Iraklis B.C. is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

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 (appro ...

club based in the city of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Created in 1921, it serves as the professional men's

department of the multi–sport club of G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis. The club's colors are

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, inspired by the

flag of Greece The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the Blue-and-White (, ) or the Cyan-and-White (, ), is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has 5 equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white. There ...

. They play their home matches at Ivanofeio Sports Arena. As of 2025, the club competes in the first–tier level

Greek Basketball League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Basketball Associat ...

. Iraklis Thessaloniki won the Greek National Championship in 1928 and 1935, and has also reached the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

final three times. Some of the greatest players in Greek, European and worldwide basketball have played for Iraklis Thessaloniki over the years including:

Lefteris Kakiousis Lefteris Kakiousis (alternate spelling: Eleftherios) (; born 7 June 1968 in Thessaloniki, Greece) is a Greek former professional basketball player and coach. During his playing career, he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. ...

Jure Zdovc Jurij "Jure" Zdovc (born 13 December 1966) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player and coach. He was most recently the head coach of Bursaspor of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). As a player, he was a tall point guard, who ...

, James Donaldson, David Ancrum, Walter Berry,

Xavier McDaniel Xavier Maurice McDaniel (born June 4, 1963), nicknamed "X-Man", is an American former professional basketball player who, at 6 ft 7 in, played both small forward and power forward. He played college basketball for the Wichita State Sh ...

Roy Tarpley Roy James Tarpley Jr. (November 28, 1964 – January 9, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions in the National Basketball Association (NBA), earning an NBA Sixth Man of the Year Awa ...

, Nikos Chatzivrettas, Vasily Karasev, Lazaros Papadopoulos,

Dimitris Diamantidis Dimitrios 'Dimitris' Diamantidis ( ; born 6 May 1980) is a retired Greek professional basketball player, who spent the last twelve seasons of his EuroLeague career with Panathinaikos BC, Panathinaikos. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Europ ...

and

Sofoklis Schortsanitis Sofoklis Schortsanitis ( Greek: Σοφοκλής Σχορτσανίτης; born 22 June 1985) is a Cameroonian-Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian. An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the Eu ...

History

The parent sporting club of G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded in 1908, and initially featured

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. The club was named after

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

(or

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

), the

mythical Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

Greek

demigod A demigod is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" (divine illumination). An immortality, immor ...

. The basketball team of Iraklis was established in 1921. Iraklis won the inaugural Greek League championship in 1928. To win the championship, Iraklis had to eliminate

A.E.K. A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Established ...

and

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

, before beating V.A.O. in the championship game. The team won its second Greek championship in 1935. Also in the team's history, three times Iraklis finished in second place in the Greek Championship (1936, 1962, and 1964), three times Iraklis has been a

Finalist (1981, 1994, and 1996), and two times Iraklis made it to the semifinals of the European 2nd-tier level league

Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

. Iraklis reached the semifinals of the

1994–95 FIBA European Cup The 1994–95 FIBA European Cup was the twenty-ninth edition of FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. ...

, where they competed against Taugrés. Iraklis won the first game 79–78, but lost the next two games, to be eliminated 2–1 in a best of three series. In 1996, an Iraklis team led by former N.B.A. players

and

, reached the

Final Four. By beating Apollon Patra in the semifinal, Iraklis reached the final, where it then lost 85–74 to Panathinaikos. Iraklis has also twice competed in the top European continental competitions. The club played in the European top-tier level European Champions Cup in the 1995–96 season, and also competed in the

FIBA SuproLeague The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, o ...

during the 2000–01 season. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Iraklis was

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

to the

Greek A2 Basket League The Greek A2 Basket League (), is a professional basketball league in Greece. It is the 2nd-tier level of pro competition, among clubs in the country. It is organized by the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E.O.K.). The league is also known as th ...

, after finishing 13th in the first-tier Greek League. In 2010, after four seasons in the second-tier level Greek League, the team was promoted back up to the top-tier Greek Basket League. After one season in the Greek top-tier level, Iraklis was again relegated down to the A2, with two matches left in the season. At the end of the season, Iraklis chose to play in the third-tier level of Greek basketball, the

Greek B Basket League The Greek B Basket League, or Greek B Basketball League (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνική Β Μπασκετ Λιγκ), is a national basketball league in Greece. It is the Greek basketball league system, 3rd-tier level of the basketball leag ...

, in order to clear its debts. The club was promoted to the

in 2013, after finishing 2nd in its group, and after

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a city and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 133,630 inhabitants (2021 census), ...

failed to receive financial clearance to participate in the league. In the 2018–19 season, Iraklis won the promotion playoffs of the Greek A2 League, and was promoted up to the top level

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

, for the first time in 8 years. During the 2019–20 season, Iraklis is taking part in the

organized by the

Hellenic Basketball Federation The Hellenic Basketball Federation (abbreviated HBF; , abbreviated as Ε.Ο.Κ.,) is the main basketball governing body for the sport in Greece. It directs and oversees all of the national basketball teams of Greece, including both the junior a ...

. The season started in October 2019 and was scheduled to end in June 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the championship was terminated earlier. Iraklis took the 7th place with 29 points, having 9 wins and 11 losses in a total of 20 games. In the 2020–21 season, Iraklis returned to European competitions, taking part in the qualifying round of the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

and later on in the 2020–21

FIBA Europe Cup The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA Europe's second level competition. Clubs mainly qualify based on their performance in national leagues an ...

where the club reached the Top16 round having 3 wins and 1 loss. In the 2020–21 season Iraklis took the 10th place with 29 points, having 7 wins and 15 losses in a total of 22 games.

Honours and titles

European competitions

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against eac ...

: Semifinalists (2): 1994–95, 1996–97

Domestic competitions

* Greek League : Champions (2): 1927–28, 1934–35 : Runners-up (3): 1935–36, 1961–62, 1963–64 *

: Runners-up (3): 1980–81, 1993–94, 1995–96 * Greek Second Division : Champions (2): 1974–75, 1977–78

Home arena

In earlier times, Iraklis played its home games at the

Thessaloniki Forum The Thessaloniki Forum (Greek language, Greek: Φόρουμ Θεσσαλονίκης) was an indoor arena, indoor sports arena that was located near the center of the city of Thessaloniki, in Greece. The venue was used to host basketball games, h ...

. Iraklis currently plays its home games in the Ivanofeio Sports Arena, an arena with a seating capacity of 2,221. The arena opened in 1987, and it was expanded to its current capacity in 1991. Ivanofeio is situated in the

city center, and it is owned by the G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki multi-sport club.

Supporters

The most prominent supporters' club of the team is ''Aftonomi Thira 10'' (meaning Autonomous Gate 10), a fan club with a total of 15 branches in Northern Greece. The fan club is known for holding an antiracist stance, as it participates in the ''Ultras Antiracist Festival''. Other activities of the fan club include the publication of a magazine, and the conducting of an annual festival. Other minor supporters' clubs are ''SFISE'', ''Blue Boys'', ''A.P.A.T.S.I.'', and ''Iraklis Fan Club of Athens''. In a 2013 opinion poll, Iraklis was ranked as the 6th most popular basketball club in Greece, gathering 2.8% of the participating supporters' votes.

Players

Current roster

Depth chart

Notable players

* David Ancrum (1987–92) * Vangelis Angelou (1995–96) * Walter Berry (1994–95) * Roderick Blakney (2001–02) *

Steve Burtt Sr. Steven Dwayne Burtt (born November 5, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. The 6'2" point guard played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) sporadically from 1984 until 1993. He also had an established playing caree ...

(1995) *

Steve Bucknall Steven Lee Bucknall (born 17 March 1966) is a retired English professional basketball player, and former head coach of British Basketball League (BBL) expansion franchise London Capital. A and shooting guard, Bucknall was the third English ...

(1996–98, 2002–04) * Nikos Chatzivrettas (1997–02) *

(1999–04) * Byron Dinkins (1998–00) * Mike DiNunno (2015–16) * James Donaldson (1993–94) *

Toney Douglas Toney Bernard Douglas (born March 16, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for FC Porto of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol. He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers for one year, eventually becoming frustrated with his ...

(2021–22) * Justin Hamilton (2004–05) *

Olivier Hanlan Olivier Zacharie Hanlan (born February 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional basketball for Türk Telekom of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the Boston College Eagles of the NCAA and was the first player for Bosto ...

(2019–21) * Savvas Iliadis (2002–05, 2011) *

Buck Johnson Alphonso "Buck" Johnson Jr. (born January 3, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. Johnson, a 6'7" small forward, played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and Washington Bu ...

(1998–00) *

(1987–97) * Dimitris Kalaitzidis (2002–05, 2016–20) * Georgios Karagkoutis (2000–02) * Vasily Karasev (2000–01) * Takis Karatzoulidis (1971–85) *

Manthos Katsoulis Mathaios "Manthos" Katsoulis (; born 20 July 1956) is a Greek former professional basketball player. College career Katsoulis played college basketball at McGill University, with the McGill Redmen (1982–1983). Professional career Katsoulis b ...

(1990–93) *

Vassilis Kavvadas Vassilis Kavvadas (alternate spellings: Vasilis, Vasileios) (Greek: Βασίλης Καββαδάς; born December 28, 1991) is a Greek professional basketball player for Iraklis of the Greek Basketball League. He is 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) tall an ...

(2019–21) * Mike King (2006) *

(1995–96) *

Erik Meek Erik Joal Meek (born January 17, 1973)
''www.dukeupdate.com.'' Retrieved May 12, 2013. is an American former professio ...

(1996–97, 2001–02) * Igor Milošević (2003–05) * Aristeidis Moumoglou (1960–67, 1970–72) * Dimitris Papadopoulos (1985–94, 1996–97) * Lazaros Papadopoulos (1996–01, 2003–04) * Smush Parker (2011) *

Michalis Polytarchou Michalis Polytarchou (Greek: Μιχάλης Πολυτάρχου; born June 23, 1983) is a Greek professional basketball player who plays for Dafni Dafniou of the National League 2. He is a 1.90 m (6' 2 ") tall shooting guard. Professional ca ...

(2018–19) * Vladimir Petrović-Stergiou (2009–11) * Sotiris Sakellariou (1971–84) *

(2000–03) * Charles Smith (1997) * Nikos Stavropoulos (1992–94) *

(1996) * Brooks Thompson (1997) * Christos Tsekos (1986–92) *

(1993–96) File:Papodopoulos.jpg, alt=Papadopoulos playing for Greece, Papadopoulos played a total of six seasons with Iraklis, in 1996–2001 and 2003–2004. File:Sofoklis Schortsanitis naional team (cropped).jpg, alt=Schortsanitis playing for Greece, Schortsanitis played with Iraklis, from 2000 to 2003. File:Diamantidis.jpg, alt=Diamantidis playing for Greece,

played with Iraklis, from 1999 to 2004.

Head coaches

References

External links

Official websites

* * * * * * {{Greek Basketball League Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. Basketball teams established in 1921 Basketball teams in Greece