Gymnastikos Syllogos Iraklis Basketball Club ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής Κ.Α.Ε., ) is a Greek professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team that is located in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. It serves as the senior men's basketball section of the

multi-sport club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

of G.S. Iraklis. Iraklis currently plays in the second-tier level

Greek A2 Basket League The Greek A2 Basket League ( el, Ελληνική Α2 Μπάσκετ Λιγκ, link=no), is a professional basketball league in Greece. It is the 2nd-tier level of pro competition, among clubs in the country. It is organized by the Hellenic Bask ...

. The team's colors are blue and white. Iraklis won the Greek National Championship in 1928 and 1935, and has also reached the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

final three times. Some of the greatest players in Greek, European and worldwide basketball have played for Iraklis over the years including:

Lefteris Kakiousis Eleftherios "Lefteris" Kakiousis ( el, Ελευθέριος "Λευτέρης" Κακιούσης; born 7 June 1968 in Thessaloniki, Greece) is a retired Greek professional basketball player and a professional basketball coach. He played at the po ...

Jure Zdovc Jurij "Jure" Zdovc (born 13 December 1966) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player and coach Zdovc Returning to Helm of National Team.] As a player, he was a 1.98 m (6'6") tall point guard, who began his professional playing caree ...

, James Donaldson (basketball), James Donaldson, Walter Berry, Xavier McDaniel, Roy Tarpley, Nikos Chatzivrettas, Vasily Karasev,

Lazaros Papadopoulos Lazaros Papadopoulos (Greek: Λάζαρος Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 June 1980) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He was listed at 7 ft (2.13 m) 265 lbs (120 kg), and he played the center position. During hi ...

, Dimitris Diamantidis and

Sofoklis Schortsanitis Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Greek: Σοφοκλής Σχορτσανίτης; born 22 June 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian. An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the EuroLeague title ...

History

The Iraklis parent athletic club was founded in 1908, and initially featured

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

. The club was named after

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

(or

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

), the

mythical Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

Greek

demigod A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" ( spiritual enlightenment). A ...

. The basketball team of Iraklis was established in 1921. Iraklis won the inaugural Greek League championship in 1928. To win the championship, Iraklis had to eliminate

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

and

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, before beating VAO in the championship game. The team won its second Greek championship in 1935. Also in the team's history, three times Iraklis finished in second place in the Greek Championship (1936, 1962, and 1964), three times Iraklis has been a

Finalist (1981, 1994, and 1996), and two times Iraklis made it to the semifinals of the European 2nd-tier level league

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

. Iraklis reached the semifinals of the

1994–95 FIBA European Cup The 1994–95 FIBA European Cup was the twenty-ninth edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition. It occurred between September 6, 1994, and March 14, 1995. The final was held at the Abdi İpekçi Aren ...

, where they competed against Taugrés. Iraklis won the first game 79–78, but lost the next two games, to be eliminated 2–1 in a

best of three There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

series. In 1996, an Iraklis team led by former NBA players Xavier McDaniel and Roy Tarpley, reached the

Final Four. By beating

Apollon Patras :''The first version of this article has been based in the text of :el:Α.Σ. Απόλλων of the Greek Wikipedia published under the GFDL.'' A.S. Apollon Patras (Greek:''A.Σ. Απόλλων Πατρών'') is a multi-sports club that is bas ...

in the semifinal, Iraklis reached the final, where it then lost 85–74 to Panathinaikos. Iraklis has also twice competed in the top European continental competitions. The club played in the European top-tier level European Champions' Cup in the 1995–96 season, and also competed in the FIBA SuproLeague during the 2000–01 season.

Recent history (2005-present)

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

, Iraklis was

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

to the

, after finishing 13th in the first-tier Greek League. In 2010, after four seasons in the second-tier level Greek League, the team was promoted back up to the top-tier Greek Basket League. After one season in the Greek top-tier level, Iraklis was again relegated down to the A2, with two matches left in the season. At the end of the season, Iraklis chose to play in the third-tier level of Greek basketball, the

Greek B Basket League The Greek B Basket League, or Greek B Basketball League ( Greek: Ελληνική Β Μπασκετ Λιγκ), is a national basketball league in Greece. It is also known as the Second National Championship, B National Championship, Second National ...

, in order to clear its debts. The club was promoted to the

in 2013, after finishing 2nd in its group, and after

Peristeri Peristeri ( Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipality of Greece ...

failed to receive financial clearance to participate in the league. In the 2018–19 season, Iraklis won the promotion playoffs of the Greek A2 League, and was promoted up to the top level

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

, for the first time in 8 years. During the 2019–20 season, Iraklis is taking part in the

organized by the

Hellenic Basketball Federation The Hellenic Basketball Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης, abbreviated as Ε.Ο.Κ.) is the main basketball governing body for the sport in Greece. It directs and oversees all of the national b ...

. The season started in October 2019 and was scheduled to end in June 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the championship was terminated earlier. Iraklis took the 7th place with 29 points, having 9 wins and 11 losses in a total of 20 games. In the 2020–21 season, Iraklis returned to European competitions, taking part in the qualifying round of the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Interconti ...

and later on in the 2020–21

FIBA Europe Cup The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...

where the club reached the Top16 round having 3 wins and 1 loss. In the 2020–21 season Iraklis took the 10th place with 29 points, having 7 wins and 15 losses in a total of 22 games.

In European-wide competitions

Honours and titles

European competitions

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

: Semifinalists (2): 1994–95, 1996-97

Domestic competitions

* Greek League : Champions (2): 1927–28, 1934–35 : Runners-up (3): 1935–36, 1961–62, 1963–64 *

: Runners-up (3): 1980–81, 1993–94, 1995–96 * Greek Second Division : Champions (2): 1974–75, 1977–78

Home arena

In earlier times, Iraklis played its home games at the

Thessaloniki Forum The Thessaloniki Forum (Greek: Φόρουμ Θεσσαλονίκης) was an indoor sports arena that was located near the center of the city of Thessaloniki, in Greece. The venue was used to host basketball games, handball games, ice hockey game ...

. Iraklis currently plays its home games in the Ivanofeio Sports Arena, an arena with a seating capacity of 2,500. The arena opened in 1987, and it was expanded to its current capacity in 1991. Ivanofeio is situated in the

city center, and it is owned by the GS Iraklis multi-sport club.

Supporters

The most prominent supporters' club of the team is ''Aftonomi Thira 10'' (meaning Autonomous Gate 10), a fan club with a total of 15 branches in Northern Greece. The fan club is known for holding an antiracist stance, as it participates in the ''Ultras Antiracist Festival''. Other activities of the fan club include the publication of a magazine, and the conducting of an annual festival. Other minor supporters' clubs are ''SFISE'', ''Blue Boys'', ''A.P.A.T.S.I.'', and ''Iraklis Fan Club of Athens''. In a 2013 opinion poll, Iraklis was ranked as the 6th most popular basketball club in Greece, gathering 2.8% of the participating supporters' votes.

Players

Current roster

Depth chart

Notable players

David Ancrum David Chalton Ancrum (born June 9, 1958) is an American retired professional and college basketball player. He played college basketball for Utica College. Subsequently, he had a professional basketball career, and played in several leagues, most ...

(1987–92) * Vangelis Angelou (1995–96) * Walter Berry (1994–95) *

Roderick Blakney Roderick Bertrand Blakney (born August 6, 1976) is an American-born naturalized Bulgarian former professional basketball player. College career Blakney, a 6 ft 1 in (1.86 m) point guard played college basketball at South Carolina State Univ ...

(2001–02) *

Steve Burtt Sr. Steven Dwayne Burtt (born November 5, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player. The 6'2" point guard played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) sporadically from 1984 until 1993. He also had an established playing career ...

(1995) *

Steve Bucknall Steven Lee Bucknall (born 17 March 1966) is a retired English professional basketball player, and former head coach of British Basketball League expansion franchise London Capital. A 1.98 m (6'6") and 97.5 kg (215 lbs.) shooting gua ...

(1996–98) * Nikos Chatzivrettas (1997–02) * Dimitris Diamantidis (1999–04) *

Byron Dinkins Byron Stewart Dinkins (born June 15, 1967) is a retired American professional basketball player who played two seasons in the NBA, from 1989 to 1991. He played college basketball for UNC Charlotte. After his stint in the NBA Dinkins pursued a pro ...

(1998–00) * James Donaldson (basketball), James Donaldson (1993–94) *

Toney Douglas Toney Bernard Douglas (born March 16, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Benfica of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol. He played college basketball for Auburn for one year, eventually becoming frustrated with his role on t ...

(2021–22) * Justin Hamilton (2004–05) *

Olivier Hanlan Olivier Hanlan (born February 15, 1993) is a Canadian professional basketball player for Gaziantep Basketbol of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the Boston College Eagles of the NCAA and was the first player for B ...

(2019–21) *

Savvas Iliadis Savvas Iliadis (alternate spelling: Savas) ( el, Σάββας Ηλιάδης; born November 6, 1979) is a former Greek professional basketball player. Professional career Iliadis began playing basketball with the junior youth teams of Aias Evosm ...

(2002–05, 2011) *

Buck Johnson Alphonso "Buck" Johnson Jr. (born January 3, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player. Johnson, a 6'7" small forward, played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and Washington Bul ...

(1998–00) *

(1987–97, 2004–05, 2009–10) * Dimitris Kalaitzidis (2002–05, 2016–20) *

Georgios Karagkoutis Georgios Karagkoutis (alternate spellings: Giorgos, Karagoutis) ( el, Γιώργος Καράγκουτης) (born February 15, 1976 in Greece), is a retired Greek professional basketball player. At a height of 2.08 m (6 ft. 10 in.) tall, he ...

(2000–02) * Vasily Karasev (2000–01) * Takis Karatzoulidis (1971–85) *

Manthos Katsoulis Mathaios "Manthos" Katsoulis ( el, Μάνθος Κατσούλης; born 20 July 1956) is a Greek former professional basketball player. College career Katsoulis played college basketball at McGill University, with the McGill Redmen (1982–198 ...

(1990–93) *

Vassilis Kavvadas Vassilis Kavvadas (alternate spellings: Vasilis, Vasileios) (Greek: Βασίλης Καββαδάς; born December 28, 1991) is a Greek professional basketball player for Aris of the Greek Basket League. He is 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) tall and he ...

(2019–21) * Xavier McDaniel (1995–96) * Erik Meek (1996–97, 2001–02) * Igor Milošević (2003–05) * Aristeidis Moumoglou (1960–67, 1970–72) * Dimitris Papadopoulos (1985–94, 1996–97) *

(1996–01, 2003–04) *

Michalis Polytarchou Michalis Polytarchou ( Greek: Μιχάλης Πολυτάρχου; born June 23, 1983) is a Greek professional basketball player who plays for Triton of the Greek A2 Basket League. He is a 1.90 m (6' 2 ") tall shooting guard. Professional care ...

(2018–19) *

Vladimir Petrović-Stergiou Vladimir "Vlado" Petrović-Stergiou ( sr-cyr, Владимир "Владо" Петровић-Стергиоу, gr, Βλάντιμιρ "Βλάντο" Πέτροβιτς–Στεργίου; born January 27, 1977) is a Serbian-Greek former professi ...

(2009–11) * Sotiris Sakellariou (1971–84) *

(2000–03) * Charles Smith (1997) *

Nikos Stavropoulos Nikolaos "Nikos" Stavropoulos (Greek: Νικόλαος "Νίκος" Σταυρόπουλος; born June 17, 1959), Professor Nicholas "Magic" Stavropoulos, is a former Greek professional basketball player and coach. During his club playing career ...

(1992–93) * Roy Tarpley (1996) * Christos Tsekos (1986–92) *

(1993–96) File:Papodopoulos.jpg, alt=Papadopoulos playing for Greece, Lazaros Papadopoulos, Papadopoulos played a total of six seasons with Iraklis, in 1996–2001, and 2003–2004. File:Sofoklis Schortsanitis naional team (cropped).jpg, alt=Schortsanitis playing for Greece, Schortsanitis played with Iraklis, from 2000 to 2003. File:Diamantidis.jpg, alt=Diamantidis playing for Greece, Dimitris Diamantidis played with Iraklis, from 1999 to 2004.

Head coaches

References

External links

Official Website

Eurobasket.com Team Profile
;Press
Blue Arena
{{Greek A2 Basket League Iraklis Thessaloniki Basketball teams established in 1924 Basketball teams in Greece