1. Sofoklis Schortsanitis is a Cameroonian-Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian.
19 Facts About Sofoklis Schortsanitis
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An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the EuroLeague title in 2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and reached the EuroLeague Final in 2010 and 2011, while playing for Olympiacos and Maccabi, respectively.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis was a member of the Greece men's national basketball team that captured silver medal honours in the 2006 FIBA World Championship and a bronze medal in the EuroBasket 2009.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis first took up basketball in his home city of Kavala.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis became a vital member of the team that reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals, and his performances impressed Panagiotis Giannakis, who picked him for the Greece men's national basketball team at the end of the season.
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On 5 August 2010, Sofoklis Schortsanitis signed a two-year deal with the then five-time EuroLeague champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis reportedly turned down significantly more lucrative offers from Baskonia Vitoria and Galatasaray, among others, to return to Greece and fulfill his desire to play for Panathinaikos.
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On 10 July 2013, Sofoklis Schortsanitis returned to Maccabi after one season in Panathinaikos, and signed a three-year contract with the defending Israeli Premier League champions.
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On 2 August 2015, Sofoklis Schortsanitis signed a one-year contract with the Serbian club Crvena zvezda.
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On 2 November 2015, Sofoklis Schortsanitis signed with the Greek club PAOK, for the rest of the season.
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In December 2016, Sofoklis Schortsanitis joined the Greek club Apollon Patras.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis drew interest from the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2006, after having been originally selected in the 2nd round of the 2003 NBA draft; however, because he was still under contract with Olympiacos at the time, he did not make a move to the NBA.
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On 10 December 2020, Sofoklis Schortsanitis announced his retirement from playing pro club basketball.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis was on the squad of the Under-16 national team that played at the 2001 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the squad of the Under-18 national team that won a bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and the squad of the Under-19 national team that won a bronze medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis was on the squad of the junior national team that won the gold medal at the 2002 Albert Schweitzer Under-18 World Tournament, where he was named the MVP of the tournament.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis scored 14 points, in 17 minutes in the game.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis played with Greece at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis is a classic, "old school" style center that plays in the low post on offence, and that defends the rim and painted lane area of the court on defense.
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Sofoklis Schortsanitis's official playing weight was listed as 380 pounds.