Vassilis "Billy" Spanoulis ( el, Βασίλης Σπανούλης; born 7 August 1982) is a Greek former 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 and current basketball coach for

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipali ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

and the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

. Spanoulis spent the majority of his playing career in the

, winning four titles as a member of

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 ...

and three titles as a member of

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. He also won three EuroLeague titles, one with the former club (2009) and two consecutive (2012 & 2013) with the latter. A tall

combo guard A combo guard is a basketball player who combines the attributes of a point guard (1) and shooting guard (2), but does not necessarily fit the standard description of either position. In men's basketball, such guards are usually within the 6' 3" ...

, he is nicknamed Kill Bill, V-Span, and MVP ("Most Vassilis Player"). Spanoulis was named the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Athlete of the Year in 2009,Reuters.com Spanoulis named Balkan athlete of the year.
/ref> the All-Europe Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013, the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

's World Athlete of the Year (

Giuseppe Sciacca Giuseppe Sciacca (born 23 February 1955) is the current Secretary of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura since his appointment by Pope Francis on July 16, 2016, replacing the retiring Archbishop Frans Daneels. Previously, he had ser ...

Award) in 2013 and the

EuroLeague MVP The EuroLeague MVP, or EuroLeague Full Season MVP, is the EuroLeague awards, award bestowed to the player that is deemed to be the "MVP, Most Valuable Player" during the full season of the EuroLeague. The EuroLeague is the European professi ...

the same year. He has earned a record eight All-EuroLeague Team selections and was voted the EuroLeague's 2010–2020 Player of the Decade.Spanoulis: He had twice as many votes as the second for the 10-year-old team of the EuroLeague!
/ref> He is also the EuroLeague's all-time career leader in total points scored.Euroleague.net, 2017-18 All-EuroLeague Second Team presented by 7DAYS.
/ref> Spanoulis first played pro

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

basketball with Gymnastikos S. Larissas, and enjoyed a highly successful career start. His skill-set earned him a transfer to

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 ...

and

Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was Athmon ...

, where he won the Greek Basket League's Best Young Player award in 2003. Following an impressive 2004–05 season, during which he helped lead Maroussi to the

's finals and the EuroCup quarterfinals, he moved to

, where he became one of European basketball's major stars. In the 2005–06 EuroLeague season, Spanoulis made his debut in impressive fashion, earning his first

All-EuroLeague Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

selection as a rookie in the competition. After a stint 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 ...

with the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

during the 2006–07 season, he returned to Panathinaikos and helped lead them to a EuroLeague title in

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 ...

, being voted the

EuroLeague Final Four MVP The EuroLeague Final Four Most Valuable Player Award is presented and awarded to the basketball player who has exhibited the most exceptional play during the EuroLeague Final Four. The award often goes to the best player on the European-wide top ...

in the process. Spanoulis' transfer to

from Panathinaikos in the summer of 2010 marked a new step in his career, given Olympiacos' feisty rivalry with Panathinaikos. Within a young and rebuilding Olympiacos team, Spanoulis not only led the club to a EuroLeague title run in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, but he also went on to lead the team to a historical EuroLeague championship repeat in

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 ...

. In the process, he gained another two EuroLeague Final Four MVP awards, thus joining

Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč, nicknamed ''“The Waiter”'' (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian-American former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful perio ...

as the only players in the history of European basketball to achieve that distinction on three occasions. Under his leadership, Olympiacos reached another two

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe. Title holders * ......1958 Rīgas ASK * 1958� ...

, in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and

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 ...

. In 2017, European basketball historian Vladimir Stanković, named Spanoulis the "Most Clutch Player in EuroLeague History".Vladimir Stankovic's list: Top 10 clutch players.
/ref> In 2020, Spanoulis was named the "Best EuroLeague Player of The 2010s Decade" by the readers of the website Eurohoops.net.The best of the decade according to Eurohoops readers BEST EUROLEAGUE PLAYER – VASSILIS SPANOULIS.
/ref> Spanoulis played an instrumental role on the gold medal win of the

Greece men's national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for ...

2005 EuroBasket The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...

. He was one of the main stars of Greece's

2006 FIBA World Cup 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 ...

silver medal team, scoring 22 points in the memorable victory over

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

(101–95), in the tournament's semifinals. It was however, Greece's bronze medal at the

2009 EuroBasket The 2009 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2009, was the 36th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September and concluded with the ...

, that emphasized Spanoulis' leadership within an injury-plagued Greece national team, and consequently earned him an

All-EuroBasket Team The FIBA EuroBasket All-Tournament Team is the FIBA Europe award that is bestowed upon the five best players of each FIBA EuroBasket tournament. Pau Gasol holds the record for most selections in the All-EuroBasket Team, with seven. FIBA Euro ...

honor.

Early life and career

Spanoulis was born in

Larissa, Greece Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

, on 7 August 1982. His father Thanasis Spanoulis, was the owner of a

drug store A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacis ...

, and his mother Georgia Spanouli, was a

bank clerk ''The Bank Clerk'' is a 1919 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. The film is considered to be lost. Cast * Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle * Molly Malone See also * List of American films of 1919 * Fatty Arbuckle fil ...

. Spanoulis was the couple's second and last child, being born three years after his older brother

Dimitris Dimitris (Δημήτρης) is the Modern Greek form of the older forms Demetrios, Dimitrios (Δημήτριος, usually Latinized as Demetrius) and may refer to: *Dimitris Arvanitis (born 1980), Greek professional football defender who plays for ...

. At the age of 7, Spanoulis began training in the sports of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, and

. As a youth, Spanoulis idolized the basketball players

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

and

Nikos Galis Nikolaos Georgalis ( el, Νικόλαος Γεωργαλής; born July 23, 1957), commonly known as either Nikos Galis ( el, Νίκος Γκάλης), or Nick Galis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. Galis, who during his playin ...

.Ο Νίκος Γκάλης για τον Σπανούλη στο SPORT 24: "Η προσαρμογή στην πραγματικότητα θα είναι πολύ ζόρικη" .
/ref> In 1994, at the age of 12, Spanoulis joined the youth basketball program of the multi-sports club Gymnastikos S. Larissas. Spanoulis' father Thanasis, died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, on 4 November 1997, when Spanoulis was 15 years old. In 1999, at the age of 16, Spanoulis won the 1998–99 season's national under-18 club championship of Greece. He led Keravnos Larissa, the youth basketball subsidiary of Gymnastikos S. Larissas, to the title of the Panhellenic Youth Championship. He was the championship's leading scorer, and

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. In the competition's semifinals, he scored 40 points against the youth team of

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

. In the competition's final, he led his team to a 64–61 victory over the youth team of

Olympiacos Piraeus Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

Professional career

Gymnastikos S. Larissas

Spanoulis played with the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

s of Gymnastikos and its subsidiary Keravnos, in

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

, in the Greek junior levels, from 1994 to 1999. He made his

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

debut in the year 1999, at the age of 17, with the senior club of Gymnastikos S. Larissas. In the two seasons of 1999–00 and 2000–01, he played in the 2nd-tier level Greek 2nd Division, with Gymnastikos.

Maroussi Athens

After playing with Gymnastikos S. Larissas, in the Greek 2nd Division, Spanoulis signed a four-year contract with

of the top-tier level

, the European-wide 3rd-tier level

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

, and later, the European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup. He played with Maroussi until 2005.

2001–02 season

During the 2001–02 season, Spanoulis helped to lead

to the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

Final. This was the first time the team had ever made it to the Greek Cup title game. Maroussi also competed in the European-wide 3rd-tier level

2001–02 season.

2002–03 season

Spanoulis was voted the

's Best Young Player, of the 2002–03 season.

2003–04 season

In the 2003–04 season, Spanoulis helped to lead

to the

Finals. He also helped lead Maroussi to the 2003–04 season's FIBA Europe League (later called

FIBA EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

) Final. In the FIBA Europe League, Spanoulis averaged 10.8 points per game, and 6.4 assists per game, off the bench for Maroussi. He also shot 40% from three-point range. He was also named the Greek League Most Improved Player that same season. Spanoulis was then drafted in the 2nd round, of the

2004 NBA draft The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...

, by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, following this sudden emergence. He also made it onto the

, at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.

2004–05 season

In the Greek Basket League 2004–05 season, his last season with

, Spanoulis averaged 15.9 points per game, and shot 37.8% from 3-point range, in 35 games played in the

competition. He then averaged 15.2 points per game, and shot 40.0% from 3-point range, in 12 games of play, in the European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup's 2004–05 season. For the year in total, Spanoulis averaged 15.7 points per game, and shot 38.3% from 3-point range, in 47 games played with Maroussi. He played in the 2005 Greek League All-Star Game, and was named to the Greek Basket League's Best Five Team. This was a breakthrough year for Vassilis, as he had averaged 11.1 points per game the previous season. He was considered to be one of the most improved players in Europe for the year. He helped to lead Maroussi to the 2nd place of the

, for the regular season. At the end of the year, Spanoulis was voted the European 6th Man of the Year, and Rookie of the Year in the EuroCup. He started being called, "The Greek

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

", by some European fans, after this season.

Panathinaikos Athens

2005–06 season

Following his outstanding season in 2004–05 with

, Spanoulis signed a 3-year contract worth

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

1.6 million

net income In business and accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest, a ...

, with EuroLeague powerhouse

Panathinaikos Athens 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 b ...

. Spanoulis and his agent,

Miško Ražnatović Miodrag "Miško" Ražnatović ( sr-cyr, Миодраг Мишко Ражнатовић; born September 16, 1966) is a Serbian lawyer and sports agent and former professional basketball player. He is the chairman, CEO, and founder of the BeoBas ...

,Spanoulis says he won't return to Rockets
Chron.com – Houston Chronicle. set the contract terms so that Spanoulis would have a buyout clause after just one year, and set the buyout amount at

US $ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

400,000. This was Spanoulis' first season playing at the highest European-wide professional club level. With Panathinaikos, in the Greek Basket League 2005–06 season, he won both the

championship and the

. His team went 24–2 during the Greek Basket League regular season, and 8–0 during the Greek League playoffs, for an overall record of 32–2 in the national domestic league championship, and also went undefeated in the Greek Cup, at 5–0, for an overall record of 37–2 in Greek competitions. He played in the 2006 Greek League All-Star Game, and was named to the Greek Basket League's Best Five Team. Spanoulis was also selected to the EuroLeague 2005–06 season's

All-EuroLeague The All-EuroLeague Team is an EuroLeague awards, award for European professional club basketball system, Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 se ...

Second Team. In 28.8 minutes per game of play, during the

2005–06 EuroLeague The 2005–06 Euroleague was the 6th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 49th season of the premier competition for European men's clubs ov ...

competition, Spanoulis averaged 14.6 points, 3.1 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals, in 23 games of EuroLeague play, with Panathinaikos Athens for the season. He also shot 61.8% in 2-point shooting, and 36.8% from 3-point range; 53.4% overall. He was the team's leading scorer, even though he often came off the bench. He won the

EuroLeague MVP of the Round The EuroLeague MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Round, previously known as the EuroLeague MVP of the Week, is an award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the best player of each round of the season. Eac ...

award twice during the season. In 2005–06, his team finished the EuroLeague with a record of 16–7. Spanoulis was also voted as the 7th best worldwide European player of the year (including

players) in 2006, by

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Euro ...

, in their

FIBA Europe Player of the Year The FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year Award was an annual official FIBA Europe award for the Player of the Year (POY), that was inaugurated in the year 2005, and bestowed until 2014. The winner was a basketball player who had European citizens ...

award voting.EUROLEAGUE AWARDS 2005–2006.
''euroleague.net''
''Fibaeurope.com'' Many fans in Europe began calling him, "Euro

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

", after such a dominant rookie season of EuroLeague.

Houston Rockets

On July 19, 2006, Spanoulis opted out of the final two years of his contract with Panathinaikos Athens, and signed a three-year deal (2 years guaranteed) with the

, who paid for his contract buyout from Panathinaikos. The contract was worth $5.832 million. His buyout from Panathinaikos was $400,000. The contract amount was for an average of $1.944 million per season. The Rockets had acquired the rights to Spanoulis on draft night (June 24, 2004), when Houston swapped draft pick #55 Luis Flores, and cash considerations of $300,000 with the

, for Spanoulis (pick #50).Guard Vassilis Spanoulis signs with Rockets.
July 20, 2006 "He's a very versatile ball handler," Rockets

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Carroll Dawson Carroll Dawson is an American former assistant coach and general manager in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He worked for the Houston Rockets franchise for 27 years before retiring in 2007. College playing career A native of Alba, Te ...

, said. "He's a good finisher and a very good prospect. He wants to be a great player. Everybody is going to like this young man because he is a very hard-nosed player. We have watched his progress very closely," Dawson said. "It's a big adjustment to come to the NBA from Europe, but he is a hard worker." Rockets

Director of Player Personnel,

Dennis Lindsey Dennis Lindsey is an American professional basketball executive. He currently holds an advisory role with the Utah Jazz. After holding the role of general manager from 2012 to 2019, Lindsey was then promoted to Executive Vice President of Basket ...

, stated the following about Spanoulis prior to the team signing him. "We're very, very happy with his progress," said Lindsey. "He changed clubs this year from

to the bigger club this year,

. For those not familiar with European basketball, they are like the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

and one of the two or three better organizations in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. They are an NBA level club. From our standpoint, we really like what Vassilis has done. He is their leading scorer. They are 9–1 in the EuroLeague and they have already qualified for the top sixteen." Lindsey praised Spanoulis' offensive ability. "He's got a couple of characteristics that we like," added Lindsey. "He can really drive and get the ball in the paint, and he's relentless with it. He kind of plays basketball like a fullback a little bit, where he just kind of breaks through the line and there's contact on a lot of plays." "The

owner Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...

and

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes * ...

and Carroll really like what they've seen so far and we've made a couple of trips over and hopefully in the near future we can have him as a Rocket because we think he can help us."

2006–07 NBA season

Spanoulis saw limited playing time with the

during his rookie

year in 2006–07, averaging 2.7 points and 0.9 assists in 8.8 minutes per game, on 31.9% field goal shooting (17.2% from behind the 3-point line), in 31 games played off the bench. During Spanoulis' first NBA season there was a dispute between him and Rockets

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Jeff Van Gundy Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American commentator for ESPN and former basketball coach. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his ten ...

, over playing time. There was an issue between the team's management, Spanoulis, and the coach as well, over the contract that Spanoulis had signed. In order to sign with the Rockets, and fulfill his dreams of playing in the NBA, Spanoulis took a considerably smaller contract than the one that was being offered to him by his Greek team,

. He still had two years under his contract with Panathinaikos, but his buyout was small, and could be paid by the Rockets. Spanoulis agreed to play for Houston at a price of $1.944 million gross income per season, for 3 years, passing up on his former team Panathinaikos's much larger offer of

1.6 million

per season, over 3 years, just for a chance of playing in the NBA. Spanoulis made the Rockets' rotation, but there was a falling out between him and Rockets coach Van Gundy, after Van Gundy benched Spanoulis, after the coach claimed that he had played poorly, citing that rookie players are dangerous for coaches that are in contract years, and that Spanoulis was too turnover prone and lacking in outside shooting touch to be a good fit in Van Gundy's offensive system design. Said Van Gundy about the situation: "(Spanoulis) says, 'I was racyMcGrady back home.' Great. McGrady is McGrady here," .. "I feel badly for him. He feels he was misled. Frankly, he's been his own worst enemy in many ways. Some of it is excuses. His turnovers have been high; his fouls have been high; his shooting percentage has been low. I would rather anybody start out with self-evaluation—what can I do better?—versus lash out and blame. Because I'm not playing him now doesn't mean he won't play in the future or we don't feel he could be a good player. I think he's allowed his disappointment to go to discouragement, which has, at times, stunted his improvement. We'll see. We'll see." Spanoulis was traded by the Rockets to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

, on July 12, 2007, along with a 2009 second-round draft pick, in exchange for

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Jackie Butler, and the rights to

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

Luis Scola Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born April 30, 1980) is an Argentine former professional basketball player and current executive who currently serves as the chief executive officer for the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) team Pallacanestro Varese. ...

.Spurs Acquire Vassilis Spanoulis.
''NBA.com'' – July 12, 2007 On August 19, 2007, the Spurs released Spanoulis, giving him the chance to return to Greece to play for Panathinaikos as he had requested. This was officially announced on August 23, 2007. Reportedly due to "family reasons," Spanoulis decided that he would not remain in the NBA, with his agent going as far as comparing the Rockets' reluctance to break his contract to slavery. Spanoulis, instead opted to return to

, to once again play in the

and the EuroLeague. In June 2013, Spanoulis claimed that Van Gundy told him on the first day he arrived at Houston that since he was a rookie, and unfamiliar to Van Gundy, he would be benched for the season. Spanoulis also claimed that the Rockets' next head coach,

Rick Adelman Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden ...

, wanted to keep him, and also that both

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

and

Gregg Popovich Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who is the president and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Taking over as coach of the Spur ...

of the San Antonio Spurs were interested in having him on their team. In November 2015, the

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the San Antonio Spurs,

R.C. Buford Robert Canterbury Buford (born 1960) is an American basketball executive, currently CEO of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named general manager in 2002 after five seasons serving as team president. Buf ...

, confirmed to the Greek press that the Spurs made the trade for Spanoulis with the intention of keeping him and having him play on their team. Buford also confirmed that it was Spanoulis' choice to not play with the Spurs, and to return to play in Greece.

Back to Panathinaikos Athens

2007–08 season

On August 19, 2007, Spanoulis was released by the

, after deciding he wanted to play in Greece during the 2007–08 season. This was due to the fact that his mother was in poor health, and that Spanoulis wanted to be near her.ΜΠΑΣΚΕΤ: V-Span...η επιστροφή.
Spanoulis signed a 3-year contract with

, the then defending EuroLeague champions. He was signed to play both

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

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

, along with fellow

star,

Dimitris Diamantidis Dimitris Diamantidis ( el, Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης ; born May 6, 1980) is a retired Greek professional basketball player, who spent the last twelve seasons of his EuroLeague career with Panathinaikos, where he last served as the ...

. Former

player,

Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas "Šaras" Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. During his playing career, standing ...

, would later join them in the team's guard rotation. The contract Spanoulis signed was for 3-years, at

5.5 million

salary, plus a $1,166,400 contract buyout from his NBA

contract (Panathinaikos paid the buyout, so it did not count against the Spurs'

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Sever ...

). Spanoulis' agent set up the contract so that Spanoulis could opt out of it after one year. Spanoulis originally stated that, after the first year of his contract, he might opt out of it and return to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

to play in the NBA again. During the 2007–08 season, Spanoulis led his team,

, in both points scored (661) and assists (215), over 36 games played in the Greek Basket League 2007–08 season, and 20 games played in the EuroLeague 2007–08 season. He averaged 11.8 points per game and 3.8 assists per game for the season, in 56 games total. Spanoulis was the Greek Basket League assists leader. He was voted as a starter to the Greek League All-Star Game, and to the Greek Basket League's Best Five Team. Spanoulis helped Panathinaikos win the Greek basketball double, as the club won both the

championship, and the

title in 2008. In the Greek Cup Final, against Panathinaikos' arch-rival

, Spanoulis helped to lead his team to the championship cup victory, by scoring 20 points and dishing out 7 assists.

2008–09 season

In 2009, Spanoulis led Panathinaikos to the coveted

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

title, as they won the 2008–09 EuroLeague championship, the Greek League 2008–09 season championship, and the

title, all in the same season. Spanoulis was named the 2009

, and also the 2009 Greek League MVP. Following this season, Spanoulis was named the Balkan Athlete of the Year in 2009, an award given to the best athlete of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

region.

2009–10 season

Spanoulis won the Greek League's 2009–10 season championship, with

Olympiacos Piraeus

2010–11 season

In July 2010, after much speculation concerning his free agency and his next contract, Spanoulis signed a three-year contract with the

club

, worth gross income, or

(€2.4 million net income per season), plus team performance bonuses. In his first year with Olympiacos, Spanoulis won the

, was named to the EuroLeague's All Second Team, and was the Greek Basket League assists leader.

2011–12 season

In 2012, Spanoulis won both the 2012 EuroLeague and

championships. He was also named to the

First Team, and won the

, for the second time in his career. He became the fourth player to win the award multiple times. Furthermore, he once again led the Greek League in assists. He was also named the

Greek Basket League MVP The Greek Basket League MVP is the yearly MVP award that is awarded by the 1st-tier professional basketball league in Greece, the Greek Basket League. Since the 2014–15 season, the Greek Basket League MVP award is voted on by the fans online, ...

, and the

Greek Basket League Finals MVP The Greek Basket League Finals MVP, or Greek Basket League Playoffs MVP award (Greek: Ελληνικού Α1 Μπάσκετ Πρωταθλήματος Tελικός MVP) is the yearly Finals MVP award for the playoff finals of the 1st-tier profes ...

. Finally, Spanoulis was named the All-Europe Player of the Year in 2012.

2012–13 season

Spanoulis was named the

in 2013. He was also the

EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer The EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer is the individual award for the player that gained the highest points in the EuroLeague Finals, the championship finals of the European-wide top-tier level professional club basketball competition, the EuroLeag ...

, and was named the

, after leading Olympiacos to the 2013 EuroLeague championship. He became just the second player to win both the EuroLeague MVP and the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in the same season, along with

; and he also became just the second player to win the EuroLeague Final Four MVP award 3 times, along with

. Spanoulis also won the

International Award for Sport, an award given by the

to the World's Best Athlete of the Year, between the ages of 18 to 35, in 2013. He was also named the All-Europe Player of the Year, for the second time, in 2013.

2013–14 season

Spanoulis signed a 3-year contract extension, worth net income (€2 million net income per season), plus team performance bonuses, with Olympiacos in July 2013. With Olympiacos, he won the 2013 edition of the

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, also commonly referred to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs, or the FIBA Club World Cup, is a professional basketball clubs competition that is endorsed by FIBA and the NBA. Historically, its purpose has be ...

, being named the MVP of the tournament. In May 2014, he was named to the

, for the sixth time in his career.

2014–15 season

In May 2015, Spanoulis was chosen to the

All-EuroLeague First Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

, for his performance during the season, his seventh All-EuroLeague Team honour. He led Olympiacos to the 2015 EuroLeague Final, and he also won the 2014–15 season's Greek League championship with Olympiacos, and was voted the MVP of the league's finals.

2015–16 season

Spanoulis won the 2015–16 season's Greek League championship. In game 2 of the 2015–16 Greek League Finals, against Olympiacos' arch-rivals,

, Spanoulis hit a game-winning buzzer-beating 3 pointer. In game 3 of the Greek League Finals, he scored 11 points in the last 3 minutes and 1 second of the 4th quarter, to seal the victory for his team. In game 4 of the Greek League Finals, held at

Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall The O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall (honorarily named ''Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall'' since 2016), which is a part of the Olympic Athletic Center of Athens (O.A.C.A.) «Spyros Louis» ( el, O.A.K.A. «Σπύρος Λούης»), was completed i ...

, Olympiacos won in the game's second

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

period, after Spanoulis hit another game-winning 3 point field goal, with 1.9 seconds remaining in the game. He was subsequently named the 2016 Greek League MVP, and the 2016 Greek League Finals MVP.

2016–17 season

In June 2016, Spanoulis signed a new 2-year contract extension with Olympiacos, lasting through the 2017–18 season. The contract was worth net income (€1.5 million net income per season). During that season's EuroLeague competition, Euroleague.net named Spanoulis the "Most Clutch Player in EuroLeague History". That same season, Spanoulis eventually led Olympiacos to the 2017 EuroLeague Final.

2017–18 season

During the 2017–18 season, Spanoulis became the EuroLeague's all-time career leader in assists, and the Greek Professional Basket League's all-time career leader in points scored. He was also the 2018 Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer. In May 2018, he was named to the

All-EuroLeague Second Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

, of the 2017–18 season, the eighth All-EuroLeague Team selection of his career, which set a record for the most All-EuroLeague Team selections of all time.

2018–19 season

Prior to the start of the 2018–19 season, Spanoulis signed a one-year contract extension with

, on July 2, 2018, at a salary of €1.2 million

. He was named the MVP of Round 14 of the 2018–19 EuroLeague season. During the

Greek Basket League 2018–19 season Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

, Spanoulis became the Professional Greek League's all-time career assists leader. He passed the previous record holder,

, in a Greek League game against

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

, in January 2019. On 14 March 2019, Spanoulis suffered a season-ending peroneal tendon rupture on his right ankle, in a EuroLeague game against the Italian club

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

2019–20 season

After undergoing a 2018–19 season-ending right ankle surgery, for a peroneal tendon rupture, on 1 April 2019, Spanoulis began individual workouts again on 5 July 2019. After his return to individual training, Spanoulis signed a one-year contract extension with

, at a salary of €600,000

. On 29 November 2019, Spanoulis passed Juan Carlos Navarro, to become the EuroLeague's all-time career leader in

Performance Index Rating (PIR) Performance Index Rating (PIR) is a basketball mathematical statistical formula that is used by the Euroleague Basketball Company's first and second tier competitions, the EuroLeague and the EuroCup, as well as various European national dom ...

. He accomplished the milestone in a EuroLeague 2019–20 season game versus the Italian club

. On 2 January 2020, Spanoulis also passed Navarro as the EuroLeague's all-time leading scorer since the 2000–01 season, in Olympiacos' loss against Fenerbahçe. On 4 February 2020, Spanoulis again suffered a season-ending peroneal tendon rupture injury, in a EuroLeague game against Žalgiris Kaunas. It was the same right foot injury, that he had suffered in the previous 2018–19 season. On 7 February 2020, Spanoulis had another surgery to repair the tendon. On 12 May 2020, Spanoulis was named to the EuroLeague 2010–20 All-Decade Team. Among the 10 players voted onto the All-Decade Team, Spanoulis was voted the number one EuroLeague player of the 2010–2020 decade, in a vote decided by EuroLeague

head coaches A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

, EuroLeague players,

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

, and

sports journalists Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

. He received more than twice as many votes as the player who came in second place in the voting,Spanoulis: He had twice as many votes as the second for the 10-year-old team of the EuroLeague!
/ref> which was Bogdan Bogdanović.

2020–21 season

On July 11, 2020, Spanoulis re-signed with

, to a one-year €600,000

contract, through the 2020–21 season.

National team career

Greek junior national team

Spanoulis was a key member of the Greek under-18 junior national team at the

FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The FIBA U18 European Championship, originally known as the European Championship for Juniors, is a youth men's basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1964 edition. It was held biennially through the 2002 edition. From the 2004 e ...

's 2000 tournament. Greece finished in third place in the tournament, winning the bronze medal. Spanoulis was also on the Greek under-20 junior national team that finished in first place, and thus won the gold medal, at the

2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 2002 European Championship for Young Men) was the sixth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The cities of Kaunas, Alytus and Vilnius, in Lithuania, hosted the tournamen ...

. During the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 championship's gold medal game, Spanoulis sank two clutch free throws, with just 13 seconds remaining on the game clock, to clinch a win over the Spain under-20 national team, and win the gold. Spanoulis also played with Greece's national under-26 selection at the

2001 Mediterranean Games The XIV Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض المتوسط 2001), commonly known as the 2001 Mediterranean Games, were the 14th Mediterranean Games held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 2-15 September 2001, where 2,991 athletes ( ...

. Spanoulis was a key member of the team for Greece during that tournament. Greece finished in second place in the tournament, winning the silver medal.

Greece national team

Spanoulis led the

in scoring during the

2006 FIBA Mini World 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 smalles ...

tournament they won. On the way to that achievement, They defeated

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, then

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(the later whose team included

star

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gr ...

). Spanoulis was named the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, of both the 2007 and 2009 friendly

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 ...

s, in

, and he also won the same tournament 9 times with the Greece national team, in the years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2015. Spanoulis' retirement from the Greece men's national basketball team was announced on September 17, 2015, after the

2015 EuroBasket EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 S ...

. He ended his Greece men's national basketball team career, having been the leading scorer in every major tournament that he played in, from 2006 onward (9 tournaments in total:

2007 EuroBasket The 2007 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2007, was the 35th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2008 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to th ...

, 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament,

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 ...

2010 FIBA World Cup 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 ...

, 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, 2013 EuroBasket, and the

). In December 2019, Greece's senior national team head coach at the time,

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA D ...

, stated that, "Just for the record, I would love to see Spanoulis join our national team”. Pitino then stated in May 2020, on Spanoulis rejoining the Greece national team, "I must say that I still want Spanoulis to play. Before the injury, I thought that Spanoulis would play. I want him to be the leader, I want him to lead the team, even if he is not 100% ready. He will have time to get back on his feet. I want him to come as a leader. We will not win with athleticism, but with intelligence and the pride of playing for Greece. Spanoulis is very important to me, I want to have him with me. I will make him an offer that he can't refuse."

Summer Olympic Games

Spanoulis made his debut with the

, for the first time, in the summer of 2004, when he was selected by his then head coach at

, Greek basketball legend,

Panagiotis Giannakis Panagiotis Giannakis ( el, Παναγιώτης Γιαννάκης, ; born January 1, 1959), alternatively spelled Panayiotis Yiannakis or Yannakis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach. As a player, he was primarily a poin ...

, to be a member of the Greek squad during 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), ...

, which were held in

. Spanoulis was able to play in front of his home country's fans at

Helliniko Olympic Arena The Hellinikon Olympic Indoor Arena was a multi-use sports indoor arena that was located in Elliniko, Athens, Greece. It was a part of the Hellinikon Olympic Complex, and it was located adjacent to the Helliniko Fencing Hall. It was approximatel ...

, as Greece was the Olympic Game's host country. Greece finished in 5th place in the tournament, losing to

Manu Ginóbili Emanuel David Ginóbili Maccari (, , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Over a 23-year professional career, he became one of only two players (along with Bill Bradley) to have won a EuroLeague title, an ...

and the eventual gold medal-winning

Argentine national basketball team The Argentina men's national basketball team (Spanish: ''Selección de baloncesto de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international basketball officially nicknamed ''The Argentine Soul'' (Spanish: ''El Alma Argentina''), and it is co ...

, 69–64, in the quarterfinals. That was tied for the 2nd highest finish for Greece, in Summer Olympics Basketball, in its history. The 5th-place finish, making Greece one of the top 5 national teams in the world, was the beginning of Greece's great run in international tournaments during the 2000s (decade). Spanoulis also played at the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where he averaged 12.8 points per game, at the main

competition, where he averaged 14.3 points per game, and at the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where he averaged 19.3 points per game.

FIBA EuroBasket

At the

, Spanoulis was a key member of the Greek team that won the

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

and took home the gold medal. It was just the second time in Greece's history, that the senior men's national basketball team won the gold medal at the EuroBasket, and the first time since the

1987 EuroBasket The 1987 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1987, was the 25th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Greece between 3 and 14 June 1987. Twelve national teams entered the ev ...

, when the legendary players

Panagiotis Fasoulas Panagiotis "Panos" Fasoulas (alternate spelling: Fassoulas; Greek: Παναγιώτης Φασούλας; born May 12, 1963 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek politician and former professional basketball player. He was selected in the second round by t ...

Fanis Christodoulou Theofanis "Fanis" Christodoulou ( el, Θεοφάνης "Φάνης" Χριστοδούλου; born May 22, 1965) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He played mainly at small forward, but his complete all-around skills allowed him t ...

, and

, led Greece's national team. Two years later, at the

, Spanoulis was again part of Greece's team. Greece played the tournament shorthanded, as it was without key players,

Antonis Fotsis Antonis Fotsis (alternate spelling: Antonios, Greek: Αντώνης Φώτσης; born April 1 or 2, 1981) is a Greek professional basketball player for Ilysiakos. He was also the captain of the Greece men's national basketball team. He is a ...

and

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

, and was not able to medal in the tournament. Greece finished in 4th place in the tournament, losing in the semifinals game against the Spain basketball team, and its numerous star players, like

Marc Gasol Marc Gasol Sáez (, ; born January 29, 1985) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The center is a two-time All-NBA Team member and a three-time NBA All-Star. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of ...

, Juan Carlos Navarro, José Calderón,

Sergio Rodríguez Sergio Rodríguez Gómez (; born 12 June 1986) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Standing at , he plays at the point guard position. Rodriguez, nicknamed "El Chacho", won ...

Jorge Garbajosa Jorge Garbajosa Chaparro (born December 19, 1977), also known as The Pornoplayer, is a Spanish former professional basketball player and the current president of the Spanish Basketball Federation. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in), he p ...

, Rudy Fernández, and

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

. Spanoulis was the game's leading scorer, with 24 points, and he also dished out 5 assists, but Spain got the win, by a score of 82–77, over the depleted Greek squad. Spanoulis led the Greek team in scoring during the tournament, with a scoring average of 11.7 points per game. At the

, Spanoulis averaged 14.1 points per game, and led Greece to the bronze medal. He was named to the All-Tournament Team. At the 2013 EuroBasket, despite playing most of the tournament with an ankle injury, Spanoulis was third in the tournament in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game. During the tournament, he led Greece with a 20-point scoring performance, to a 79–75 victory over the world's 2nd ranked team in the

FIBA World Rankings The FIBA Men's World Ranking are FIBA's rankings of national basketball teams. FIBA ranks both men's and women's national teams for both senior and junior competitions. It also publishes combined rankings for all mixed-sex competitions. Not incl ...

at the time,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. At the

, Spanoulis led the Greek team, which had four players on it who had spent the 2014–15 season in the

(

Giannis Antetokounmpo Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo; December 6, 1994) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's country of origin, in addition to his s ...

Kosta Koufos Konstantine Demetrios "Kosta" Koufos ( Greek: ; born February 24, 1989) is a Greek-American professional basketball player who plays for the London Lions of the British Basketball League (BBL). He played one season at Ohio State before being sel ...

Nick Calathes Nicholas William Calathes (Greek: Νικόλαος Γουίλιαμ "Νικ" Καλάθης, born February 7, 1989) is a Greek-American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the Eu ...

, and

Kostas Papanikolaou Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou ( gr, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Παπανικολάου; born 31 July 1990) is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLe ...

) in points per game and assists per game. Greece was ultimately defeated in the quarterfinals by

, by a score of 73–71, and finished the tournament in 5th place. After the tournament, Spanoulis announced his retirement from the Greek senior national team. He was Greece's leading scorer in every major

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

tournament that he played in, from 2006 onward.

FIBA World Cup

Spanoulis was a member of the Greek senior team that competed at the

, and he helped to lead the Greek team to the silver medal, as they finished in second place in the tournament. In the semifinals game against

, he was the game's second-leading scorer, with 22 points (after

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team me ...

, who scored 27 for the USA), and along with his teammate,

Theo Papaloukas Theodoros Papaloukas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπαλουκάς; born May 8, 1977), commonly known as Theo Papaloukas or Thodoris Papaloukas, is a retired Greek professional basketball player. He was a four - time All-EuroLeague selection, a me ...

, led Greece to victory over the USA, by a score of 101–95. Spanoulis led the Greece national team in scoring during the 2006 FIBA World Cup, with an average of 11.7 points per game, and he also led the Greek team in free throw shooting percentage at 87.8 percent. Spanoulis also played with Greece at the

, where he averaged 13.7 points per game.

Personal life

Spanoulis' older brother,

, is a former professional basketball player. Spanoulis is married to

Miss Star Hellas Star Hellas ( el, Σταρ Ελλάς, Μις Ελλάς, Μις Γιάνγκ) is a national beauty pageant in Greece. The Star Hellas, Miss Hellas, Miss Young title is a trademark for Vassilis Prevelakis and Associates E.E. George Prevelakis, ...

of 2006,

Olympia Chopsonidou Olympia Chopsonidou ( el, Ολυμπία Χοψονίδου): born 17 June 1983) is a Greek model. In April 2006, Chopsonidou won the title of Star Hellas, and she then represented Greece at the Miss Universe 2006 pageant, which was held in Los A ...

. Together, the couple have six children: Thanasis Spanoulis (born January 2, 2010), Vassilis Spanoulis Jr. (April 5, 2012), Dimitris Spanoulis (June 5, 2013), Emilia Spanouli (August 3, 2015), Anastasia Spanouli (September 25, 2017), and another daughter (January 20, 2020). Spanoulis' basketball idols, and favorite players as a kid, were

and

. During his playing career, Spanoulis is often referred to by the nicknames V-Span and

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...

. When Spanoulis played with

Maroussi Athens Maroussi B.C. ( gr, K.A.E. Μαρούσι, link=off) alternately translated as Marousi, Amaroussi, or Amaroussion, is a professional basketball club that is based in Marousi, a northern suburb of Athens, in Greece. The club's full name is Gymnasti ...

, he was given the nickname Bill the Butcher, by

Tracy Murray Tracy, Tracey, or Tracie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tracy (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname, also encompassing spelling variations Places United States * Tracy, C ...

, who was at that time a player of Maroussi's rivals,

. Spanoulis was the first Greek-born player to play for the

, and he was the third Greek-born player to play in the

. While he was with the

, Spanoulis was friends with teammates

John Lucas III John Harding Lucas III (born November 21, 1982) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketba ...

Jake Tsakalidis Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis ( el, Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης, ka, იაკოვოს წაკალიდას, born June 10, 1979) is a Georgian-born Greek former professional basketball player. Tsakalidis, a center, holds dual cit ...

Shane Battier Shane Courtney Battier (born September 9, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He's also worked for ESPN and recently joined the board of Yext. Battier is best known for his four years playing basketball at Duke, his 13 ye ...

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...

, and

Steve Novak Steven Michael Novak (born June 13, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently a television analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Fox Sports Wisconsin. He is listed as 6'10", 225 lbs. He played college basketball ...

. Over his playing career, some of the other basketball players that he was friends with included:

Mike Batiste Michael James Batiste (born November 21, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time All-EuroLeague se ...

Carlos Arroyo Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez (born July 30, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player, and reggaeton singer. Arroyo had previously played in the National Basketball Association with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, U ...

Roderick Blakney Roderick Bertrand Blakney (born August 6, 1976) is an American-born naturalized Bulgarian former professional basketball player. College career Blakney, a 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m) point guard played college basketball at South Carolina State Univ ...

Ioannis Bourousis Giannis Bourousis (Greek: Γιάννης Μπουρούσης; born November 17, 1983) is a former Greek professional basketball player who last played for ASK Karditsa of the Greek A2 Basket League. He is a 7 ft 0.75 in (2.15 m) 270 lb ...

, and

Georgios Printezis Georgios Printezis (alternate spelling: Giorgos) ( el, Γεώργιος Πρίντεζης, born February 22, 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career with Olympiacos B.C., Olympiacos of the Greek ...

, among others. He is best friends with

Nikos Zisis Nikolaos "Nikos" Zisis (alternate spelling: Zissis; el, Νικόλαος "Νίκος" Ζήσης; born August 16, 1983) is a Greek basketball executive and former professional basketball player. During his pro club playing career, at a height of ...

, and he was the

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

at Zisis' wedding. Spanoulis was one of the idols of Greek basketball player

, and Slovenian basketball player

Luka Dončić Luka Dončić ( ; ; born February 28, 1999) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Slovenian national team. Born in Ljubljana, Dončić shone ...

, when they were youths in Europe. Antetokounmpo described Spanoulis as, "The

of Europe". Dončić said that when he was young, he was "enchanted" by Spanoulis. Dončić wore the number 7 jersey when he was a member of

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 ...

, as an homage to Spanoulis, who wore the number 7 jersey with the

and

. Dončić also chose to wear the number 77 jersey with Slovenia's national team and the

, in honor of Spanoulis.

Club career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=4,

, 23 , , 3 , , 27.8 , , .534 , , .368 , , .780 , , 2.0 , , 3.1 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 14.6 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 20 , , 5 , , 27.8 , , .444 , , .355 , , .750 , , 2.6 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 11.3 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2008–09† , 19 , , 9 , , 25.6 , , .413 , , .309 , , .879 , , 2.4 , , 3.5 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 10.5 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 14 , , 6 , , 25.3 , , .398 , , .277 , , .845 , , 1.5 , , 3.6 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 10.3 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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;" rowspan=11,

, 20 , , 17 , , 29.5 , , .444 , , .347 , , .852 , , 1.8 , , 4.3 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 14.2 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2011–12† , 21 , , 19 , , 29.8 , , .479 , , .386 , , .827 , , 2.0 , , 4.0 , , .7 , , .1 , , 16.7 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;",

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 ...

† , 31 , , 31 , , 30.0 , , .397 , , .321 , , .782 , , 2.2 , , 5.5 , , .9 , , .0 , , 14.7 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 26 , , 26 , , 28.1 , , .430 , , .344 , , .738 , , 2.0 , , 4.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 15.1 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 26 , , 26 , , 28.1 , , .396 , , .333 , , .759 , , 1.8 , , 5.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , 14.4 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , 20 , , 20 , , 26.9 , , .318 , , .260 , , .706 , , 1.5 , , 5.4 , , .4 , , .0 , , 11.2 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 33 , , 32 , , 26.8 , , .396 , , .315 , , .759 , , 1.7 , , 6.1 , , .6 , , .0 , , 12.6 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 24 , , 24 , , 26.3 , , .396 , , .315 , , .817 , , 1.5 , , 5.6 , , .7 , , .0 , , 14.0 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 25 , , 14 , , 22.1 , , .382 , , .331 , , .712 , , 1.8 , , 5.1 , , .4 , , .0 , , 10.2 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , 22 , , 20 , , 24.6 , , .410 , , .286 , , .807 , , 1.2 , , 4.6 , , .4 , , .0 , , 11.3 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 34 , , 2 , , 17.6 , , .458 , , .283 , , .644 , , 1.5 , , 2.7 , , .6 , , .0 , , 6.4 , , 4.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;" colspan=2, Career , 328 , , 252 , , 27.1 , , .412 , , .321 , , .779 , , 1.8 , , 4.5, , .8 , , .0 , , 12.4 , , 12.4

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, 31 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .319 , , .172 , , .810 , , .7 , , .9 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 31 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .319 , , .172 , , .810 , , .7 , , .9 , , .2 , , .0 , , 2.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 4.0

Greece national team career statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#CD7F32;;",

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, style="text-align:left;", Europe Under-18 , style="text-align:left;", Greece Under-18 , 8 , , N/A , , 25.9 , , .579 , , .286 , , .786 , , 1.1 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .0 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#FFD700;",

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, style="text-align:left;", Europe Under-20
Qualifying , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Greece Under-20 , 5 , , N/A , , 29.2 , , .545 , , .304 , , .533 , , 3.4 , , 4.4 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#FFD700;",

, style="text-align:left;", Europe Under-20 , 8 , , N/A , , 31.3 , , .467 , , .477 , , .875 , , 3.1 , , 5.5 , , .9 , , .0 , , 16.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=3, Career , 21 , , N/A , , 28.7 , , .520 , , .395 , , .755 , , 2.5 , , 3.9 , , .9 , , .0 , , 13.7 , - , - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

, style="text-align:left;" rowspan=12, Greece Men , 6 , , N/A , , 11.0 , , .444 , , .500 , , .750 , , 0.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#FFD700;",

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 10.3 , , .227 , , .100 , , .600 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#FFD700;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;", Mini World Cup , 3 , , N/A , , 23.0 , , .429 , , .444 , , .706 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , 2.3 , , .0 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#C0C0C0;",

, style="text-align:left;",

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, 9 , , N/A , , 27.2 , , .358 , , .262 , , .878 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 26.1 , , .418 , , .303 , , .576 , , 1.8 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#FFD700;",

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; ...

, style="text-align:left;", Olympic Qualifying , 4 , , N/A , , 24.0 , , .474 , , .400 , , .900 , , 2.5 , , 3.8 , , 2.8 , , .0 , , 12.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , N/A , , 28.2 , , .531 , , .273 , , .632 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#CD7F32;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 8 , , 31.3 , , .458 , , .436 , , .829 , , 2.7 , , 4.2 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 29.3 , , .520 , , .419 , , .810 , , 1.0 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", Olympic Qualifying , 3 , , 2 , , 26.3 , , .613 , , .500 , , .619 , , 2.7 , , 5.7 , , 0.3 , , .0 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 30.2 , , .439 , , .303 , , .780 , , 3.3 , , 2.5 , , 0.7 , , .2 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 7 , , 27.6 , , .411 , , .385 , , .727 , , 2.3 , , 5.3 , , 0.3 , , .1 , , 11.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=3, Career , 75 , , N/A , , 24.9 , , .445 , , .351 , , .746 , , 2.1 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 11.5 , -

Awards and accomplishments

Youth club career

* Panhellenic Youth Championship Champion: 1999 * Panhellenic Youth Championship Top Scorer: 1999 * Panhellenic Youth Championship

: 1999

Pro club career

* 3× EuroLeague champion:

: 2009 ** 2×

: 2012, 2013 * 2× EuroLeague Runner-up:

** 2×

: 2015, 2017 * 7× Greek League champion: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016 ** 4×

: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 ** 3×

: 2012, 2015, 2016 * 4×

winner: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 ** 3×

: 2006, 2008, 2009 **

: 2011 * 6× Greek League Runner-up: 2004, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 **

: 2004 ** 5×

: 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 * 5×

Runner-up: 2002, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018 **

: 2002 **

: 2010 ** 3×

: 2012, 2013, 2018 *

winner: 2009 **

: 2009 *

champion:

: 2013 *

FIBA Europe League FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

Runner-up:

: 2004

Greek junior national team

2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa na ...

: *

Greek senior national team

* 9×

champion: (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015) *

: *

Individual

*Olympiacos 2010–20 Team of Decade *

EuroLeague Basketball Legend The EuroLeague Basketball Legend Award is an award that is given by the Euroleague Basketball Company, the organizer of the EuroLeague, which is the top-tier level professional basketball competition in Europe. It is awarded only to a very dist ...

2022 *

: 2013 * 3×

: 2009, 2012, 2013 *

: 2013 * 3×

EuroLeague MVP of the Month The EuroLeague MVP of the Month is the award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, for the most valuable player of each month of the season. The award began in the 2004–05 season, after the EuroLeague eliminated the Eur ...

: ** February 2012, November 2012, October 2014 * 8×

: ** 2006 (2× – Regular Season Round 2 and Playoffs Games 1 and 2), 2014 (2× – Regular Season Round 8 and Top 16 Round 1), 2017 (2× - Regular Season Round 2 and Playoffs Game 5), 2018 (Regular Season Round 23), 2019 (Regular Season Round 14) * 8×

: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 ** 3×

First Team: 2012, 2013, 2015 ** 5×

Second Team: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2018 *

FIBA Intercontinental Cup MVP The FIBA Intercontinental Cup MVP, or FIBA Club World Cup MVP, is the award bestowed to the player that is deemed to be the " Most Valuable Player" of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup official world basketball club championship. Award winners *Pl ...

: 2013 *

International Award for Sport (

's World Athlete of the Year): 2013 * 2× All-Europe Player of the Year: 2012, 2013 *

Athlete of the Year: 2009 *

All-Tournament Team:

* 2×

: 2007, 2009 * 3× Greek League MVP: 2009, 2012, 2016 * 3× Greek League Finals MVP: 2012, 2015, 2016 * 2× Greek League Most Popular Player: 2015, 2017 * Greek League Best Young Player: 2003 * Greek League Most Improved Player: 2004 * 10× Greek League All-Star Game: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 * 10× All-Greek League Team: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 * 12×

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 ...

's All-Greek League Domestic Team: 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 * Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer: 2018 * 5× Greek League assists leader: 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015 * Named the Most Clutch Player in EuroLeague History by Euroleague.net: 2017 * Named one of the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

' Top 25 Men's Players since

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

(since

players could play at the Olympics): 2020 * Voted one of the

Best 5 Players of the

FIBA EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

's 2000–2020 era: 2020 * Voted one of

's Best 5 Players overall of the 2000–2020 era: 2020Διαμαντίδης και Σπανούλης στην κορυφαία πεντάδα της 20ετιας των EuroBasket .
/ref> * Voted the Best EuroLeague Player of The 2010s Decade by Eurohoops.net: 2020 * EuroLeague 2000–10 All-Decade Team (2010) * EuroLeague 2010–20 All-Decade Team (2020) * EuroLeague 2010–20 Player of the Decade: 2020Spanoulis: He had twice as many votes as the second for the 10-year-old team of the EuroLeague!
/ref> * #1 All-time in career total points scored in Professional Greek League * #1 All-time in career assists in Professional Greek League * #2 All-time in career 3 pointers made in Professional Greek League * #1 All-time in career total points scored in EuroLeague * #1 All-time in career Performance Index Rating in EuroLeague * #1 All-time in career assists in EuroLeague * #2 All-time in career 3 pointers made in EuroLeague * #2 all-time in career total points scored, in all European-wide

competitions, from all eras (

is #1) Olympiacos EuroLeague records *EuroLeague all-time Top Scorer *EuroLeague all-time Top Assists Leader

Early life and career

Professional career

Gymnastikos S. Larissas

Maroussi Athens

2001–02 season

2002–03 season

2003–04 season

2004–05 season

Panathinaikos Athens

2005–06 season

Houston Rockets

2006–07 NBA season

Back to Panathinaikos Athens

2007–08 season

2008–09 season

2009–10 season

Olympiacos Piraeus

2010–11 season

2011–12 season

2012–13 season

2013–14 season

2014–15 season

2015–16 season

2016–17 season

2017–18 season

2018–19 season

2019–20 season

2020–21 season

National team career

Greek junior national team

Greece national team

Summer Olympic Games

FIBA EuroBasket

FIBA World Cup

Personal life

Club career statistics

EuroLeague

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Greece national team career statistics

Awards and accomplishments

Youth club career

Pro club career

Greek junior national team

Greek senior national team

Individual

References

External links