Nick Galis

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Nick Galis

Position	Shooting guard
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Nationality	Greece
Born	July 23, 1957 New Jersey, USA
Draft	68th overall, 1979 Boston Celtics
Pro career	1979–1995
Former teams	Aris (1979–1992) Panathinaikos (1992–1995)
Awards	European player of the year 1987 Eurobasket 1987 MVP

Nick Galis (born July 23, 1957 in New Jersey), known in Greece as Nikos Galis (Greek: Νίκος Γκάλης), is a retired Greek basketball player, regarded as one of Europe's all-time greats in the sport.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Career in Greece 3 After retirement 4 Playing profile 5 Trivia 6 Notable achievements 7 Titles 8 References 9 Notes

[edit] Early years

The child of a poor immigrant family from Rhodes, Greece, Nick took up boxing in his early years, his father George Georgalis having been a very good boxer in his youth. He later started being interested in basketball and enrolled in Union Hill High School.^[1] Later on he was aadmitted to Seton Hall University as a college basketball player. In his fourth and final year, Galis, by now a shooting guard, saw his points average reach 27.5 and his name ranked third among the leading NCAA scorers, behind the great Larry Bird and Balder. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 4th round of the 1979 NBA Draft, 68th overall.^[2] However, circumstances did not favor the young player. Due to an injury during the Celtics preseason camp, the franchise was no longer interested in offering him a contract. It was then that Galis decided to pursue a professional career in Greece, a decision that would change the European basketball map forever.

[edit] Career in Greece

Galis made the move across the Atlantic and signed for Aris of Thessaloniki, Greece (Panathinaikos and Olympiakos had showed some interest in the newcomer, but it was Aris' interest that was the most vivid).^[3] His return to the country helped Greek basketball reach heights never imagined before, leading the national team to the Eurobasket 1st place in 1987 with 37.0 ppg (MVP, 40 points in the final against the Soviet Union, 103-101) and 2nd place in 1989, averaging 35.6 points. Galis participated in one World Championship in 1986, where he again led all players in scoring with 33 ppg, and had a 53-point outburst against Panama. Aside from the 1987 final against the Soviet Union, Galis is also remembered for a stunning effort against the same team in the 1989 Eurobasket semi-finals, when he scored 45 out of his team's 81 points in a dramatic, last-gasp 81-80 victory.^[4]

Averaging more than 30 points per game every season, Galis was the indisputable leader of Aris. Playing alongside other great players such as Panagiotis Giannakis and Slobodan Subotic, Galis won 7 Greek Championships (6 of them consecutively and 3 undefeated), five Greek Cups, and led Aris to 3 consecutive appearances at the European Champions Final 4 (1988-1990). In the one disappointment of a glittering career, all three appearances ended in defeat in the semi-finals, thus depriving him of the opportunity to shine on Europe's biggest club stage.^[5]The team's performances and general standard of play however won the heart of every basketball fan in Greece, as well as creating thousands more Aris' supporters. Indeed, cinemas and theatres would often reduce their admission prices on Thursday evenings when Aris were playing and the entire country settled down to watch them on television.

After a disappointing season in 1992, Galis was forced to leave Aris. The new president of Aris and the fact that the team was then in decay were the main causes for his departure. Galis, who adored Thessaloniki, insisted about remaining in the club and playing for the team, as he believed that he still could offer much. Giorgos Rampotas, his personal trainer and friend, writes in "Galis' Biography" that Thessaloniki was what mattered most to Galis. Consequently, after he was forced to leave he even contemplated playing for Aris' greatest opponent PAOK, but did not accept it's offer after all.

Galis ended up moving to Athens and specifically Panathinaikos where he only managed to win one Greek Cup, in 1993. The following year, he returned to the European Final Four with Panathinaikos but, as in his previous three attempts with Aris, lost in the semi-finals and had to be content with top-scoring in the 3rd-place match against Barcelona. His career ended controversially in 1994 when Kostas Politis (then coach of Panathinaikos) chose not to include him in the starting line-up of a Greek Championship game against Ambelokipi. Galis left the court, never again to return to action.

[edit] After retirement

Since his retirement (September 29, 1995) he is the owner of a summer basketball camp in Halkidiki, Greece, a business listed at the Athens Stock Exchange.^[6]

As a token of appreciation for his contribution to Greek sport, Galis was chosen to be the first torchbearer in the final round of the Olympic Flame for the Athens 2004 Olympics: he entered the stadium at the conclusion of the Opening Ceremony and set off the procession of the Flame to the altar.

[edit] Playing profile

Since the birth of the European Championships in 1935 and the first European club competition in 1958, literally thousands of players have stepped up to play at the top level. Yet few have had the impact on the record books as that of Nikos Galis. Galis’ ability to put the ball in the basket compounded opposing players and coaches alike. It has also to be noted that he was not only a legendary scorer but also a great playmaker and passer.^[7]

Despite being a short guard who collected tons of points in every game, he was hardly a decent three point shooter, even from mid-range. The vast majority of his points came inside the paint due to his astonishing penetration.^[8]Another enormous advantage of Galis was his incredible stamina, due to his exemplary physical condition. It's one amazing thing to score 37 points per game at the highest level like the 1987 Eurobasket, but it's much more spectacular to do all that on mostly penetration as a short guard, with the entire defense focusing on you and without resting for even one split second since the second day of the competition.^[9]Galis used actually to play all 40 minutes of a game without being substituted. Moreover, all teams knew that he was the main guy to stop on the Greek team, and the entire defense focused on him.

Overall, Galis' ability to effectively employ such a versatile combination of scoring methods — driving to the basket, creating his own shot off the dribble, drawing fouls, and shooting sometimes from outside — all at only six feet tall, has made him one of the most successful and dominant players in European basketball history.

[edit] Trivia

^[10]

• Galis' jersey number with Aris was initially 7. He then changed it to 6 and kept it until the end. Aris has since unofficially retired the number 6. His number when playing for the Greek National Team was 4.
• Soviet Union basketball star Sergei Belov commented on 1987: "I admire him. When he plays one on one there is no way to stop him. I never thought there could be a player who could on his own beat the Soviet Union."
• Former Soviet Union coach Aleksandr Gomelsky once called him "the player of the 21st century."
• “I feel that if Galis wants to make a basket, he will do it no matter who his opponent is,” Lithuanian super-star Arvydas Sabonis has said.
• “I’d love to play with Galis in the same team,” said the legendary Dražen Petrović in 1993. “I would assist him the ball and he would put it in the basket.”
• Famous former NBA player Bob McAdoo has said: "I've seen Galis doing things that I have not seen either Lakers or Celtics doing."
• In October 1983, in a game between the Greek national team and North Carolina University in the "Dimitria" tournament, the great Michael Jordan said: "I did not expect to find such a good offensive player in Europe, especially in your country."

[edit] Notable achievements

^[11][12]

• In 854 official games played, Galis scored a total of 25,995 points, an impressive 30.4 points per game.
• In 168 games with the Greek national team, he averaged 30.46 points.
• Galis was the leading scorer in every major European or World national event he participated from 1983 onwards. (1986 World Championship - Eurobaskets 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991).
• His personal scoring record in one game is 62 points (1981, Aris-Ionikos). However in the same game, his future teammate Panagiotis Giannakis scored 73 points!
• His career high in a European competition was 57 points against Venice during the 1981 Korac Cup.

[edit] Titles

Galis won numerous titles and awards during his career. The following are some of them:^[13]

• Greek Championship: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
• Greek Cup: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993
• Greek championship MVP: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
• Eurobasket: 1987
• Eurobasket runner up: 1989
• Eurobasket MVP: 1987

[edit] References

• Psarakis, Y. , "Nikos Galis – Europe’s Greatest-ever Scorer", fibaeurope official website
• Arbel, Y. , "Iron Man Galis", November 08, 2006, FIBA Europe official website
• Official website of Galis's basketball camp
• Eurobasket.com, website about basketball
• BASKET ARIS - Unofficial fan site dedicated to ARIS B.C.
• Hellenic Basketball Federation official website
• FIBA Europe official website

[edit] Notes