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.
Antoine Roger Rigaudeau is a French former professional basketball player and professional basketball coach. During his playing days, he played at the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions. Also during his playing career, his nickname was "Le Roi".
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.
Paris Basket Racing, or PBR, was a French professional basketball club from Paris. It was founded in 1922, as the basketball section of the multi-sports club Racing Club de Paris. The team took the name "Paris Basket Racing" in 2000. In 2007, the club merged with another club from the Paris area, Levallois Sporting Club Basket, to form the current version of the club, known first as Paris-Levallois Basket, and later as Levallois Metropolitans and Metropolitans 92.
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.
Panagiotis "Panos" Fasoulas is a Greek politician, and former professional basketball player. He was selected in the second round, with the 37th overall pick, by the Portland Trail Blazers, in the 1986 NBA draft. However, he never decided to play in the NBA. During his pro club career, Fasoulas won multiple team titles and individual awards.
Juan Carlos Navarro Feijoo, commonly known as either Juan Carlos Navarro or J. C. Navarro, is a Spanish former professional basketball player and current basketball executive. He is the current general manager of the Spanish EuroLeague club FC Barcelona Bàsquet. During his playing career, at a height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, he played at the shooting guard position. During his playing days, Navarro was nicknamed "La Bomba", which is also the Spanish name for his signature basketball move, the tear drop, which was the shot Navarro was a specialist in and became well-known for.
Sergei Valerianovich Bazarevich is a Russian former professional basketball player and coach. At 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and 175 lb (79 kg), he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions.
Felipe Reyes Cabanás is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He represented the senior Spain national team. Standing at a height of 2.06 m tall, and weighing 120 kg (265 lbs.), he plays at the power forward and center positions.
Nikolaos "Nikos" Zisis is a Greek basketball executive and former professional basketball player. During his pro club playing career, at a height of 1.97 m tall, he played at both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022. He is currently the general manager of the senior Greek men's national basketball team.
Dušan "Duda" Ivković was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He served as head coach of the senior Serbian national basketball team from 2007 to 2013, and of the senior Yugoslavian national basketball team, from 1987 to 1995. He was also the president of the Serbian club BKK Radnički.
Denis Marconato is an Italian former professional basketball player. At a height of 2.11 m (6'11") tall, he played at the center position.
Robert Busnel was a French professional basketball player, coach, and administrator. During his playing career, the 1.92 m tall Busnel, played at the power forward position. He was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor, in 1989, and was awarded the Olympic Order, by the IOC, in 1990. He was inducted into the French National Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. He was inducted into the French Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2005. In 2007, he was enshrined as a contributor to the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Roberto Chiacig is an Italian former professional basketball player, still playing at an amateur level.
Jurij "Jure" Zdovc is a Slovenian former professional basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of Bursaspor of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). As a player, he was a 1.98 m (6'6") tall point guard, who began his professional playing career with the Yugoslav Second Division club Smelt Olimpija.
Vladimir Petrovich Tkachenko is a retired Soviet and Russian professional basketball player. Tkachenko won two Summer Olympic Games medals and three FIBA World Cup medals with the senior men's Soviet Union national team. He was also named both the Euroscar and the Mr. Europa in 1979. His pro club career lasted 16 years.
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.
Antoine Camille Diot is a French professional basketball player for Chorale Roanne Basket of the LNB Pro A. Standing at 1.93 m, he plays the point guard position. He also represents the French national basketball team.
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.
Vinko Jelovac is a former Slovenian-Croatian professional basketball player and coach. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10") tall, and a weight of 120 kg, he played at the center position. Jelovac was named Slovenian Sportsman of the Year, in 1973 and 1974. Jelovac, who is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Yugoslav First Federal League, was inducted into the Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame, in 2012.
