35 Facts About Dimitris Diamantidis

At the age of fourteen, Dimitris Diamantidis started his basketball career with the youth clubs of his hometown team, AS Kastoria.

Dimitris Diamantidis became a member of Panathinaikos Athens in the summer of 2004, with whom he won three EuroLeague titles, in 2007,2009, and 2011, with the last two coming as the team's captain.

Amidst a long series of "derbies of the eternal enemies", opposing Panathinaikos and Olympiacos Piraeus, Dimitris Diamantidis thrived, as he faced Olympiacos every year for twelve consecutive seasons, including in eleven Greek League Finals, six Greek Cup Finals, and a EuroLeague semifinal.

Dimitris Diamantidis won nine Greek League and ten Greek Cup titles, alongside four Greek League Finals MVP and a record six Greek League MVP awards, as well as two Greek Cup MVP awards.

Dimitris Diamantidis' self-effacing psyche helped relieve tension between the two powerhouses, when he retired in 2016.

Dimitris Diamantidis scored the three-pointer that sealed the fate of the semifinal game against France, just seconds before the game's final buzzer.

Dimitris Diamantidis led that tournament in assists, and was a part of the All-EuroBasket Team.

In 2006, he played a pivotal role in a FIBA World Cup silver medal campaign, with Greece stunning Team USA in the semifinals, and Dimitris Diamantidis finishing as the competition's steals leader.

Dimitris Diamantidis was a two-time Olympian, as he donned the Greek colours in 2004 and 2008, and on both occasions earned the fifth place of the tournament, which is tied for the all-time best finish for Greece.

Dimitris Diamantidis was named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year in 2007.

Dimitris Diamantidis was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.

Dimitris Diamantidis was born in Kastoria, Greece, on 6 May 1980.

Dimitris Diamantidis began playing the sport of basketball with the youth teams of the local club AS Kastoria.

In summer 1999, at age 19, Dimitris Diamantidis began his professional career, when he signed with the Greek Basket League club Iraklis Thessaloniki.

Dimitris Diamantidis played in what was one of the two premier European-wide club competitions at that time, the FIBA SuproLeague.

Dimitris Diamantidis was selected to the Greek League's All-Star Game, for the first time that season.

Dimitris Diamantidis was voted to the Greek League's All-Star Game.

On 21 February 2013 Dimitris Diamantidis became the EuroLeague's career leader in steals.

On 30 October 2014 Dimitris Diamantidis became the first player in EuroLeague history to have dished out at least 1,000 career assists.

Dimitris Diamantidis retired as the all-time career leader in both assists and Performance Index Rating in the entire history of the EuroLeague.

Dimitris Diamantidis won the Triple Crown in 2007 and 2009.

Dimitris Diamantidis won several individual trophies with Panathinaikos, such as: the EuroLeague MVP in 2011, the EuroLeague Final Four MVP twice, the EuroLeague Best Defender six times, five of his six total Greek League MVP awards, the Greek League Finals MVP four times, and the MVP of the Greek Cup in 2009 and 2016.

In 2020, Dimitris Diamantidis was named "The Best Greek Professional Basketball Player of The 2010s Decade", by the readers of the Greek website Gazzetta.

Dimitris Diamantidis was a member of the Greek under-20 junior national team.

Dimitris Diamantidis played with Greece's under-20 junior national team at the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where Greece finished in seventh place.

Dimitris Diamantidis averaged 3.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.5 steals per game at the tournament.

Dimitris Diamantidis was a member of the Greece men's national basketball team.

On 4 September 2010, after Greece's elimination in the Eighth-Finals of the 2010 FIBA World Cup, at the hands of Spain, Dimitris Diamantidis announced his immediate retirement from the Greece National Team.

Dimitris Diamantidis had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in his last game with Greece's national team.

Dimitris Diamantidis finished his career bearing the Greek flag, having played in 124 games, and having scored a total of 760 points, for a scoring average of 6.13 points per game.

Dimitris Diamantidis won the silver medal with Greece at the 2006 FIBA World Cup, which was held in Japan.

Dimitris Diamantidis averaged 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game at that tournament.

Dimitris Diamantidis was a member of Greece's senior national team that competed at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics.

Dimitris Diamantidis was selected to play on Greece's senior national team for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

Dimitris Diamantidis was primarily a pass first playmaker with outstanding court vision, and an excellent three point shooter, both in spot up situations and off the dribble.