Nikos Galis

Nikos Galis

Personal information
Born	(1957-07-23) July 23, 1957 (age 66) Union City, New Jersey, U.S.
Nationality	Greek
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school	Union Hill (Union City, New Jersey)
College	Seton Hall (1975–1979)
NBA draft	1979: 4th round, 68th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career	1979–1994
Position	Shooting guard
Number	6, 4, 7
Career history
1979–1992	Aris
1992–1994	Panathinaikos
Career highlights and awards
5× 1994 ) 2× 1991 I ) FIBA EuroLeague assists leader (1994) 101 Greats of European Basketball (2018) 8× Greek League champion (1983, 1985–1991) 7× Greek Cup winner (1985, 1987–1990, 1992, 1993) Greek Super Cup winner (1986) 5× Greek League MVP (1988–1992) 4× Greek League Finals MVP (1988–1991) 11× Greek League Top Scorer (1981–1991) 4× Greek League assists leader (1991–1994) 2× Greek All-Star (1991, 1994 I) 5× Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer (1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993) Greek Super Cup Finals Top Scorer (1986) Greek League Hall of Fame (2022) FIBA EuroBasket MVP (1987) 4× FIBA EuroBasket Top Scorer (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991) Euroscar Award (1987) Mr. Europa Award (1987) Mediterranean Player of the Year (1987) 3× Greek Athlete of the Year (1986, 1987, 1989) FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991) 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) No. 6 retired by Aris (2013) No. 4 retired by Greek national team (2023) ECAC Player of the Year (1979) Haggerty Award (1979)
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
FIBA Hall of Fame as player
Medals Event 1st 2nd 3rd FIBA EuroBasket 1 1 0 Balkan Championship 1 0 1 Total 2 1 1 Men's Basketball Representing  Greece EuroBasket 1987 Greece 1989 Yugoslavia Balkan Championship 1986 Bulgaria 1984 Greece

Nikolaos Georgalis (

Galis was born in Union City, New Jersey. The child of a poor immigrant family, from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Nisyros, Galis took up boxing in his early years, after his father, George Georgalis, who had also been a boxer in his youth. He was later persuaded to give up boxing by his mother, Stella Georgalis, who was terrified after each time that her son would return home from boxing training with a new facial injury. As a result, Galis started playing the sport of basketball instead of boxing. He attended Union Hill High School, in Union City, where he played high school basketball for legendary coach William J. McKeever,^[13][5] as well as American football.^[14]

College career

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 1978–79 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),^[15] including a 48-point outburst against the University of Santa Clara.^[16]

Also in his senior year of college, Galis won the Haggerty Award (the New York City metro area's best player award), and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year award. The same year, he also played in the Pizza Hut All-American game, alongside Bird and Vinnie Johnson.^[17] During his four-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.^[18]

Galis' head coach at Seton Hall,

College stats

^[18]

Professional career

Boston Celtics

After finishing his collegiate career in 1979, Galis signed with agent Bill Manon, who also managed

Galis was the indisputable leader of Aris Thessaloniki, as he averaged more than 30 points per game in nearly every season and competition that he played in with the team. With Aris Thessaloniki, he played alongside other great European players like Panagiotis Giannakis and Slobodan Subotić, who was known in Greece as Lefteris Soumpotits. With Aris Thessaloniki, Galis won eight Greek League championships, in the years 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991. He won seven out of his eight Greek League championships in consecutive years, with three of those championships being won in undefeated seasons. He also won six Greek Cup titles with Aris Thessaloniki, in the years 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1992. Four of his six Greek Cup titles were won in consecutive years.

In the top-level European-wide club competition, the

On 19 December 1991, in one of his final FIBA EuroLeague games with Aris Thessaloniki, Galis rolled back the clock. At the age of 34, he scored 46 points, on 13/20 field goals overall, 8/14 2-point field goals, 5/6 3-point field goals, and 15/18 free throws, in a 111–108 loss against the Italian League club Olimpia Milano.^[26] However, Aris Thessaloniki's 1991–92 FIBA EuroLeague season was a disappointment, as the club finished group stage play with a record of 3–11.

Also in that same 1991–92 season, in a Greek League game against

Eventually, the 1991–92 season ended up being Galis' final campaign with Aris Thessaloniki. At the time, the team was under new management and was trying to bring down the club's debts. That combined with Galis' huge salary at the time and the fact that the team was in a period of decline, were the main reasons for his departure. Galis, who adored the city of Thessaloniki and Aris' fans, had originally insisted on remaining with the club and playing for the team, as he believed that he still had a lot to offer. Ultimately however, Galis was forced to leave the club.^[27] In his last game for the club, Galis scored 18 points (6/9, 6/9, 0/2) as Aris beat AEK 74–62 to win yet another Greek Cup title in 1992.

Panathinaikos Athens

Galis moved to

However, it was still the furthest that the club had reached in the competition since the 1971–72 season. Galis scored 30 points in Panathinaikos Athens' win in the Final Four's third place game against the Spanish League club FC Barcelona, as he led all scorers in the game, with 30 points. Galis was named to the All-Final Four Team.

In what proved to be one of his final games for Panathinaikos, during the 3rd/4th place playoff series against Panionios in May 1994, Galis went scoreless in a game for the first time in his professional career in Greece, ending game 2 (which Panathinaikos lost 93–71) with 0/4 two-point shots from 29 minutes' play. Galis rallied to score 18 and 22 points in games 3 and 4, both of which Panathinaikos won to seal 3rd spot and a place in the FIBA European League for the following season.

In his third season with Panthinaikos Athens (

At the age of 37, Galis played in his last game in professional basketball, as a player of Panathinaikos Athens, on October 12, 1994. It was in a game against Dafni Athens, in Week 1 of the Greek League's 1994–95 season. In that game, Galis scored a total of 8 points (2/2, 3/3), in 35 minutes of playing time. Panathinaikos Athens won the game in a blowout, by a score of 82–60.

Galis' playing career then ended controversially, on October 18, 1994,^[28] before Panathinaikos Athens' Week 2 game of the Greek League's 1994–95 season. Kostas Politis, who was the head coach of Panathinaikos Athens at the time, decided not to include Galis in the team's starting line-up of that Greek League game versus Ampelokipoi Athens. In protest against the head coach's decision, Galis left the arena, and ultimately, he never returned to playing action again.^[29] His retirement was officially announced in the media, on September 29, 1995.

During his pro club basketball career, Galis scored a total of 12,864 points, in 384 Greek Basket League games played, for a career scoring average of 33.5 points per game. In the 55 career Greek Cup games in which he played, he scored a total of 1,935 points, for a career scoring average of 35.2 points per game. He also averaged 42.5 points per game, in the two Greek Super Cup games that he played in. He scored a total of 864 points, in 23 FIBA Korać Cup games, for a career scoring average of 37.6 points per game. In the FIBA EuroLeague, he scored a total of 4,047 points, in 125 games played, for a career scoring average of 32.4 points per game. Overall, in all of the pro club competitions that he played in, Galis scored a total of 19,795 points, in 589 games played, for a pro club career scoring average of 33.6 points per game.

Career pro club statistics

^[30][31][32]

Greek League season by season scoring stats

• (Regular season and postseason)

^[35][36]

Season by season scoring stats in European-wide leagues

National team career

Galis first played with the

[31]

Galis' top 10 scoring FIBA games

^[31]

Highest scoring single games by competition

Player profile

Galis was not only a legendary scorer, he was also a great play maker and passer. The majority of his points scored came inside the paint area, due to his penetrating ability.

Sources:[48] ^[49]

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

"I've seen Galis do things, that I've seen neither Lakers nor Celtics do." — Bob McAdoo

"I admire him. When he plays one on one, there's no way to stop him. I didn't think that there would ever be a player, who by himself, could cause nightmares and even beat the Soviet Union." — Sergei Belov

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

"If I'm The Son of the Devil, then Galis is The Devil himself." — Dražen Petrović

'"I'd like to be on the same team with him, so I could pass to him, and then watch him score a basket." — Dražen Petrović

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

"Galis is a great player. He is one of the best European players. He was a really tough opponent, he floated in the air, he was one of the best." —

"Petrović and Galis were the most charismatic players I've ever known. Galis is the only player who made me shudder." — Doron Jamchi

"Everyone who plays basketball, owes Galis money." — Fanis Christodoulou

"If we played together, we would have scored 300 points in every game!" — Vassilis Goumas

"The man is a computer! If he had played with us in

"I've seen many players in my career, but what Galis does on the floor, only 2–3 in the world can do." — Audie Norris

"Who wouldn't want to play with Galis? I would definitely give the ball to Galis on the last play. Galis changed basketball in Greece and Europe." — Audie Norris

"Galis wasn't affected by anything. I count him among the five best players of Europe." —

"In Greece, Galis is what Michael Jordan is in America." — Steve Giatzoglou

"Galis is the player of the 21st century." — Alexander Gomelsky, USSR head coach.

"I had nightmares of Galis all night." —

head coach.

"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!" — Wojciech Krajewski, Lech Poznan head coach.

"There is only one way I can think of to stop Nikos from scoring. Lock him up in his hotel room, so that he can't come to the arena." —

Dutch national team head coach.^[50]

Awards and accomplishments

[51]^[52][53]
Galis won numerous titles and awards during his career and had many memorable single game performances. The following are some of them:

College

• Haggerty Award (New York Metro Area Player of the Year): 1979
• ECAC Player of the Year: 1979^[54]
• Member of the
  Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame: 1991^[55]

Pro career

Titles:

• 8× Greek League Champion: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
• 7× Greek Cup Winner: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993
• Greek Super Cup Winner: 1986
  (In total, he won 16 trophies in his pro club career as a player.)

Personal awards and achievements:

• 11×
  Greek League Top Scorer
  : 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
• Greek Super Cup Finals Top Scorer: 1986
• 3×
  Greek Male Athlete of the Year
  : 1986, 1987, 1989
• 5×
  Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer
  : 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993
• 4× Greek League Finals MVP: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
• 2×
  1991 I
• Mediterranean Player of the Year: 1987
• Euroscar European Player of the Year: 1987
• Mr. Europa European Player of the Year: 1987
• L'Équipe Champion of Champions' 10th Best Athlete in the World: 1987
• 5×
  FIBA EuroLeague Top Scorer: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994
• 5× Greek League MVP: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
• 4×
  Greek League Assist Leader
  : 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
• 2×
  Greek League All-Star
  (1991, 1994 I)
• 1994
• FIBA EuroLeague All-Final Four Team: (1994
  )
• EuroLeague Final Four all-time career scoring leader: 231 points (28.9 points per game).
• Greek Championship (amateur era) all-time career scoring leader: 12,864 points (33.5 points per game) – Vassilis Spanoulis is the league's professional era all-time career scoring leader.
• Greek Cup all-time career scoring leader: 1,935 points (35.2 points per game).
• FIBA's 50 Greatest Players: 1991
• Member of the
  FIBA Hall of Fame
  : 2007
• 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors
  : 2008
• No. 6 jersey retired by Aris: 2013
• Member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: 2017
• 101 Greats of European Basketball: 2018
• HoopsHype's 75 Greatest International Players Ever: 2021^[56]
• Greek Basket League Hall of Fame: 2022
• Along with
  Aris Thessaloniki to an 80-game winning streak in the Greek League
  , in the 1980s.
• His personal career single-game scoring high in a Greek League game was 62 points, which was achieved in a game on 24 January 1981, during the 1980–81 season (
  Ionikos Nikaias). However, in the same game, Ionikos' superstar, Panagiotis Giannakis
  , who would later go on to become Galis' teammate on Aris, scored 73 points.
• His personal career single-game scoring high in the
  Panellinios Athens
  , in the 1987 Greek Cup Final (15 April 1987).
• His personal career single-game scoring high in a European-wide continental club competition was 56 points against Vasas (5 November 1980), during the 1980–81 season of the FIBA Korać Cup.
• His personal career single-game scoring high in the
  Oostende in 1986–87 (2 October 1986). He also scored 52 points versus Lech Poznań in 1989–90
  (7 December 1989).
• In 1993, while playing in the Greek League with
  Aris Thessaloniki, he had a game for the ages. In the game, Galis made all 13 of his field goal attempts
  .
• 4,047 points scored in 125
  FIBA EuroLeague games played (32.4 points per game), and 864 points scored in 23 FIBA Korać Cup
  games played (37.6 points per game).

Greece National Team

• 1983 EuroBasket: All-Tournament Team
• 1984 Balkan Championship:  Bronze
• Top Scorer (33.7 points per game
  )
• 1986 Balkan Championship:  Gold
• 1987 EuroBasket
  :  Gold
• 1989 EuroBasket
  :  Silver
• 1987 EuroBasket: Most Valuable Player
• 4×
  1991
• 4×
  1991
  (32.4 points per game)
• 2×
  1988
  (28.4 points per game)
• At the 1986 FIBA World Championship, he scored 53 points in a game against Panama.
• In the
  Soviet Union
  .
• In the
  Soviet Union
  .
• In 168 FIBA-recognized games played with the Greece men's national basketball team, he averaged 30.5 points per game.
• Greece men's national basketball team's 2nd all-time career scoring leader (behind Panagiotis Giannakis): 5,167 total points scored, in 169 total games played (30.6 points per game). However, only 5,129 points in 168 games (30.5 points per game), is officially recognized.^[43]
• Galis was the top scorer in every major European and world international competition that he participated in from 1983 onward: the
  1991 EuroBasket
  .
• His number 4 jersey of the
  retired by the decision of the Hellenic Basketball Federation.^[57]

See also

• Basketball in the United States
• FIBA Europe

Sources

• Nikos Galis FIBA Archive official website.
• Nikos Galis FIBA Europe official website.
• Arbel, Y. , "Iron Man Galis", November 08, 2006, FIBA Europe official website.
• Nikos Galis Hellenic Basketball Federation official website (in Greek).
• Eurobasket.com's HALL OF FAME.
• Rabotas, G. (2003). Nikos Galis, A Legend like I have known him. Athens: Psychogios.
  ISBN 960-87979-0-5
  .
• BASKET ARIS – Unofficial fan site dedicated to ARIS B.C.

Notes

1. ^ See^[5][6][7]

References

1. ^ Consulting, Fine Line Websites & IT. "The Draft Review". Retrieved 13 November 2018.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Nikos Galis, Greece – Player Profiles by Interbasket". www.interbasket.net. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
3. ^ Nikos Galis Aris
4. ^ "Iron Man Galis – FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
5. ^ ^{a b} Psarakis, Yannis, Fibaeurope.com, Nikos Galis – Europe's Greatest – Ever Scorer [1]
6. ^ "Nikos Gallis, a scoring machine". Retrieved 13 November 2018.
7. ^ "European Legends Pay Tribute To Galis – FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
8. ^ "FIBA Hall Of Fame Class of 2007". Archived from the original on 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
9. ^ "Euroleague official website, Experts decide European Club Basketball's 50 greatest contributors". 30 May 2023.
10. ^ "McGrady, Self, Lobo headline 2017 HOF class". April 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
11. ^ "FIBA.com, Greece-Nick Galis". Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
12. ^ Maguire, Ken, Nytimes.com, Basking in a Fonder Farewell, 19 Years Later [2]
13. ^ "William McKeever Obituary (1933 - 2018) - -, NJ - The Record/Herald News". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
14. ^ Νίκος Γκάλης | The Lost Tapes by Stoiximan (in Greek), retrieved 2022-09-02
15. ^ "Magic Keeps Bird In Hand". Sports Illustrated. 1980-03-13.
16. ^ "Cable Car Classic Records" (PDF). Retrieved 13 November 2018.
17. ^ "Galis and Larry Bird (Pizza Hut All American Game 1979)". Youtube. 2010-03-10. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
18. ^ ^{a b} "Nick Galis College Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
19. ^ "For 'insane' Nick Galis, journey to Naismith Hall of Fame took off at Seton Hall". Retrieved 13 November 2018.
20. NBA.com
    . Retrieved 13 November 2018.
21. ^ "Nikos Gallis, a scoring machine". Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
22. ^ "Νίκος Γκάλης, ο πρώην πυγμάχος που άλλαξε το μπάσκετ στην Ελλάδα. Γιατί το πρώτο δελτίο του αθλητή έγραφε Νικόλαος Γεωργαλής" (in Greek). December 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
23. ^ "Νίκος Γκάλης: Η "συγγνώμη" που του οφείλει η Ιστορία" (in Greek). Retrieved 30 June 2023.
24. ^ "Fiba official website, Tribute to Nikos Galis". Archived from the original on 2010-11-07. Retrieved 2010-10-13.
25. ^ "Top 5 Celtics That Never Were- #5: Nick Galis". www.celticslife.com. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
26. ^ ARIS BSA 108–111 ADECCO.
27. ^ Rabotas, G., Nikos Galis, p. 137
28. ^ Gazetta.gr Ήταν απλά ο καλύτερος (in Greek).
29. ^ Rabotas, G., Nikos Galis, p. 195
30. ^ "Nikos Galis – Europe's Greatest-ever Scorer – FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
31. ^ ^{a b c} "basket.gr Ονοματεπώνυμο: ΓΚΑΛΗΣ ΝΙΚΟΣ" (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2007-04-06. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
32. ^ "Νίκος Γκάλης". Retrieved 13 November 2018.
33. ^ 2 Δεκεμβρίου 1979: Το ντεμπούτο του Νίκου Γκαλη που με τους 25.995 πόντους του απογείωσε το ελληνικό μπάσκετ
34. ^ ^{a b c} "Nick Galis, ο μύθος! (video)" (in Greek). Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
35. ^ "sentragoal.gr Ο Γκάλης... κρατάει ακόμα!" (in Greek). Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
36. ^ sports.pathfinder.gr Ο Γκάλης και οι άλλοι (in Greek). Archived 2012-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
37. ^ "Nick Galis versus Michael Jordan – Eurohoops". 9 September 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
38. ^ NickGalis Archive (7 June 2016). "GREECE – NORTH CAROLINA (JORDAN vs GALIS, Oct. 20, 1983)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 13 November 2018 – via YouTube.
39. ^ FIBA Europe official website on EuroBasket 1989 FIBA Europe.com
40. ^ "Σελίδα Αθλητή". Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
41. ^ Nikos Galis in tears during his Greece jersey retirement ceremony.
42. ^ Hall of Famer Nikos Galis’ national team jersey retired.
43. ^ ^{a b c} "Σελίδα Αθλητή". Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
44. ^ "MOST POINTS SCORED". Retrieved 13 November 2018.
45. ^ ^{a b} Arbel, Y. ,"Iron Man Galis", November 08, 2006, FIBA Europe official website [3]
46. ^ "Official website of Galis's basketball camp". Archived from the original on 2006-09-04. Retrieved 2006-09-04.
47. NBA.com
    . Associated Press. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
48. ^ Νίκος Γκάλης: O Έλληνας Θεός γιορτάζει! (in Greek).
49. ^ Nick Galis, ο μύθος! (in Greek).
50. ^ "- eurobasket". Retrieved 13 November 2018.
51. ^ "Hellenic Basketball Federation official website". Archived from the original on 2007-04-06. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
52. ^ "Nikos Galis – Europe's Greatest-ever Scorer – FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
53. ^ "100 point scorers". www.luckyshow.org. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
54. ^ "Nicholas Galis (1991) - Hall of Fame - Seton Hall Athletics - SHUPirates.com". shupirates.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
55. ^ SETON HALL . Archived 2013-05-22 at the Wayback Machine
56. ^ 75 greatest international players ever: The HoopsHype list.
57. ^ "Hall of Famer Nikos Galis' national team jersey retired". Eurohoops. 2023-08-04. Retrieved 2023-08-04.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nikos Galis.

• Twitter Account (in Greek)
• NBA Draft Profile
• Nikos Galis FIBA Hall of Fame Profile
• Euroleague.net 50 Greatest Contributors
• FIBA Profile
• Galis FIBA Europe Profile
• Hellenic Basketball Federation Profile (in Greek)
• Interbasket.net Galis Profile
• FIBAEurope.com Galis Story
• Euroleague.net A scoring machine
• 101 Greats: Nikos Galis
• Τα “κανόνια” του ελληνικού Πρωταθλήματος: Νίκος Γκάλης (in Greek)
• Nick Galis Unofficial Website
• GrHomeBoy.com Galis Inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame
• Books.Google.com Seton Hall Pirates Nick Galis
• SHUPPirates.com Seton Hall – Galis