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.
Juan Ramón Rivas Contreras is a Puerto Rican retired professional basketball player, and sports color commentator. Rivas was the third player from Puerto Rico to play in the NBA, and half of the first duo of Puerto Ricans to be active in the NBA simultaneously. Rivas has played in the NBA, NCAA Division I, and in the Puerto Rican National Superior League (BSN), with the Carolina Giants.
Anthony Lee Bowie is an American former professional basketball player. He is a former NBA shooting guard, most renowned for his stint with the Orlando Magic. With the Magic, Bowie became one of the top bench players, often stepping in to provide a spark and energy, timely baskets, and defensive stops. He is currently an Elementary School P.E coach.
Roy James Tarpley Jr. was an American professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions in the National Basketball Association (NBA), earning an NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1988. In 1995, Tarpley was permanently banned by the NBA due to his drug and alcohol abuse. He played in Europe for Olympiacos, Aris, and Iraklis.
Panagiotis "Notis" Giannakis, alternatively spelled Panayiotis Yiannakis or Yannakis, is a former Greek professional basketball player and coach. He is considered to be one of the greatest sportspeople of Greece. He started his senior career at the age of just 13 at Ionikos Nikaias and after noticeable success, he achieved extraordinary success as a player with Aris Thessaloniki from 1984 to 1993, in partnership with Greek basketball's biggest star Nikos Galis along with the rest of the squad, while achieving victory as the national team captain in EuroBasket 1987 in Athens, Greece's first major tournament win in non-Olympic sport which, along with Aris' extraordinary success, cultivated the sport in the country. At the end of his career, he won the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos in 1996 As head coach, he most prominently led Greece to its second European trophy in EuroBasket 2005 at Serbia and Montenegro, where a team of new and talented stars shone brightest under the nurturship of Giannakis. He would repeat the success the next year, acquiring the silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, where the team most notably scored a decisive win against the USA stars of the NBA in the semi-final, which would be USMNBT's last loss in a tournament until 2019. However, Greece's arch rivals Spain would defeat Giannakis' team in the final, as they would do again in the semi-finals of the 2007 EuroBasket. Outside of the Greek national team, he would coach Greek clubs like Aris, where he had the most success as player, Olympiacos, where he achieved renewed success, and the China men's national basketball team. As a player, he was primarily a point guard, but he could also play at the shooting guard position. During his playing career, Giannakis was also widely-known under his nickname of "O Drákos", or "The Dragon" in English.
Želimir "Željko" Obradović (Serbian Cyrillic: Желимир "Жељко" Обрадовић, pronounced[ʒɛ̌limiːrʒêːʎkoobrǎːdoʋitɕ]; is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for Partizan of the Basketball League of Serbia, the ABA League and the EuroLeague.
Jimmy Allen Oliver is an American former professional basketball player who played several seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 1991 NBA draft.
Priest Lauderdale is an American-Bulgarian former professional basketball player.
Arijan Komazec is a former Croatian professional basketball player.
Joseph John Arlauckas is an American former professional basketball player of Lithuanian descent. During his playing career, he played at the power forward position. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball.
Rowan Alexander Barrett Sr. is a Canadian former professional basketball player. At a height of 1.98 m (6'6") tall, he played at the shooting guard and small forward positions. He was the top scorer in the 2002 Israel Basketball Premier League. He is general manager of the Canadian men's national team.
Nicholas William Calathes is a Greek-American professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Florida Gators. An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2018 and 2019, Calathes has also played in the NBA, the Greek Basket League and the VTB United League. He represents the Hellenic national basketball team internationally.
Henry Williams, nicknamed, "Hi-Fly", was an American professional basketball player.
Georgios "Giorgos" Diamantopoulos is a Greek former professional basketball player. At a height of 6'5" tall, he played as a shooting guard-small forward. In the prime of his career, he possessed great scoring ability.
Apollon Patras B.C., named after the Greek God Apollo, is a Greek professional basketball club that is located in Patras, Greece. Apollon Patras B.C. is the men's basketball club of the Greek multi sports athletic union A.S. Apollon Patras. The club's name sponsorship is Apollon Patras B.C. Carna. Currently, Apollon competes in the Greek A2 Basket League, which is the 2nd-tier level basketball division in Greece.
Kenneth Barlow is an American former professional basketball player. Barlow graduated from the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana.
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.
Georgios Papagiannis is a Greek professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. Born in Marousi, Attica, Greece, he is a 7 ft 2 3⁄4 in tall center, with a 7 ft 6 in wingspan. His nicknames are "PeeG", "Big Papa" and "Big Doofus". He is also a member of the senior National Team of Greece. He was selected 13th overall in the 2016 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns, before having his draft rights traded to the Sacramento Kings.
Konstantinos Ndubuisi "Kostas" Antetokounmpo is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague.
Omar Shariff Sneed is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Beaumont Panthers of The Basketball League (TBL). A Texas native, Sneed played high school basketball at West Brook in Beaumont.
