Dimitris Diamantidis

At 43 years old, Dimitris Diamantidis has this physical status:

Dimitris Diamantidis (born May 6, 1980) is a retired Greek professional basketball player who spent all twelve seasons with Panathinaikos Athens, a former Greek national basketball player.

Diamantidis, who is widely regarded as one of the best European players to play, began his career in Kastoria, AS Kastorias, at the age of 14.

He made his professional debut with Iraklis five years ago and by 2003, he had emerged as an all-around star in the Greek League.

In 2004, he became a member of Panathinaikos, with whom he won three EuroLeague titles in 2007, 2009 and 2011.

A EuroLeague MVP Award, two EuroLeague First Team picks, four All-EuroLeague First Team nominations, and a record six EuroLeague Best Defender Awards are among Diamantidis' numerous accolades in the premier European competition.

He is the only player to have earned all four coveted EuroLeague end-of-season accolades, and even more in a single year.

Early years

Diamantidis was born in Kastoria, Greece, on May 6th, 1980. He began playing basketball with the youth teams of the local club AS Kastoria. Dimitris Diamantidis Indoor Hall, the club's home arena, would be named after him in honor.

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Professional career

Diamantidis began his professional career in 1999 as he joined Greek Basket League club Iraklis Thessaloniki. He averaged 1.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in his first pro season in the 1999-00 Greek League season. Diamantidis also competed in the FIBA Saporta Cup, Europe-wide secondary league, in his first season with the club. During the Saporta Cup 1999–00 season, Diamantidis averaged 1.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

He upped his averages to 3.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in his second season with the club in the 2000-2001 Greek League season. Diamantidis also participated in the FIBA SuproLeague, one of the two top European club championships at the time, at the time. During the SuproLeague's 2000–01 season, he averaged 2.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game.

During the 2001–02 Greek League season, he averaged 6.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in his third season with Iraklis. For the first time this season, he was selected to the All-Star Game in the Greek League. Diamantidis also played in the Pan-European secondary league, where he scored 7.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game during the 2001–02 season.

Diamantidis' fourth season with Iraklis was his fourth season with the national Greek Basket League. During the 2002-03 Greek League season, he continued to rise his individual numbers and results, posting 11.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, a league-leading 2.5 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. He also elected to the All-Star Game of the Greek League once more.

Diamantidis had his best season with the club in his fifth and final season. During the 2003–04 Greek League season, he averaged 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, a league-leading 2.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. He was again voted to the Greek League's All-Star Game due to his performance, and at the end of the season, he was also named the Greek League's MVP for the season. Diamantidis played a key role in Greek games during his five seasons with Iraklis, one of Greece's oldest clubs, while others in Greek leagues were struggling in previous years.

Diamantidis' career rose a slew of failures with his move to Panathinaikos of Athens in 2004, a basketball powerhouse in the Greek Basket League and also of the EuroLeague, with his move to Panathinaikos of Athens. Diamantidis, the club's fans, gave him the nickname "3-D" during his time in Panathinaikos, which stood for "Dimitris Diamantidis Defense." Pavlos Giannakopoulos, the late pharmaceutical magnate and team captain of Panathinaikos at the time, has signed Diamantidis to a three-year, €5.7 million net income contract extension, thanks to outstanding individual and team achievements. Diamantidis resigned from Panathinaikos in 2010 after a €10.8 million net income. Diamantidis became Europe's most steal leader in February 21, 2013.

Diamantidis resigned from Panathinaikos for another two years on July 4, 2013 at a salary of €1.9 million net income per year. Diamantidis became the first EuroLeague player to dish out at least 1,000 career assists on October 30, 2014. Diamantidis announced his retirement from playing professional basketball on September 2, 2015, the 2015-2016 Greek League season began. He was named the Greek League Most Popular Player in his last season with Panathinaikos. Diamantidis retired as the all-time leader in both assists and Performance Index Rating (PIR) in the EuroLeague's entire history. Eventually, those records were lost.

Panathinaikos, Diamantidis, and eljko Obradovi wrote one of the most productive collaborations between a player and his head coach in the history of European club basketball. Diamantidis won the EuroLeague championship three times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2010, 2014, and 2015, 2016), and the Greek Cup champion ten times (2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). In 2007, and 2009, he won the Triple Crown twice.

Diamantidis also received multiple individual trophies with Panathinaikos, including: the EuroLeague MVP in 2011, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2011, 2014), five of his six total Greek League MVP awards (2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2011, 2014). Diamantidis, a member of Panathinaikos, was also named as the 2007 Greek Athlete of the Year and the 2007 Greek Athlete of the Year.

Diamantidis' #13 playing jersey had officially retired by Panathinaikos after he started his playing career. Diamantidis was voted "The Best Greek Professional Basketball Player of The 2010s Decade" by the Greek website Gazzetta.gr's readers selected Diamantidis in 2020.

National team career

Diamantidis was a member of the Greek under-20 national team. At the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, he competed for Greece's under-20 national team, where Greece finished seventh in seventh place. At the tournament, he averaged 3.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. Diamantidis received the silver medal at the 2001 Mediterranean Games as part of Greece's under-26 national selection.

Diamantidis was also a member of Greece's national basketball team. He earned the gold medal and seven Acropolis Tournaments with Greece's senior team, as well as being named the tournament's MVP twice in 2005 and 2006.

Diamantidis, a Greek national team player, announced his immediate departure from the Greece National Team on September 4, 2010. In his last game with Greece's national team, he had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He completed his career with the Greek flag, having participated in 124 games and scoring a total of 760 points, for a scoring average of 6.13 points per game.

Diamantidis served with the Greece men's national basketball team at the 2003 EuroBasket, where Greece finished in fifth place after defeating Serbia and Montenegro by a score of 72–64. At the 2005 EuroBasket, Diamantidis claimed the gold medal. He was one of the tournament's top assisters during the FIBA EuroBasket this year and was selected to the All-Tournament Team. Diamantidis' semifinals against France's national team ended with a 67–66 victory and sent them to the European Championship's final game.

At the 2007 EuroBasket, Diamantidis scored 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks for Greece, losing the bronze medal to Lithuania, 78-69.

At the 2006 FIBA World Cup in Japan, Diamantidis claimed the silver medal with Greece. With 12 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, he was a key factor in Greece's historic 101-95 victory over Team USA, while dealing the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard. During Mike Krzyzewski's second stint as the team's head coach (2005–2016), the only one suffered by the United States team was the loss. "2006, that's a lesson we learned," Coach Krzyzewski said in a press conference during the 2014 FIBA World Cup. "Team USA" taught us (Team Greece) how to compete internationally."

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Diamantidis also represented Greece. At that tournament, he had 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game.

Diamantidis was a member of Greece's senior national team that competed at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. He was also selected to compete with Greece's senior national team at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Greece finished fifth in both tournaments, losing both times to Argentina in the competition's quarterfinals.

Managerial career

In 2016, Diamantidis retired from playing professional basketball. He became the co-general manager of Panathinaikos Athens, the same team with whom he spent the last 12 seasons of his playing career. After a disappointing season in EuroLeague, Diamantidis and fellow club legend Fragkiskos Alvertis were both fired from their positions and replaced with Argyris Pedoulakis on April 12, 2022. Diamantidis, the Greek Basket League's 2021 Greek Basketball Cup, and the 2021 Greek Basketball Super Cup, the general manager in two years, has won three titles: 2020-21 Greek Basket League, 2020-21 Greek Basketball Cup, and the 2021 Greek Basketball Super Cup.

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