Dimitris Diamantidis

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Dimitris Diamantidis
Diamantidis 11052013.JPG
Dimitris Diamantidis against Apollon Patras in 2013.
Personal information
Born (1980-05-06) May 6, 1980 (age 44)
Kastoria, Greece
Nationality Greek
Listed height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight 195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2002 / Undrafted
Playing career 1999–2016
Position Point guard / Shooting guard
Number 13
Career history
1999–2004 Iraklis Thessaloniki
2004–2016 Panathinaikos
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Greece
Mediterranean Games
Silver medal – second place 2001 Tunisia National Team
EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place 2005 Serbia & Montenegro National Team
Stanković Cup
Gold medal – first place 2006 China National Team
FIBA World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2006 Japan National Team

Dimitrios "Dimitris" Diamantidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης) (born May 6, 1980) is a retired Greek professional basketball player who spent all twelve seasons of his Euroleague career with Panathinaikos Athens. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Europeans ever to grace the game,[lower-alpha 1] he marked his era by being the most versatile player in the Euroleague,[6] serving as an inspiration to a whole generation of young European stars.[lower-alpha 2]

At the age of fourteen, Diamantidis started his youth career with his home team in Kastoria. Five years later, he made his professional debut with Iraklis and by 2003, he had emerged as an all-around star in the Greek League. He became a member of Panathinaikos in the summer of 2004, winning three Euroleague titles in 2007, 2009, and 2011. Diamantidis' numerous accolades in the premier European competition include a Euroleague MVP Award, two Euroleague Final Four MVP Awards, four All-Euroleague First Team selections, as well as a record six Euroleague Best Defender Awards. He is the only player to have earned all four aforementioned Euroleague end-of-season distinctions, even more so in a single year.[lower-alpha 3] Diamantidis was voted to the Euroleague 2001–10 All-Decade Team,[16] and is the Euroleague all-time leader in assists[17] and steals[18] since the dawn of the Euroleague Basketball Company era in 2000. On April 1, 2016, he was honored with a Euroleague Basketball Legend Award.[19]

Amidst a long series of riveting "derbies of the eternal enemies" opposing Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, Diamantidis arguably thrived as no other player in history. Greek basketball landscape being dominated by the archrivals, he faced Olympiacos every year for twelve consecutive seasons in countless crucial encounters, including eleven Greek League finals, six Greek Cup finals and a Euroleague semifinal. His nine Greek League and ten Greek Cup titles alongside six Greek League Finals MVP and two Greek Cup MVP awards demonstrate the level of his unparalleled success. It is, however, beyond all Diamantidis' well acknowledged calm, self-effacing psyche[20] that had the most profound impact on a rivalry full of abuse on either side, greatly contributing to a relief of tension when he retired in 2016.[21]

As a member of the Greek national team, Diamantidis won a EuroBasket title in 2005; anchoring a defense that allowed 59.7 points per game, he scored the three-pointer that sealed the fate of the semifinal against France, seconds before the buzzer. His multidimensional contribution was highlighted as he led the tournament in assists,[22] and was 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 semifinal and him finishing as the competition's steals leader.[23] Diamantidis was a two-time Olympian bearing the Greek colours in 2004 and 2008, earning on both occasions a fifth place, an all-time best for Greece. On the basis of his myriad achievements, he was named Mister Europa Player of the Year by Italian sports magazine Superbasket in 2007.[24]


Professional career

Iraklis

In the summer of 1999, at the age of 19, Diamantidis began his professional career when he transferred to Iraklis Thessaloniki and became a starting player there by his second season. Diamantidis helped to bring Iraklis, one of the oldest Greek teams, back into prominence after the club had been struggling. With Iraklis, Diamantidis won the Greek League MVP award in the 2003–04 season.

Panathinaikos

Diamantidis in 2007

Diamantidis moved a big step up in his career with his move to Panathinaikos of Athens in 2004; a basketball powerhouse of the Greek League and also of the Euroleague. With Panathinaikos, he has won the Greek League championship 9 times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014), the Greek Cup 10 times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), and the Euroleague Championship 3 times (2007, 2009, 2011). Diamantidis had with Željko Obradović one of the most successful collaborations between a player and his coach in the history of European basketball.

Diamantidis has won several individual trophies since joining Panathinaikos, such as the Euroleague Best Defender six times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011),[25] the Greek League MVP six times (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2014), and the Euroleague Final Four MVP twice (2007, 2011). Diamantidis was also named the 2007 Mister Europa, the 2007 Greek Athlete of the Year, and the MVP of the Greek Cup in 2009 and 2016. He was named the Euroleague MVP in 2011.[26]

Due to these great individual and team successes, the president of Panathinaikos, pharmaceutical magnate Pavlos Giannakopoulos, signed Diamantidis in 2008, to a 3-year €5.7 million euros net income contract. In 2010, he renewed his contract with Panathinaikos for another 3 years, at €10.8 million euros gross income (€6 million euros net income).[27]

On July 4, 2013, he renewed his contract with Panathinaikos for another 2 years, at a salary of €1.9 million net income per year. On September 2, 2015, Diamantidis announced his retirement from professional basketball, effective at the end of 2015–16 season.[28]

Greek national team

Diamantidis was a member of the senior Greek national basketball team. With the senior national team of Greece, he won the gold medal at the EuroBasket 2005. During the European Championship that year, he led the tournament in assists, and was selected to the All-Tournament Team. In the tournament semifinals against the French national team, Diamantidis hit a game-winning three-point shot, with Greece trailing by a score of 66–64 at the end of the game, to give Greece a 67–66 victory, and send them to the European Championship's final game.

He was also a member of the Greek national team that went on to win the silver medal the next year at the 2006 FIBA World Cup in Japan. He was a key factor in Greece's historic 101–95 victory against Team USA in the semifinals, stunning the likes of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. The defeat suffered by the United States team is the only one during Mike Krzyzewski's era (2005–), as the latter has an undefeated record since then, in all major international competitions. Coach Krzyzewski, in a press conference during the 2014 World Cup, stated: "2006, that's a lesson we learned. The Greek Team taught us (the Team USA) how to play internationally."[29]

Diamantidis was on the Greek team that participated at the EuroBasket 2003, and got the fifth place, after beating Serbia and Montenegro by a score of 64–72. He was also a member of the Greek national team at the EuroBasket 2007, where Greece took the fourth place after losing to Lithuania by a score of 69–78, a game in which Diamantidis had 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. As part of the national team, he also won the silver medal at the 2001 Mediterranean Games, and the gold medal at the 2006 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup. He also won seven Acropolis Tournaments, being the tournament's MVP twice, in 2005 and 2006.

On September 4, 2010, after Greece's elimination in the Eighth-Finals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship, at the hands of Spain (80–72), Diamantidis announced his immediate retirement from the Greek National Team. He had 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in his last game with Greece's national team. He finished his career bearing the Greek flag, having played in 124 games and having scored 760 points, averaging 6.13 points per per game.

Summer Olympic Games

Diamantidis was also a member of Greece's national team that competed at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, which were held in Athens, Greece. He was also selected to play on Greece's national team for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, in Beijing, China. Greece finished fifth in both tournaments, losing twice to Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Player profile

Diamantidis is left-handed, and can play as a point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. In the Greek national team, his primary position was small forward, being utilized as a point forward. He is primarily a pass first play-maker with outstanding vision, and an excellent three point shooter, both in spot up situations and off the dribble. He also likes to post up smaller point guards. Gifted with a tremendous wingspan and a unique feel for positioning, he is generally considered to be one of the best defensive players ever to play in the Euroleague,[30] having won the Euroleague Best Defender award five consecutive seasons, and once again, two years later.

As demonstrated by numerous game-changing actions in crucial situations, Diamantidis is considered to be one of the biggest decision makers and clutch players in European basketball history.[31]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The Euroleague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

† Denotes seasons in which Diamantidis won the Euroleague
Led the league

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2004–05 Panathinaikos 25 20 27.4 .544 .467 .709 3.7 3.1 2.0 .6 8.5 12.5
2005–06 Panathinaikos 23 22 30.1 .492 .269 .785 4.5 2.9 2.3 .8 8.7 13.1
2006–07† Panathinaikos 24 24 29.1 .489 .460 .780 3.9 3.9 2.2 .6 8.9 14.3
2007–08 Panathinaikos 19 19 30.9 .484 .435 .769 5.3 3.3 1.8 .7 8.5 15.1
2008–09† Panathinaikos 21 12 27.3 .486 .441 .863 4.4 3.1 1.5 .5 8.5 14.0
2009–10 Panathinaikos 12 9 26.7 .559 .516 .738 2.9 3.3 1.5 .3 9.4 13.7
2010–11† Panathinaikos 22 21 30.5 .433 .370 .872 3.9 6.2 1.6 .1 12.5 18.5
2011–12 Panathinaikos 23 21 30.0 .448 .425 .882 3.7 4.8 1.5 .5 11.5 16.4
2012–13 Panathinaikos 27 25 31.5 .368 .315 .712 3.4 5.8 1.4 .4 8.1 13.1
2013–14 Panathinaikos 29 27 31.2 .324 .283 .763 2.4 6.2 1.4 .1 8.9 12.8
2014–15 Panathinaikos 27 27 27.3 .410 .379 .814 2.3 5.9 .9 .3 8.0 12.1
2015–16 Panathinaikos 26 1 21.2 .459 .376 .827 2.3 4.2 .8 .2 7.2 10.3
Career 278 228 28.7 .442 .375 .795 3.5 4.5 1.6 .4 9.0 13.7

Awards and honors

Club career

Greek national team

Individual

Other

Notes

  1. ↑ See[1][2][3][4][5]
  2. ↑ See[7][8][9][10][11]
  3. ↑ See[12][13][14][15]

References

  1. ↑ Fibaeurope.com, David Blatt quotes following the 2011 Euroleague final
  2. ↑ Euroleague.net, Diamantidis makes history with 1000 assists
  3. ↑ Sdna.gr, Sergio Scariolo: Keep Diamantidis in basketball forever
  4. ↑ Sdna.gr, James Gist: Diamantidis one of the greatest ever
  5. ↑ Ethnos.gr, European greats pay tribute to Diamantidids
  6. ↑ Euroleague.net, Lawlor, Frank - Anticipating a milestone in Munich
  7. ↑ Youtube.com, Giannis Antetokounmpo: My idol is Dimitris Diamantidis
  8. ↑ Eurohoops.net, Thomas Heurtel: Hope I will manage to be like Diamantidis
  9. ↑ Sdna.gr, Mindaugas Kuzminskas: Can't wait my last match against Diamantidis
  10. ↑ Pamesports.gr, Joffrey Lauvergne: Diamantidis, my favorite player
  11. ↑ Sportando.com, Luigi Lamonica: Diamantidis deserves to be among the Euroleague legends
  12. ↑ Euroleague.net, Interviews - Dimitris Diamantidis
  13. ↑ Euroleague.net, MVP Diamantidis heads 2010-11 All-Euroleague First Team
  14. ↑ Euroleague.net, Diamantidis is MVP of the Final Four
  15. ↑ Euroleague.net, Dimitris Diamantidis wins sixth Best Defender Trophy
  16. ↑ Euroleague.net profile as All-Decade Team member
  17. ↑ Euroleague.net, Official statistics - All-time assists leaders
  18. ↑ Euroleague.net, Official statistics - All-time steals leaders
  19. ↑ Euroleague.net, Diamantidis celebrated as Euroleague basketball legend
  20. ↑ Draftexpress.com, Euroleague: Who's hot
  21. ↑ Eurohoops.net, Dimitris Diamantidis: I am blessed… thank you
  22. ↑ FIBA.com, FIBA EuroBasket 2005 assists leaders
  23. ↑ FIBA.com, 2006 FIBA World Championship steals leaders
  24. ↑ Fibaeurope.com, Mister Europa 2007
  25. ↑ Euroleague.net Dimitris Diamantidis wins sixth Best Defender Trophy.
  26. ↑ Euroleague.net MVP Diamantidis heads 2010–11 All-Euroleague First Team.
  27. ↑ Talkbasket.net - Panathinaikos keep their captain Diamantidis.
  28. ↑ Sportando.com, Diamantidis announces he'll retire after this upcoming season
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Euroleague.net, Dimitris Diamantidis wins sixth Best Defender Trophy
  31. ↑ Sdna.gr, Sergio Scariolo: Keep Diamantidis in basketball forever

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Mr. Europa
2007		 Succeeded by
Spain Ricky Rubio
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