Toni Kukoč is a Croatian-American former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of the first established European stars to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Kukoč played for four NBA teams between 1993 and 2006, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996. He is a three-time NBA champion, having won championships with the Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Dejan Bodiroga is a Serbian basketball executive and former professional player, who is currently the President of EuroLeague Basketball. In 1998 and 2002, he received the Golden Badge award for the best athlete of Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav Olympic Committee also declared him the Sportsman of the Year. He was named to the FIBA All-Time EuroStars Team in 2007. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball. HoopsHype named Bodiroga one of the 75 Greatest International Players Ever in 2021. He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.
Predrag Stojaković, known by his nickname Peja, is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the assistant general manager and director of player personnel and development of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.
Dino Meneghin is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is widely considered to be the best Italian player ever, as well as one of Europe's all-time greats. A 2.06 m tall center, Meneghin was born in Alano di Piave, Veneto. On 20 November 1966, when he was 16 years old, he played in his first game in the Italian League, with Ignis Varese. He played the last game of his career at the age of 45.
Jiří Welsch is a Czech former professional basketball player for BK Pardubice of the Czech Republic National Basketball League. He has also represented the senior Czech Republic national basketball team. Welsch has played in the National Basketball Association in the United States, having been drafted in 2002 by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Efthimios "Efthimis" Rentzias is a retired Greek professional basketball player. During his pro club career, he was most notably a member of the Spanish League's FC Barcelona, and the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. At a height of 2.12 m tall, he played at the center position. He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.
The France men's national basketball team represents France in international basketball and is administered by the French Federation of Basketball. France is currently ranked fourth in the FIBA World Ranking.
Cholet Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Cholet, France. The club plays in the LNB Pro A. Their home arena is La Meilleraie. Established in 1975, Cholet won its first French championship in the 2009–10 season. In 1998 and 1999, Cholet won the French Cup.
Marko Milič is a Slovenian basketball coach and former player currently working as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He represented the senior Slovenian national basketball team.
Andreas Glyniadakis is a former Greek professional basketball player, at a height of 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall. During his proffesional club career that started in 1997 and ended in 2020, Glyniadakis played at a center position.
Antonis Fotsis is a Greek professional basketball player for Ilysiakos. His height is of 2.09-metre tall. During his proffesional career he was also the captain of the senior Greek national team. In most of his playing career, he played primarily as a power forward, but he could also sometimes be used as a small ball center, or even as a small forward, if needed. Fotsis was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.
The Serbia men's national basketball team represents Serbia in international men's basketball competition, and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked second in the FIBA World Ranking.
Dimosthenis "Dimos" Dikoudis, is a former Greek professional basketball player and basketball executive. He is 2.08 m tall, and he played as a power forward-center. Dikoudis was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.
Theofanis "Fanis" Christodoulou is a Greek former professional basketball player. He played mainly at the small forward position, but his complete all-around skills allowed him to play at all five basketball positions. During his playing career, many sports journalists called him "The European Charles Barkley". While his nickname among his teammates was "Bembis" ("Baby").
Derrick Jonathon Dial is an American-born former professional basketball player. During his pro club career, he played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dial also played professionally in the Greek Basket League, the Italian A League, and the Spanish ACB League.
Alain Donald Digbeu is a French former professional basketball player. He was drafted by the NBA pro club the Atlanta Hawks with the 49th pick in the 1997 NBA draft. He is 6 ft 6 in in height and 220 lb (100 kg) in weight. He can play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Nikolaos "Nikos" Oikonomou is a former Greek professional basketball player, and a current professional basketball coach. During his playing career, the 2.08 m tall power forward was a four-time FIBA EuroStar selection. He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022. Oikonomou also runs Basket4All, a basketball camp for young children. He hails from Emmanouil Pappas, Serres.
FIBA EuroStars was an annual All-Star Game showcase of the sport of European professional club basketball. It was organized by FIBA Europe. Commonly considered to be the European equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game, the FIBA EuroStars Game featured the season's best players, from both the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague, and the European-wide 2nd-tier level FIBA Saporta Cup competitions. Diversity was considered to be paramount in the selection process, which aimed at allowing several different European national basketball leagues to be represented in the game.
Stéphane Rémy Daniel Risacher is a French former professional basketball player. During his pro club career, he was a six-time French League All-Star, as well as the French League All-Star Game's MVP in 1997. He was also a long-time member of the senior French national team. He was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Basketballin Greece erupted with the win of the Greece men's national basketball team at the 1987 EuroBasket in Athens, which caused a general basketball euphoria in the country. Since then, the Greece men's national teams have achieved consistent international success, leading Greece to join Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France, and Lithuania in the circle of European basketball powers. In addition to the Greece national team's triumph in 1987, they won the gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket, silver medals at the 1989 EuroBasket, and the 2006 FIBA World Cup, and the bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket.
