1. Panagiotis Giannakis is considered to be one of the greatest sportspeople of Greece.
52 Facts About Panagiotis Giannakis
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On February 3,2008, Panagiotis Giannakis was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors, over the previous half-century, by EuroLeague Basketball's Experts Committee.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was Greece's team captain, when they won the gold medal at the EuroBasket of 1987, and were the silver-medalists at the same championship two years later.
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Furthermore, Panagiotis Giannakis was an important member of the Greece men's national team, when they reached the EuroBasket's semifinals in 1993 and 1995, as well as the FIBA World Cup's semifinals in 1994.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was the head coach of the Greek EuroLeague powerhouse Olympiacos Piraeus, which he led to the 2010 EuroLeague Final, and of the Greece men's national basketball team.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was the head coach of the senior Chinese national team.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was born and raised in a poor neighborhood of Nikaia, Athens.
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Panagiotis Giannakis showed an early inclination to sports, and tried the sport of basketball.
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Panagiotis Giannakis began watching the games of a local basketball club, and he was later approached by the head coach of the youth team of Ionikos Nikaias, who asked him to join their team.
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Panagiotis Giannakis began his club career with the youth teams of Ionikos Nikaias, in 1971.
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On January 24,1981, Ionikos Nikaias, led by a then 22-year-old Panagiotis Giannakis, played against Aris Thessaloniki, which was led by Nikos Galis.
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The game is memorable in the history of Greek pro club basketball, because in the game, Panagiotis Giannakis scored 73 points, and Galis scored 62 points, as they achieved the second and fourth most points ever scored in a single game of the Greek League basketball championship.
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Dukeshire believed that Panagiotis Giannakis was good enough to play in the NBA.
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Dukeshire believed that if Panagiotis Giannakis was training with the school's team at the same time that the Celtics were there, that he had a chance to make the Celtics roster.
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Panagiotis Giannakis eventually agreed to move to the US, and he joined the Hellenic College Owls team.
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However, during the summer training camp, Panagiotis Giannakis suffered a career-threatening knee injury that required multiple knee surgeries, and a lot of rehab time.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was told by the doctor that performed the surgery that he didn't think it was possible for him to play professional basketball again.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was ultimately selected by the Boston Celtics, in the 9th round of the 1982 NBA draft, with the 205th overall draft pick.
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The Celtics then asked Panagiotis Giannakis to join their CBA affiliate team, as a way to test how he could adjust to the American style of basketball, with the chance for him to earn an NBA contract with the main team later on.
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However, Panagiotis Giannakis declined the offer, and returned to Greece, where he would play for the rest of his career.
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Panagiotis Giannakis personally received a BMW car, a sporting goods store, and an 8 million drachmas signing bonus from Aris.
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Panagiotis Giannakis won both the Greek League championship, and the Greek Cup title.
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Panagiotis Giannakis played at the 1988 Ghent Final Four, at the 1989 Munich Final Four, and at the 1990 Zaragoza Final Four.
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In June 1991, Panagiotis Giannakis was chosen as a member of The Balkans Selection All-Star Team that played against The European Selection All-Star Team, at the 1991 FIBA Centennial Jubilee.
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In 1993, after spending nine seasons with Aris Thessaloniki, Panagiotis Giannakis moved to the Greek club Panionios Athens.
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Panathinaikos and Panagiotis Giannakis won the title at the 1996 Paris Final Four.
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Panagiotis Giannakis won the Greek Cup title with Panathinaikos Athens that same year.
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Panagiotis Giannakis led the Greek under-16 junior national team to the silver medal at the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship of 1975.
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Panagiotis Giannakis won gold medals at the 1979 Balkan Championship, and at the 1979 Mediterranean Games.
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Panagiotis Giannakis represented Greece at the 1980 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the 1981 EuroBasket, the 1983 EuroBasket, the 1984 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and at the 1986 FIBA World Cup.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was the team captain of the Greece men's national team that won the gold medal at the 1987 EuroBasket.
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Panagiotis Giannakis played with Greece at the 1988 FIBA European Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
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Panagiotis Giannakis won the silver medal at the 1989 EuroBasket, and he represented Greece at the 1990 FIBA World Cup.
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Panagiotis Giannakis represented Greece at the 1991 FIBA Centennial Jubilee, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of the creation of the sport of basketball, by the Canadian James Naismith.
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In three games played during the tournament, Panagiotis Giannakis averaged 14.3 points per game.
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Panagiotis Giannakis holds the all-time career record for the most caps with the Greece senior men's national team, with 351.
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Panagiotis Giannakis holds the all-time career record for the most total points scored with the Greece senior men's national team, with 5,301 points.
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Unconventionally, the very next year after he retired from playing with the Greece men's national team, Panagiotis Giannakis started his coaching career as the head coach of the Greece men's national basketball team, in 1997.
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Panagiotis Giannakis stayed the head coach of the Greece national team for two years.
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Panagiotis Giannakis led the team to a fourth-place finish at the 1997 EuroBasket, and to a fourth-place finish at the 1998 FIBA World Cup.
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Panagiotis Giannakis returned to the head coach position of the Greece men's national team in 2004, for the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, where he led the Greek team to a fifth-place finish.
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Panagiotis Giannakis became the first person to win the EuroBasket, both as a player, and as a head coach.
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At the 2007 EuroBasket, Panagiotis Giannakis led Greece to a fourth-place finish.
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In December 2008, Panagiotis Giannakis ended his tenure as the head coach of Greece's senior national team.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was succeeded in that role by Jonas Kazlauskas.
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Panagiotis Giannakis was the head coach of the senior men's Chinese national team.
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Panagiotis Giannakis coached China at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.
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Panagiotis Giannakis coached the Greek League club Panionios Athens, until 2002, when he was then named the head coach of the Greek club Maroussi Athens.
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On 3 February 2008, Panagiotis Giannakis signed on to be the head coach of the Greek EuroLeague power Olympiacos Piraeus.
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Panagiotis Giannakis led the team to two consecutive EuroLeague Final Four appearances, which were the club's first EuroLeague Final Four appearances since the 1999 Final Four.
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Panagiotis Giannakis became the head coach of the Greek club Aris Thessaloniki, in 2017.
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Panagiotis Giannakis is married to Eugenia, and he has two children, Kalliope and Dimitris.