Antonis Fotsis (alternate spelling: Antonios, Greek: Αντώνης Φώτσης; born April 1 or 2, 1981) is a Greek professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for Ilysiakos. He was also the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Greece men's national basketball team. He is a tall power forward, sometimes as a small ball center, or even as a

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

, if needed.

Professional career

Europe

Born in Maroussi,

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Fotsis began his career as one of the biggest European prospects. Fotsis began his professional career in 1996, with the Greek League club Ilysiakos. He quickly earned a reputation as a very talented young player when playing in the club's senior team. He then transferred to the Greek club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

(PAO) in 1997, just at the age of sixteen. It is a fact of significant importance that he started his career as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

, and later moved to the

, and then power forward positions. Due to his early guard playing status, he was later always recognized as one of the best power forwards in Europe, regarding basketball technique. While being the most dominant-youth aged talent in Greece at the time, he twice participated in the Nike Hoop Summit All-World Team (1998, 1999). He got little playing time in his first 2 seasons with Panathinaikos, but he managed to become one of the team's key players during the 1999–00 season. With Panathinaikos, he won the EuroLeague championship that same season, while being barely nineteen. One year later, he became a starter on the Panathinaikos team that made it to the FIBA SuproLeague Finals.

NBA

Fotsis was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies (who were relocated to Memphis right after the draft) in the 2nd round (48th overall) of the

2001 NBA draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001 in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizards, ...

. In his one and only season in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, he appeared in 28 games for the Grizzlies during the

2001–02 NBA season The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their third straight championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the 2002 NBA Finals. Notable occurre ...

, averaging 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He scored a career high 21 points against the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

on January 19, 2002. His final NBA game was on April 17th, 2002 in a 94 - 109 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics where he recorded 10 points and 6 rebounds.

Return to Europe

After spending the 2001–02 season in the

with the Memphis Grizzlies, he returned to Panathinaikos for the 2002–03 season, and became one of the team's leaders, while scoring an average of 14.5 points per game in EuroLeague. With PAO, he won both the Greek Cup and the Greek League championship that year. In 2003, he moved to the Spanish League club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. With Real Madrid, he was one of the key contributors on the teams that made it to the EuroCup Finals in 2004, and won the Spanish League championship in 2005. In 2005, he then transferred to the

Russian Superleague The Russian Superleague (russian: Чемпионат России Суперлига, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was consi ...

club

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

. With Dynamo Moscow, Fotsis was one of the two leaders of the Russian team, along with fellow Greek player

Lazaros Papadopoulos Lazaros Papadopoulos (Greek: Λάζαρος Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 June 1980) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He was listed at 7 ft (2.13 m) 265 lbs (120 kg), and he played the center position. During hi ...

. Fotsis won the EuroCup championship in 2006 with Dynamo. One year later, he reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals with Dynamo, where his team lost to Panathinaikos. On March 21, 2007, in a winner-take-all EuroLeague 2006–07 season showdown with

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

power Benetton Treviso, for second place in their Top 16 group, and a place in the quarterfinals, Fotsis scored 22 points, and set a single-game EuroLeague post year 2000 record with 24 rebounds, helping Dynamo score a 68-65 overtime win. In 2008, he returned to Panathinaikos. It was his second return to the club, and he was in the starting lineup for the team, as they won the coveted Triple Crown during the 2008–09 season. Fotsis was a key contributor to the Triple Crown winners, with his good defensive play and clutch baskets. He also played more minutes than any other "Greens" player in the

2009 Euroleague Final Four The 2009 Euroleague Final Four was the concluding Euroleague Final Four tournament of the 2008–09 Euroleague season. It was held on May, 2009. All of the games were held at the O2 World, in Berlin Germany. Panathinaikos won the title, which w ...

. In the 2009–10 season, Panathinaikos again won the Greek League championship. That same season, Fotsis was named the Greek League MVP for the month of April. He played more minutes than any other "Greens" player in the EuroLeague that season, showing his defensive skills as well. In July 2011, he signed with Olimpia Milano of the

, for two seasons. On July 2, 2013,

announced that they had signed Fotsis for three seasons. In 2016, Fotsis signed a new two-year contract with Panathinaikos. On July 25, 2017, he parted ways with Panathinaikos. In August 2017, he announced his return to Ilysiakos, the first team of his professional career back in 1996.

National team career

With the junior national team of Greece, Fotsis won the bronze medal at the

1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is sit ...

. He played with the senior men's Greece men's national basketball team at the EuroBasket 2003, and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. He was also a member of the Greek men's national teams that won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 2005 and the silver medal at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. He also played at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, and he became the

of Greece's senior national team before the EuroBasket 2009 tournament, where Greece won the bronze medal. He was also a member of the Greek men's national teams that played at the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

, the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

, the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the EuroBasket 2013. He is the 7th all-time leading scorer of the Greek senior men's national team, with 1,734 points scored in his career (9.4 points per game).

Personal life

Fotsis has had the nickname of "

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

" since his adolescent years, when his teammates in the Greek junior national teams named him after the well-known comic-strip figure, because of his ability at that age to be an overwhelmingly gliding presence above the basketball rim. In his prime, Fotsis was a good shot blocker, a capable offensive rebounder, and an excellent 3-point shooter, especially for a power forward. He was also very physical on the defensive end of the court, thanks to his athleticism. He also holds Turkish citizenship.Fotsis became Turkish citizen.
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Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 15 , , 28.2 , , .510 , , .467 , , .885 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , 14.4 , , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, 16 , , 6 , , 19.0 , , .460 , , .364 , , .649 , , 3.6 , , .5 , , .6 , , .5 , , 7.3 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 22 , , 30.5 , , .483 , , .443 , , .847 , , 7.0 , , .7 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 13.8 , , 17.2 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2008–09† , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 22 , , 9 , , 23.9 , , .509 , , .433 , , .714 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , .8 , , .6 , , 7.2 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 16 , , 13 , , 23.3 , , .507 , , .313 , , .826 , , 5.5 , , .6 , , .4 , , .7 , , 6.2 , , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

† , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 22 , , 16 , , 24.2 , , .530 , , .380 , , .647 , , 5.1 , , .8 , , .8 , , .7 , , 8.4 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Olimpia Milano , 16 , , 15 , , 24.4 , , .471 , , .362 , , .737 , , 4.9 , , .9 , , .6 , , .4 , , 8.4 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Olimpia Milano , 10 , , 10 , , 25.4 , , .429 , , .415 , , 1.000 , , 4.2 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.5 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 29 , , 12 , , 23.4 , , .413 , , .358 , , .793 , , 4.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.0 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 27 , , 11 , , 23.5 , , .563 , , .506 , , .733 , , 4.1 , , .8 , , .4 , , .2 , , 7.7 , , 9.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 26 , , 1 , , 16.3 , , .563 , , .403 , , .75 , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .6 , , .1 , , 4.8 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , 24 , , 4 , , 12.5 , , .533 , , .323 , , .80 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , 2.1 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 200 , , 129 , , 24.6 , , .491 , , .413 , , .778 , , 4.9 , , .8 , , .7 , , .5 , , 8.7 , , 10.7

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;", Memphis , 28 , , 1 , , 11.4 , , .404 , , .304 , , .850 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .4 , , 3.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 28 , , 1 , , 11.4 , , .404 , , .304 , , .850 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .4 , , 3.9

Awards and accomplishments

Club career

* 3× EuroLeague

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

: (2000, 2009, 2011) * 10× Greek League Champion: (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2017) * 6× Greek Cup Winner: (2003, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

) * Triple Crown Champion: (2009) * Spanish League Champion: (2005) * ULEB Cup Champion: (2006)

Individual

*2× Nike Hoop Summit All-World Team: (1998, 1999) * Greek League Best Young Player: (2001) *Holds the Euroleague Basketball Company era Single Game Rebounding Record: (24) ( only counts games played since the 2000–01 season) *4× EuroLeague Player of the Week * EuroLeague 2001–10 All-Decade Nominee: (2010) *6× Greek League All-Star: (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014) *Greek League All-Star Game MVP: (2011) *

Eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

: All-Greek A1 Forward of the Year: (2011) * Italian League All-Star Game: (2012)

Greek junior national team

Greek senior national team

* EuroBasket 2005: *

2006 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

: *

: * EuroBasket 2009: *9×

Acropolis Tournament The Acropolis International Basketball Tournament (also known as the Acropolis of Athens Basketball Tournament and the Acropolis Basketball Cup) (Greek: Τουρνουά Ακρόπολις) is an international basketball competition that is playe ...

Champion: (2002, 2003, 2005,

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

) *3× Acropolis Tournament MVP: (2002, 2008, 2011)