Toni Kukoč is a Croatian 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). Nicknamed "The Waiter", 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 Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
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.
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".
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.
Nikolaos Georgalis, commonly known as either Nikos Galis, or Nick Galis, is a Greek former professional basketball player. Galis, who during his playing days was nicknamed, "Nick The Greek", "The Gangster", and "The Iron Man", is widely regarded as Europe's greatest scorer to ever play the game, and as one of the all-time greatest players in FIBA international basketball history. In 1991, Galis was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players. In 2007, he became an inaugural member of the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. In 2017, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball. In 2022, he was inducted in to the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame.
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.
James Donell "Scoonie" Penn is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a point guard during his playing career that was spent primarily in Europe. Although Penn was selected in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks with the 57th overall pick, he never played a single game in the NBA, joining 7 other players from his draft class that never played in the league.
Panagiotis "Panos" Fasoulas is a Greek politician and former professional basketball player. He was selected in the second round by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1986 NBA draft, but never decided to play in the NBA. Considered to be one of the best big men ever in European basketball, Fasoulas became a FIBA Hall of Fame player in 2016. In 2022, he was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame.
Priest Lauderdale is an American-Bulgarian former professional basketball player.
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.
Theofanis "Fanis" Christodoulou is a Greek former professional basketball player. He played mainly at small forward, but his complete all-around skills allowed him to play all five positions. During his playing career, many sports journalists called him "The European Charles Barkley". While his nickname among his teammates was "Bembis" ("Baby").
Arijan Komazec is a former Croatian professional basketball player.
John Gabriel Pinone Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player.
Jon Anthony Korfas is a Greek-American former professional basketball player and coach. During his professional playing career, Korfas won all three of the FIBA Europe continental-wide titles on the club level. With Panathinaikos Athens, he won the top-tier level FIBA EuroLeague championship, during the 1995–96 season. He also won the second-tier level FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup championship in the 1990–91 season, and the third-tier level FIBA Korać Cup championship in the 1993–94 season with PAOK Thessaloniki. With Panathinaikos, he also won the world club title, as he won the 1996 edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. He was also selected to the FIBA EuroLeague All-Final Four Team at the 1993 FIBA EuroLeague Final Four.
William Allen Edwards is an American former professional basketball player. He was a 2.03 m (6'8") tall small forward-power forward. During his playing career, his nickname was "Dollar Bill" Edwards.
Saša Obradović is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A.
Wendell Paul Alexis is a retired American professional basketball player who played for several European clubs, between 1986 and 2004, most notably for ALBA Berlin, where he was voted MVP of the German Bundesliga four times, during his 6-year stay with the club. In 2018, he was named to the 101 Greats of European Basketball list.
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.
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Mikhailov is a former Russian-Spanish professional basketball player and coach. In 1994, he was an Honored Master of Sports of Russia.
George Ioannis Papadakos is a former Greek-Canadian professional basketball player and coach.
