Alexandros Spanoudakis ( el, Αλέξανδρος "Αλέκος" Σπανουδάκης) (8 July 1928 – 10 March 2019) was a Greek

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He represented the

Greece men's national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body fo ...

. Along with his brother,

Ioannis Ioannis or Ioannes ( el, Ιωάννης), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John and the Arabic name Yahya . Notable people with the name include: * Ioannis I, Tzimiskis, Byzantine Emp ...

, he is considered to be one of the early leading pioneers of the sport of modern basketball in the country of Greece. While a member of the

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 ...

club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, he became the first Greek basketball player to shoot jump shots in the modern style and technique, in the 1950s.

Club career

Spanoudakis played basketball at the

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea'' Brands and enterprise ...

level with the

team

. While with Olympiacos in the 1950s, Spanoudakis trained with

Bob Cousy Robert Joseph Cousy (, born August 9, 1928) is an American former professional basketball player. Cousy played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time N ...

and

Greek-American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greeks, Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the hi ...

Lou Tsioropoulos, of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

, in Greece. Spanoudakis, and his brother,

, learned the American style of basketball from the two Celtics players, and they were the first two athletes to bring American basketball techniques to Greece.

National team career

Spanoudakis was a member of the

. With Greece, they won the bronze medal at the 1949 EuroBasket. He played at the

1951 EuroBasket The 1951 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1951, was the seventh FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Eighteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) en ...

, and at the

1952 Summer Olympic Games The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

.Alekos SPANOUDAKIS (GRE) participated in 3 FIBA / FIBA Zones events.
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References

External links

at fiba.com (archive)

at Sports-reference.com
Alekos Spanoudakis
at basket.gr {{DEFAULTSORT:Spanoudakis, Alekos 1928 births 2019 deaths Basketball players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1955 Mediterranean Games Greek Basket League players Greek men's basketball players Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Greece Olympiacos B.C. players Olympic basketball players of Greece Shooting guards Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Basketball players from Chania