Viktor Sanikidze (alternate spelling: Victor) (born April 1, 1986) is a Georgian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

executive and former player. He played at both the

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

and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

positions in his entire career.

Early years

Sanikidze began his basketball career with the Academy Tbilisi youth teams in the Georgian Republic. In the 2001–02 season, Sanikidze attended and played basketball for Globe Tech Junior College in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In the 2002–03 season, he returned home to Georgia, to play once again for Academy Tbilisi.

Professional career

Europe

In 2003, Sanikidze signed with SAOS JDA Dijon, a pro club in the French Pro A League and a club competing in the European fourth-tier level league, the

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's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...

(later renamed FIBA EuroCup Challenge), at the time he joined the team. JDA Dijon made the FIBA Europe Cup finals, where they lost to Mitteldeutscher, during Sanikidze's first season with the club. He spent three seasons in France (2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06). Sanikidze spent the 2006–07 season with the Spanish ACB League club

MMT Estudiantes Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 1 ...

, a team that was competing in the European third-tier level league, the

FIBA EuroCup 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 ...

(later renamed to EuroChallenge), at the time he joined the team. He missed the entire the 2007–08 season due to injury. Sanikidze joined the Estonian League club Tartu Ülikool/Rock for the 2008–09 season. Tartu Ülikool/Rock also competed in the

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 ...

League, the third-tier level of European-wide basketball, and the regional

Baltic League The Baltic League (officially known as the Triobet Baltic League) was a Baltic men's football club tournament held four times between the top club sides from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Launched in 2007 inspired by the now defunct Scandinavi ...

. In August 2009, he moved to the Italian League club

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

. On July 11, 2012, Sanikidze signed a multi-year deal with the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

club

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, ...

. On September 20, 2013, he signed a one-year deal with the Spanish club CAI Zaragoza. On July 31, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with the Russian

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

club

UNICS Kazan BC UNICS (russian: БК УНИКС) is a professional basketball club in Kazan, Russia, that plays in the VTB United League, and formerly played in the EuroLeague. On February 28, 2022, EuroLeague Basketball suspended the team because of the 202 ...

. On August 3, 2015, Sanikidze signed with TED Ankara Kolejliler of the Turkish League. On September 6, 2016, Sanikidze signed with the Greek club

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

for the 2016–17 season.

NBA

Sanikidze was selected with the 42nd pick 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

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

, but his draft rights were traded the same day 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 Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, for a 2005 second-round pick, and cash considerations.Trade details from NBA.com.
/ref> The Spurs still hold his NBA player rights, but they have yet to sign him to a contract, and he continues to play in Europe. In July 2007, Sanikidze played for San Antonio's NBA Summer League squad, during the Rocky Mountain Revue Summer League, scoring 15 points in a Spurs loss to the Philadelphia 76ers' summer league squad.

Georgian national team

Sanikidze played with the Republic of Georgia's junior national teams. With Georgia's junior teams, he played at the

2004 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2004 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Spain in 2004. Final ranking 1. Spain 2. Turkey 3. France 4. Italy 5. 6. Russia 7. Greece 8. Israel 9. Lithuania 10. Bulgaria 11. ...

,Profile at NBA.com.
/ref> and also at the 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B. He has also been a member of the senior Georgian national basketball team, and with has competed with them in the European A Division EuroBasket. With Georgia's senior team, he played at the EuroBasket 2nd Division tournaments of the EuroBasket 2007 Division B and the EuroBasket 2009 Division B. He also played in the EuroBasket 1st Division tournaments of

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 cha ...

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

, and

EuroBasket 2015 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 ...

Basketball Executive career

On August 24, 2019, the

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

announced that Sanikidze had returned as a sports director.

Political career

On September 10, 2020, Sanikidze was named the 13th number on the

Georgian Dream Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia ( ka, ქართული ოცნება – დემოკრატიული საქართველო, ''Kartuli ocneba – Demok’rat’iuli Sakartvelo'') is a social democratic political ...

party list for the 2020 parliamentary elections. Since December 11, 2020, Sanikidze is a member of

Parliament of Georgia The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proporti ...

, and currently serving as first deputy

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the Sports and Youth Issues Committee.

Personal life

Sanikidze had a kid called Nikala.

References

External links