{| bgcolor="#f7f8ff" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="1" style="font-size: 95%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" | align="center"|Season | align="center"|Competition | align="center"|Games Played | align="center"|Points Scored | align="center"|Scoring Average |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1979-80 |Greek Championship | |692 | |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1980-81 |Greek Championship |26 |1,143 |44.0 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1981-82 |Greek Championship |22 |828 |37.6 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1982-83 |Greek Championship |24 |869 |36.2 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1983-84 |Greek Championship |23 |948 |41.2 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1984-85 |Greek Championship |24 |891 |37.1 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1985-86 |Greek Championship |24 |944 |39.3 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1986-87 |Greek Championship | | |39.7 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1987-88 |Greek Championship | | |37.4 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1988-89 |Greek Championship | | |37.7 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1989-90 |Greek Championship | | |38.8 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1990-91 |Greek Championship | | |35.3 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1991-92 |Greek Championship | | |32.1 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1992-93 |Greek Championship | | |23.6 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1993-94 |Greek Championship | | |19.0 |-align=left |- bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align=left |1994-95 |Greek Championship | | |12.8 |}

Greek National Team

}} He averaged 33.3 points per game at the EuroBasket 1983, 33.5 points per game at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, 37.0 points per game at the EuroBasket 1987, 35.6 points per game at the EuroBasket 1989, and 32.4 points per game at the EuroBasket 1991. Galis was only a 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) tall combo guard. In every one of the games that Galis played in these tournaments, the entire defense of every opposing team was focused on stopping his scoring outbursts.

Galis' top 10 scoring FIBA rules games with the Greek National Team

{| style=border-collapse:collapse border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5 |- align=center style="color:#fff;background:#0000ff" !width=20|Points Scored !width=30|Date !width=80|Opponents !width=20|Final Game Score !width=260|Tournament |- |53||7/5/1986||Panama||110-81||1986 FIBA World Championship |- |52||9/10/1984||Poland||88-89||EuroBasket 1985 Qualification |- |49||7/20/1986||China||111-112||1986 FIBA World Championship |- |48||1/4/1981||Finland||101-92||FIBA International Tournament |- |48||11/19/1989||Denmark||113-91||Friendly |- |47||11/29/1984||Bulgaria||91-84||1986 FIBA World Championship Qualification |- |47||5/23/1982||Belgium||97-72||EuroBasket 1983 Qualification |- |46||6/20/1986||Netherlands||104-88||1986 Acropolis International Tournament |- |46||11/25/1989||Romania||97-77||EuroBasket 1991 Qualification |- |45||6/24/1989||Soviet Union||81-80||EuroBasket 1989 |}

Scoring statistics with the Greek National Team in FIBA rules games

{| style=border-collapse:collapse border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5 |- align=center style="color:#fff;background:#0000ff" !width=250|Tournament !width=80|Games Played !width=85|Points Scored !width=90|Scoring Average |- |1980 Olympics Qualification||4||78||19.5 |- |FIBA International Tournament (1980-89)||28||853||30.5 |- |Friendlies (1981-91)||18||450||25.0 |- |EuroBasket 1981 Qualification||8||225||28.1 |- |EuroBasket 1981||8||161||20.1 |- |1982 Balkan Games||4||97||24.3 |- |EuroBasket 1983 Qualification||9||283||31.4 |- |EuroBasket 1983||7||233||33.3 |- |1984 Olympics Qualification||9||288||32.0 |- |EuroBasket 1985 Qualification||5||178||35.6 |- |1984 Balkan Games||3||89||29.7 |- |1986 FIBA World Championship Qualification||6||206||34.3 |- |1986 Acropolis International Tournament||3||108||36.0 |- |1986 FIBA World Championship||10||335||33.5 |- |1986 Balkan Games||3||117||39.0 |- |1987 Acropolis International Tournament||3||112||37.3 |- |EuroBasket 1987||8||296||37.0 |- |1988 Olympics Qualification||9||254||28.2 |- |EuroBasket 1989 Qualification||4||146||36.5 |- |1989 Acropolis International Tournament||3||113||37.7 |- |EuroBasket 1989||5||178||35.6 |- |EuroBasket 1991 Qualification||3||134||44.7 |- |1990 Acropolis International Tournament||1||4||4.0 |- |1991 Acropolis International Tournament||3||63||21.0 |- |EuroBasket 1991||5||162||32.4 |- |Career Totals||169||5,163||30.6 |}

Player profile

It has been noted that Galis was not only a legendary scorer, but was also a great play maker and passer. The vast majority of his points scored came inside the paint area due to his penetrating ability. Another enormous competitive advantage that Galis possessed was his incredible stamina, which was due to his exemplary physical condition. This led to his being given the nickname of "Iron Man". At the EuroBasket 1987, he was never once substituted out of any game after the second day of the competition.

Retirement

Since his official retirement on September 29, 1995, and up until early 2006, he has been the owner of a summer basketball camp in Halkidiki, Greece. The basketball camp is listed at the Athens Stock Exchange. As a token of appreciation for his contribution to Greek sport, Galis was chosen to be the first torch bearer in the final round of the Olympic Flame for the Athens 2004 Olympics. Galis entered the stadium at the conclusion of the Opening Ceremony and set off the procession of the flame to the altar.

In September 2007, Nikos Galis was elected as a member of the first class of the FIBA Hall of Fame, which includes the best basketball players in the history of the game internationally. Galis was inducted as a player. Bill Russell of the famous Boston Celtics dynasty was another one of the 16 inaugural player inductees. Galis is also a member of the Greek Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted as a player. Galis is married to Eleni Panagiotou and he has one daughter, named Stella.

Awards and accomplishments

Galis won numerous titles and awards during his career and had many memorable single game performances. The following are some of them:

College

Haggerty Award (New York Metro Area Player of the Year): 1979

Member of the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame: 1991

Pro career

Championships:

Won 8 Greek Championships: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991

Won 7 Greek Cups: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993(In total, he won 15 championships in his pro club career as a player.)

Personal awards and achievements:

11x Greek League Scoring Champion: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991

8x Euroleague Scoring Champion: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994

Mediterranean Player of the Year: 1987

2x European Player of the Year:

* Euroscar European Player of the Year: 1987

* Mr. Europa European Player of the Year: 1987

World's 10th Best Athlete (a vote that included all sports and all countries): 1987

4x Greek League Most Valuable Player: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991

4x Greek League Assist Leader: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994

Euroleague Assist Leader: 1994

Greek Cup all-time scoring leader: 1,935 points (35.2 ppg)

Greek League all-time scoring leader: 12,849 points (33.5 ppg)

Euroleague final stage all-time scoring leader: over 1,000 points

Euroleague: all-time scoring leader

Member of the Greek Basketball Hall of Fame

Member of the FIBA Hall of Fame: 2007

Euroleague's 35 Greatest All-Time Players: 2008

Along with Panagiotis Giannakis, he led Aris Thessaloniki to an 80 game winning streak in the 1980s.

His personal scoring record in one game was 63 points, achieved in a Greek League game in 1981 (Aris Thessaloniki vs. Ionikos Nikaias). However, in the same game, Ionikos' superstar Panagiotis Giannakis, who would later go on to become Galis' teammate on Aris, scored 73 points.

In 1981, he also had a 61 point game against Iraklis Thessaloniki.

Also in 1981, he accomplished his career scoring high in a European continental competition, as he scored 57 points against Pallacanestro Venezia during the 1981 Korać Cup.

His high scoring game in the Greek Cup was 57 points against Panellinios Athens in the 1987 cup final.

Also in 1987, he scored his career high in points in the old FIBA Champions' Cup (now called the Euroleague), as he scored 50 points in a game against Tracer Milano.

He also holds 4 of the top 15 all-time individual scoring games in the Euroleague's modern record era (since 1991-1992).

He scored 55 or more points in a game 10 times in his professional club career while playing with Aris Thessaloniki and Panathinaikos Athens.

In 1990, in a Saporta Cup game versus Korihait Uusikaoupounk, he dished out 23 FIBA assists, which is still the all-time single game assist record.

In 1993, while playing with Panathinaikos Athens in a revenge game against his former team Aris Thessaloniki, he had a game for the ages. Galis shot 13/13 from the field and recorded 19 FIBA assists in the game.

Greek National Team

In 169 FIBA rules games played with the Greek national basketball team, he averaged 30.6 points per game.

Galis was the leading scorer in every major European and world international competition that he participated in from 1983 onwards, the EuroBasket 1983, the 1986 FIBA World Championship, the EuroBasket 1987, the EuroBasket 1989, and the EuroBasket 1991.

At the 1986 FIBA World Championship, he scored 53 points in a game against the Panamanian national basketball team.

In the EuroBasket 1987 final, he scored 40 points against the Soviet Union national basketball team.

In the EuroBasket 1989 semifinal, he scored 45 points against the Soviet Union national basketball team.

1980 Balkan Games: Gold Medal

1986 Balkan Games: Gold Medal

1986 FIBA World Championship Scoring Champion: 1986 (33.5 ppg)

EuroBasket 1987: Gold Medal

EuroBasket 1987: All-Tournament Team

EuroBasket 1987: Most Valuable Player

EuroBasket 1989: Silver Medal

EuroBasket 1989: All-Tournament Team

EuroBasket 1991: All-Tournament Team

4x EuroBasket Scoring Champion: 1983 (33.3 ppg), 1987 (37.0 ppg), 1989 (35.6 ppg), 1991 (32.4 ppg)

Greek National Basketball Team 2nd all-time scoring leader: 5,163 points (30.6 ppg)

References

Arbel, Y. , "Iron Man Galis", November 08, 2006, FIBA Europe official website

Eurobasket.com, website about basketball

BASKET ARIS - Unofficial fan site dedicated to ARIS B.C.

Hellenic Basketball Federation official website

FIBA Europe official website

Notes

External links

NBA Draft Profile

HallofFame.FIBA.com – Nikos Galis

Euroleague.net 50 Greatest Contributors – Galis

Galis FIBA Europe Profile

FIBAEurope.com Galis Story

Nick Galis Unofficial Website

Interbasket.net Galis Profile

Fotios.org Galis Article

10DailyThings.com Galis – A European Legend

GrHomeBoy.com Galis Inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame

Books.Google.com Seton Hall Pirates Nick Galis

SHUPPirates.com Seton Hall Records

Euroleague.net Galis Scores 63

Dražen Petrović | years= 1987 | after= Šarūnas Marčiulionis}}

Category:1957 births Category:Basketball players from New Jersey Category:Living people Category:Boston Celtics draft picks Category:American people of Greek descent Category:Greek basketball players Category:American basketball players Category:Greek businesspeople Category:Aris B.C. players Category:Panathinaikos B.C. players Category:Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players Category:FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Union City, New Jersey Category:Eurobasket-winning players Category:Point guards Category:Shooting guards

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