Giorgos Printezis

Georgios Printezis was born on the 22nd of February 1985 and he is currently playing with Olympiacos Piraeus. He is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall, weights 109 kg and he plays at the power forward position. He is best known for his game-winning shot against CSKA Moscow at the end of the Euroleague 2011–12 season’s Final. Ηe is nicknamed “The Greek Lightning”, “Saint Georgios Printezis” or simply The “Saint”. In the 2006–07 season, Printezis was loaned by Olympiacos to Olympia Larissa in the Greek League, where he averaged 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. At the Greek All-Star Game weekend that season, he won the slam dunk competition. At the end of that season, he was also voted the Greek League Best Young Player. Following that success, he returned to Olympiacos. In 2009, he signed a 3-year contract with the Spanish ACB League club Unicaja Malaga. On April 27, 2011, Printezis returned to his previous club, Olympiacos, after being transferred from Malaga. In the Euroleague 2011–12 season’s Final, he hit a game-winning shot with 7 seconds remaining on the game clock, to give Olympiacos the Euroleague championship, with a victory over CSKA Moscow. On July 12, 2012, he signed a new three-year contract with Olympiacos. With Olympiacos, he also won the 2012–13 season championship of the Euroleague. On July 8, 2014, he extended his contract with Olympiacos until 2017. Printezis was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round, with the 58th selection overall of the 2007 NBA Draft. In the summer of 2012, Printezis turned down a one-year contract offer from the Knicks, that reportedly was for slightly more than the minimum NBA salary. With the junior national teams of Greece, Printezis played at the 2001 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, and at the 2004 and 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championships. He was selected to the senior men’s Greek national basketball team that played at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He won the bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2009, and he also played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He was also a member of Greece’s senior national teams that played at the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the EuroBasket 2013, the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and the EuroBasket 2015.
Awards and accomplishments
Pro career
Greek Youth All-Star Game: MVP (2006)
4x Greek League Senior All-Star: (2007, 2008, 2013, 2014)
Greek All-Star Game Slam Dunk Champion: (2007)
Greek League Best Young Player: (2007)
2x Euroleague Champion: (2012, 2013)
2x Greek League Champion: (2012, 2015)
1x Greek Cup winner: (2011)
Greek League Most Improved Player: (2012)
3x Greek League Best Five Team: (2012, 2014, 2015)
FIBA Intercontinental Cup Champion: (2013)
5th place at Olympic games 2008 Benjing
Greek League Women’s Favorite Player: (2015)