Panagiotis Giannakis

At 65 years old, Panagiotis Giannakis has this physical status:

Panagiotis Giannakis (born January 1, 1959), nicknamed "The Dragon," is a retired Greek professional basketball player and mentor.

He is the former head coach of EuroLeague Olympiacos and the senior Greek national basketball team.

The Greek national team earned the gold medal at the EuroBasket 2005 and the silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan under Giannakis' guidance.

Maroussi, Giannakis' Athenian professional team, was also managed to the Greek League's top players.

He has also served as the head coach of China's senior national team. Giannakis started his pro basketball playing career in Greece, with Ionikos Nikaias, before heading to Aris, where he spent the most important portion of his playing career.

He was in Thessaloniki, helping the Yellows (Aris) win three consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours between 1988 and 1990, as well as a FIBA European Cup title (later renamed to Saporta Cup) in 1993.

He was transferred to Panionios in 1993 and then, a year later, to Panathinaikos, with whom he won the EuroLeague championship in 1996.

Giannakis was selected by the EuroLeague Basketball Experts Committee on February 3, 2008, as one of Greece's best EuroLeague Contributors over the past half-century, as well as Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Fasoulas, and Fanis Christodoulou, one of the key players of the legendary late 1980s Greek National Team that put Greece on the world basketball map.

He was their captain when they won the EuroBasket of 1987 and were the silver medalists in the same championship two years later.

In addition, Giannakis was a key member of Greece's national team in 1993 and 1995, as well as the 1994 FIBA World Championship semifinals.

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Club playing career

In 1971, Giannakis began his club association with Ionikos Nikaias' youth teams. Giannakis' first head coach, George Vassilakopoulos, led the club's senior men's first team from the youth squad in 1972, when he was 13 years old. At the time, the club was playing in the Greek Second Division. In 1975, the club was promoted to the top-tier Greek First Division. At such a young age, Giannakis' superb work with Ionikos Nikaias drew the attention of pro basketball experts.

Ionikos Nikaias, a then-22-year-old Giannakis, defeated Aris Thessaloniki, which was led by Nikos Galis on January 24, 1981. Aris won by 114-113 in a close contest. The game is one of the best games of Greek pro club basketball history, with Giannakis scoring 73 points and Galis scoring 62 points as they finished with their second and fourth most points ever scored in a single game of the Greek League basketball championship.

Giannakis was sent by American basketball coach Dick Dukeshire, who had coached Giannakis on Greece's national basketball team, to play college basketball at the Hellenic College in 1981. Dukeshire believed that Giannakis was strong enough to play in the NBA. The Boston Celtics used the Hellenic College campus in Brookline, Massachusetts, for their training camp and workouts at that time. Gianankis' team was training with the school's team at the same time that the Celtics were present, Dukeshire believed he had a chance to make the Celtics roster. Giannakis later decided to move to the United States and joined the Hellenic College Owls team.

Giannakis was eventually noticed by the Celtics while training at Hellenic College, and the team invited him to participate in the team's 1981 summer league camp. However, Giannakis sustained a career-threatening knee injury that required multiple knee surgeries and a lot of rehabilitation time during the summer training camp. Giannakis averaged 25 points per game with the Hellenic College Owls after recovering from knee surgery. In order to prevent a league relegation, the Giannakis returned to Greece, where he spent the season with his former club team Ionikos Nikaias.

Giannakis was ultimately chosen by the Boston Celtics in the 9th round of the 1982 NBA Draft, making him the 205th overall draft pick. Giannakis then attended the team's 1982-83 preseason training camp. The Celtics traded center Dave Cowens to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for point guard Quinn Buckner, and thanks to that, they no longer had the need for another point guard. Giannakis was then asked by the Celtics to test how he would adapt to the American style of basketball, with the possibility for him to earn an NBA contract with the main team later this season. Giannakis turned down the bid and returned to Greece, where he would play for the remainder of his career.

Giannakis left the Greek club Aris Thessaloniki in 1984 after the club paid a transfer fee buyout to Ionikos Nikaias for his player rights in the amount of 42 million Greek Drachmas, which was considered a significant sum for a transfer buyout at the time. Giannakis was also given a BMW car, a sporting goods store, and an 8 million drachmas signing bonus from Aris. Giannakis and Aris joined up with Nikos Galis to form one half of a major "tag team" that dominated Greek and European basketball for years to come. Aris Thessaloniki's backcourt pairing of Galis and Giannakis spanned a 78-game winning streak in the Greek League from March 6th to November 5th, 1988.

Aris Thessaloniki's first season with Giannakis (1984–85) was a huge success. He won both the Greek League championship and the Greek Cup championship. Giannakis led his team to victory over Panathinaikos Athens in the final of the second series. And that was just the start, as six more Greek League championships were won for the first time in a row, and five more Greek Cup titles with Aris were scheduled to follow.

Giannakis also took part in three consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours with Aris Thessaloniki. He appeared in the 1988 Ghent Final Four, 1989 Munich Final Four, and the 1990 Zaragoza Final Four. Aris Thessloniki joined the elite of European basketball clubs at the time, but Giannakis and his crew didn't have a European-wide championship until a few years later.

Giannakis was selected as a member of The Balkan Selection All-Star Team in June 1991, just like the 1991 FIBA Centennial Jubilee. The 1991 FIBA Jubilee Festival was held in order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the sport of basketball in 1891, by Canadian James Naismith. The FIBA All-Star Game took place at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Greece, and it featured a number of legends of European basketball. The All-Star Selection of the Balkans won the game by a score of 103-102.

Aris and Giannakis won the European Cup championship, which later became known as the FIBA Saporta Cup. In the final, which was held in Turin, Aris defeated Turkish Super League club Efes Istanbul by a score of 50–48. le Galis had already left Aris Thessaloniki and joined Panathinaikos Athens and became the de facto leader and franchise player of Aris by then, and Giannakis had already joined Aris Thessaloniki by then.

Giannakis moved to Panionios Athens in 1993, after nine seasons with Aris Thessaloniki. In the Greek Basket League's 1993–94 season, Panionios Athens averaged 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He also competed with the club in the FIBA Kora Cup, a European-wide third level tournament. He averaged 17.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.0 steals per game during the Kora Cup season.

Giannakis spent a season with Panios Athens before transferring to Panathinaikos Athens, where he played from 1994 to 1996. He completed his club playing career with Panathinaikos Athens. Giannakis finally won the FIBA EuroLeague championship, after Panathinaikos Athens. At the 1996 Paris Final Four, Panathinaikos and Giannakis took the grand prize. He also won the Greek Cup with Panathinaikos Athens that year. It was his seventh Greek Cup title he had won in his career, as well as his seven Greek League championships. Giannakis played for the first time in 1996 and left his pro club playing career in 1996. He appeared in a total of five EuroLeague Final Fours during his club work as well as two with Panathinaikos Athens.

Giannakis scored a total of 9,291 points in 493 games played in the Greek Basket League, representing a career scoring average of 18.8 points per game. He scored a total of 1,514 points in 119 games played, a record scoring average of 12.7 points per game during his career.

National team playing career

Giannakis was a member of the Greek under-16 national team to receive the silver medal at the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championships of 1975. He made his debut with Greece's national basketball team as a 17-year-old versus the Czechoslovakian national team a year later. He appeared at the 1976 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and 1978 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championships with Greece's junior national teams.

The 1979 Eurobasket was Giannakis' first appearance with Greece at a big FIBA international tournament. He received gold medals at the 1979 Mediterranean Games and the 1979 Balkan Championships. Giannakis has also represented Greece in the 1980 FIBA European Olympic Qualification Tournament, the 1981 EuroBasket, the 1983 EuroBasket, the 1984 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the 1986 FIBA World Cup. At the 1986 Balkan Championships, he obtained the gold medal with Greece.

Giannakis was the team captain of the Greece men's national team, which captured the gold medal at the 1987 EuroBasket. At the 1988 European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Greece, he competed with Greece. He earned the silver medal at the 1989 EuroBasket, and he also represented Greece at the 1990 FIBA World Cup in Greece.

The Giannakis also represented Greece at the 1991 FIBA Centennial Jubilee, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of basketball's inception. The Jubilee tournament was held at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus, Greece. Giannakis averaged 14.3 points per game in three games played during the tournament.

Galis has competed with Greece at the following major tournaments: the 1991 EuroBasket, the 1992 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the 1993 EuroBasket, the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and the 1995 EuroBasket. On August 2nd, 1996, Gianankis retired from the Greece men's national team as a member, after competing with Greece at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.

Giannakis competed in 29 official FIBA international tournaments and in 40 official international tournaments during his time with the Greece men's national team, as well as 40 national competitions. Giannakis has the most caps with the Greek national team in all time, with 351. That's also the all-time record for any European national team. He also holds the all-time record for the most total points scored with the Greece national team's men's national team, with 5,301 points. That is also the all-time record for any European national team.

Career as a head coach

Giannakis began his coaching career as the head coach of Greece's national basketball team in 1997, exactly one year after retiring from playing with the Greece men's national team. For two years, he served as head coach of Greece's national team. He led the team to a fourth-place finish at the 1997 EuroBasket and a fourth-place finish at the 1998 FIBA World Cup.

Giannakis returned to the head coach of the Greece men's national team in 2004, where he led the Greek team to a fifth-place finish at Athens. Greece won the 2005 EuroBasket gold medal, the second time Greece had won the EuroBasket tournament, and the first time they had won it since 1987, under his coaching. Giannakis was both a player (1987) and as a head coach (2005).

He led the Greece men's national team to a second-place finish at the 2006 FIBA World Cup in 2006. Giannakis' Greek team defeated the heavily favored Team USA in the World Cup semifinals, which were held on September 1, 2006, by a score of 101–95. Giannakis' full attention was now on both the professional team and national team levels after 2006, when he began to concentrate solely on the Greek men's national team. Giannakis' salary with the Greece men's national team has risen to a €1.2 million net income per year.

Giannakis led Greece to a fourth-place finish at the 2007 EuroBasket. He led Greece to a fifth-place finish at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Giannakis resigned as the head coach of Greece's senior national team in December 2008. Jonas Kazlauskas was credited with his role.

Giannakis served as the head coach of China's senior men's national team. At the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, he coached China. China finished in fifth place in the tournament.

Giannakis began his coaching career as the head coach of the Greeks, and he later moved to coaching in the professional club level. He worked with Panios Athens in the Greek League until 2002, before being appointed head coach of the Greek club Maroussi Athens. He was with Maroussi Athens until 2006. During his time with Maroussi Athens, he, alongside his young star point guard, Vassilis Spanoulis, who was often compared to Giannakis', took the team from relative anonymity and transformed it into the third most prominent team in the Greek League during that period.

Giannakis agreed to be the head coach of the Greek EuroLeague power Olympiacos Piraeus on February 3rd 2008. He started with a two-and-a-half year on the team, earning an annual salary of €1.1 million. In June 2010, Olympiacos Piraeus announced that Giannakis will not coach their team in the upcoming season.

Giannakis coached Olympiacos Piraeus for two and a half years, winning the 2010 Greek Cup for the first time in eight years and three consecutive Greek League Finals appearances (2008, 2009, 2010). He was also responsible for the team's two consecutive EuroLeague Final Four appearances (2009 and 2010, which were the club's first EuroLeague Final Four appearances since the 1999 Final Four. Both of those two Final Four appearances were also included in the EuroLeague Finals, which (2009).

During the 2012–13 season, Giannakis served as the head coach of the French League club Limoges. In 2017, he became the head coach of Aris Thessaloniki, Greece's national team.

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