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.
İbrahim Kutluay is a former Turkish professional basketball player who has been a manager and pundit since his retirement. He played the shooting guard position, and in his prime, was one of the most prolific 3-point shooters worldwide. He scored a record 50 points at the 1996 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship against Italy, and also 41 points in a EuroLeague game against Cibona Zagreb during the 1998–99 season. He was the first Turkish basketball player to win the EuroLeague championship, winning the 2002 EuroLeague Final Four with the Greek club Panathinaikos. Kutluay was the fourth Turk to play in the NBA. He is described as a 'stellar basketball player' whose 'legacy goes beyond his shooting skills, leadership, and incredible talent'. In addition to his professional career, he has also attracted interest as a high society figure due to his fame, wealth and personal life which has continuously been subjected to media scrutiny.
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.
Alba Berlin is a professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Uber Arena and competes in the German League and the EuroLeague.
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.
Sani Bečirovič is a Slovenian professional basketball coach, executive and former player, who is currently the sporting director for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague.
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").
Panathinaikos B.C., also known simply as Panathinaikos, currently also known as Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens for sponsorship reasons, is the professional basketball team of the major Athens-based multi-sport club Panathinaikos A.O. It is owned by the Giannakopoulos family.
Fragiskos "Frankie" Alvertis is a Greek former professional basketball player and general manager of Panathinaikos Athens. As a player, he was the long-time captain of Panathinaikos, where he spent his whole professional career. In 1990, Alvertis joined Panathinaikos, after moving to the club from Glyfada. Alvertis is first on the list of the EuroLeague championships won by a player, with five, since the competition went to the Final Four format, beginning with the 1987–88 season. The former Italian player Dino Meneghin, is first overall, with seven EuroLeague championships won, when including all formats of the competition, dating back to the competition's inaugural 1958 season.
Dimitrios Papanikolaou is a retired Greek professional basketball player and a professional basketball coach. He is 2.02 m tall. He spent most of his career playing at the shooting guard and small forward positions, although he also played at the power forward position late in his career.
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.
Dirk Bauermann is a German professional basketball coach.
Konstantinos "Kostas" Patavoukas is a Greek retired 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.
Ferdinando Gentile, commonly known as Nando Gentile, is an Italian former professional basketball player and coach. Playing as a point guard, Gentile had a successful pro club playing career, amassing a slew of team trophies won in Italy and Greece, including the EuroLeague title.
Nikolaos "Nikos" Boudouris is a former Greek professional basketball player and coach. During his pro playing career, Boudouris won what were at the time, all three of the major European-wide club championships, as he won the top-tier level FIBA EuroLeague championship in 2000, the second-tier level FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup championship in 1991, and the third tier level FIBA Korać Cup championship in 1994.
Georgios Karagkoutis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. At a height of 2.08 m tall, he could play at both the small forward and power forward positions.
Konstantinos "Kostas" Politis was a Greek professional basketball player and coach.
Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou is a Greek former professional basketball coach.
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.
