Nikos Galis

US career

Galis was born in Union City, New Jersey. The child of a poor immigrant family from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Nisyros, Nick took up boxing in his early years, after his father, George Georgalis, who had also been a boxer in his youth. He was persuaded to give up boxing by his mother, Stella Georgalis, who was terrified each time that her son would return home with a new facial injury. As a result, he started playing basketball and attended Union Hill High School in Union City.

After high school, Galis enrolled at Seton Hall University, where he played college basketball as a member of the Seton Hall Pirates. In his senior season, Galis saw his scoring average reach 27.5 points per game, which was third in the nation, behind Idaho State's Lawrence Butler (30.1 points per game) and Indiana State's Larry Bird (28.6 points per game), including a 48-point outburst against the University of Santa Clara. The same year, he also took part in the Pizza Hut All-American game alongside Bird and Vinnie Johnson.

During his 4 year college career, Galis played in a total of 107 games and scored 1,651 points, for a career scoring average of 15.4 points per game. Galis' coach at Seton Hall, Billy Raftery, would later state that Galis was the best player he ever coached. While at Seton Hall, Galis was a good friend and roommate of Italian-American professional basketball player Dan Callandrillo.

After finishing his collegiate career in 1979, Galis signed with agent Bill Manon, who also managed Diana Ross. Manon did not have Galis work out with any NBA team. Galis was eventually selected by the Boston Celtics in the 4th round of the 1979 NBA Draft, 68th overall.

Due to a severe ankle injury that he suffered during the Celtics pre-season training camp, the franchise was no longer interested in offering him a contract because Gerald Henderson had taken his place, and his injury would keep him out for the foreseeable future. It was then that Galis decided to pursue a professional career in Greece's Basket League. Later, while playing in Greece, he would be offered NBA contracts by the Celtics and the New Jersey Nets. However, he turned the offers down, because at the time, and until 1989, FIBA did not have professional status, and consequently did not allow NBA players to compete at the national team level. Since playing for the Greek national team meant so much to him, he stayed in Greece. Celtics legend Red Auerbach, later said that the single biggest mistake he ever made in his career was not keeping Galis.

Greek career

Galis made the move across the Atlantic, and signed to play with Aris of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1979. Panathinaikos and Olympiacos had also shown some interest in signing the newcomer, but it was Aris' interest that was the most persuasive. His move to the country helped Greek basketball reach heights never before imagined. In 1983, while playing in a game with the Greek national team against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Chapel Hill, Greece's shooting guard Galis, while being guarded by North Carolina's shooting guard Michael Jordan, scored 50 points during the game. He played in the 1986 FIBA World Championship, where he led all players in scoring average with 33.5 points per game. In that tournament, he had a 53-point outburst against the Panamanian national basketball team.

Galis next led the Greek national basketball team to the EuroBasket 1987 gold medal. Averaging 37.0 points per game during the tournament, he was named the MVP of the tournament, after scoring 40 points in the final against the Soviet Union national basketball team and its legendary player, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, for a 103–101 victory.

Galis also led Greece to the second place at the EuroBasket 1989, averaging 35.6 points per game. Galis is most remembered from that tournament, for a stunning effort against the Soviet team led by Marčiulionis, and its other star player, Arvydas Sabonis, in the semifinal game. He scored 45 out of his team's 81 total points in a dramatic, last-gasp 81–80 victory. The Greek team then settled for a second-place finish, after losing against the ever-dominant Yugoslavian national basketball team in the tournament's final.

Aris Thessaloniki

Averaging more than 30 points per game every season, Galis was the indisputable leader of Aris Thessaloniki. Playing alongside other great players at Aris such as Panagiotis Giannakis and Slobodan Subotić (who was known in Greece as Lefteris Soumpotits), Galis won 8 Greek League championships (7 of them consecutively, and 3 undefeated, in the years 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991), 6 Greek Cups (4 of them consecutively, in the years 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1992), and led Aris to 3 consecutive appearances at the FIBA European Champions' Cup Final Four ('88, '89, and '90). In the one disappointment of an otherwise glittering career with Aris, all three FIBAEuropean Champions' Cup appearances ended in defeat in the semifinals, thus depriving Galis of the opportunity to shine all the way on Europe's biggest club, stage at the FIBA European Champions' Cup Finals. The team's performances and general standard of play, however, won the heart of most every basketball fan in Greece. Indeed, cinemas and theaters would often reduce their admission prices on Thursday evenings, when Aris was playing, and the entire country settled down to watch them on television.

After a disappointing season in 1991–92, Galis was forced to leave Aris. The new management of the team, and the fact that the club was in decay, were the main causes for his departure. Galis, who adored Thessaloniki, had insisted on remaining in the club and playing for the team, as he believed that he still had a lot to offer.

Panathinaikos

Galis moved to Athens in the summer of 1992, to play with Panathinaikos, and he was the player who then led the "Greens" to a club rebirth, after it had suffered through a long drought period, during which the historical team remained without titles. The previous season (1991–92) had been particularly disappointing for the club, with the team finishing eighth in the Greek league. As the team's captain, Galis inspired the young players of Panathinaikos, such as Fragiskos Alvertis and Nikos Oikonomou, and gradually brought back hope to the team's fans. So much so, as to the point that the club's then home arena, Glyfada Indoor Hall, was always overcrowded. In that season (1992–93), Panathinaikos finished second in the Greek league, and won the Greek Cup, which was the seventh Greek Cup title for Galis.

The following season (1993–94), Galis was the FIBA European League Top Scorer (averaging 23.8 points per game in 21 games) and passer (4.7 assists per game, in 21 games). In the decisive game 3 of the EuroLeague quarterfinals, against the reigning FIBA European League champions, Limoges, Galis truly led Panathinaikos into a new club era, with their qualification to the 1994 FIBA European League Final Four, by scoring 30 points on 75% field goal shooting in the game. The "Greens" eventually finished in 3rd place in the FIBA European League that season, after losing in the semifinal, but it was still a success they had never reached before. Galis scored 30 points in the third place game against FC Barcelona, leading all scorers in the game.

In his third season in Panthinaikos (1994–95), Galis teamed up with Panagiotis Giannakis and Žarko Paspalj, to make a strong effort to win the FIBA European League. Galis was the player who led Panathinaikos to the Top 16 group, as he prevented the elimination of Panathinaikos by Budivelnik Kiev, with a team-high 23 points in the decisive second-leg victory. He was also the leader of the team in the Greek Cup win against Olympiacos, at Sporting Sports Arena. But Galis' career controversially ended on October 18, 1994, a few games after the start of the Greek League 1994–95 season. Kostas Politis, Panathinaikos' coach at the time, chose not to include Galis in the starting line-up of a Greek League game against Ambelokipi. Galis left the court, and never again returned to action. His last game in professional basketball, was as a player of Panathinaikos, in a game against AO Dafni, on October 12, 1994. In the game, Galis scored 8 points in 35 minutes of playing time, as his team won in a blowout, 82–60.

Greek League season by season scoring stats

Greek National Team

Galis averaged 33.3 points per game at the EuroBasket 1983, 33.5 points per game at the 1986 FIBA World Championship, 37.0 points per game at the EuroBasket 1987, 35.6 points per game at the EuroBasket 1989, and 32.4 points per game at the EuroBasket 1991.

Player profile

It has been noted that Galis was not only a legendary scorer, but that he was also a great play maker and passer. The majority of his points scored came inside the paint, due to his penetrating ability. Galis' mid-range jumper was one of his biggest offensive weapons, being able to consistently pull it off under pressure. His post game was excellent, as he used his strength and leaping ability to counter his lack of height. Another enormous competitive advantage that Galis possessed was his incredible stamina, which was due to his exemplary physical condition. This led to his being given the nickname of "Iron Man". At the EuroBasket 1987, he was never once substituted out of any game after the second day of the competition, completing 7 games in 9 days.

Retirement

Since his official retirement on September 29, 1995, and up until early 2006, Galis was the owner of a summer basketball camp in Chalkidiki, Greece. The basketball camp is listed at the Athens Stock Exchange. As a token of appreciation for his contribution to Greek sport, Galis was chosen to be the first torch bearer in the final round of the Olympic Flame, for the Athens 2004 Olympics. Galis entered the stadium at the conclusion of the Opening Ceremony, and set off the procession of the flame to the altar.

In September 2007, Galis was elected as a member of the first class of the FIBA Hall of Fame, which includes the best basketball players in the history of the game internationally. Galis was inducted as a player. Bill Russell of the famous Boston Celtics dynasty was another one of the 16 inaugural player inductees. Galis is also a member of the Eurobasket.com website's Greek Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted as a player. Galis is married to Eleni Panagiotou, and he has one daughter, named Stella.

In May 2013, his former club team Aris, renamed their home arena to Nick Galis Hall, organized a celebration of Galis' life and career, and retired his number 6 Aris jersey. The event was attended by many of his teammates and opponents from the 1980s and 1990s. Attendees included Greek legends such as the majority of the 1987 EuroBasket gold medal winning team, as well as international stars who played against Galis over the years, such as Dino Rađja, Jordi Villacampa, and Doron Jamchi.

On April 1st 2017, it was announced that Galis will be inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2017 class.

Quotes about Galis

"If I'm the devil's son, then Galis is the devil himself.", Dražen Petrović

"If Galis wants to score, he will score no matter who's defending him.", Arvydas Sabonis

"I never thought that there was such a good offensive player in Europe, and especially in Greece.", Michael Jordan

"Although Drazen (i.e. Petrović) is my brother, for the best athlete of 1987, I voted for Galis."', Aco Petrović

"I had given specific instructions on how to defend against the other 4 players. As for Nikos, we just had to sit down and pray!", Vojcek Kricovski, CSKA Moscow coach.

"There is only one way I can think of to stop Nikos from scoring! Lock him up in the hotel!", Roud Harevain, Maccabi Tel-Aviv head coach.

Awards and accomplishments

Galis won numerous titles and awards during his career and had many memorable single game performances. The following are some of them:

College

Pro career

Titles:

Personal awards and achievements:

Greek National Team