Dimitrios Papanikolaou (alternate spelling: Dimitris) (; born February 7, 1977, in

Nea Liosia Ilion (; before 1994: Νέα Λιόσια, ''Nea Liosia'') is a town and a suburb in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Geography Ilion lies southeast of Mount Aigaleo, northwest of Athens. The municipal town has an area of 9 ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

) is a retired 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 (appro ...

player and a professional

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. He is 2.02 m (6 ft 7 in) tall. He spent most of his career playing at the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

positions, although he also played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

position late in his career.

Professional career

Papanikolaou began his professional career in 1992 with the Greek club Sporting Athens when he was transferred from the amateur club Asteras Neon Liosion. He then transferred to Olympiacos Piraeus in the year 1995. With Olympiacos, he won 2

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

championships (1996, 1997), 2 Greek Cups (1997, 2002), the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

championship (

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

), and also the Triple Crown (1997). In 1997 summer Papanikolaou left Olympiakos for

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

, but he wasn't free for the Italian club until his 21st birthday. Finally, after 5 months without official action in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, he signed a new contract with Olympiacos. In 2002, he moved to Makedonikos Kozani, and then in 2003, he moved to

Panathinaikos Athens Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of ...

. With Panathinaikos, they won 4

championships (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), 3 Greek Cups (2005, 2006, 2007), the

championship (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

), and also the Triple Crown (2007). In 2007, he moved to

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

, in 2009 to

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

, and a year later he joined

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a city and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 133,630 inhabitants (2021 census), ...

. He announced his retirement from professional basketball on August 22, 2011.

National team career

With the

Greece men's national under-16 basketball team The Greece men's national under-16 basketball team, or Greek Cadets national basketball team, () is the representative for Greece in international under-16 basketball competitions. It is organized and run by the Hellenic Basketball Federation (E. ...

, Papanikolaou won the gold medal at the

1993 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 1993 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship (known at that time as 1993 European Championship for Cadets) was the 12th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. The cities of Trabzon, Giresun and Samsun, in Turkey, hosted the tournament. Gr ...

. With the

Greece men's national under-19 basketball team The Greek men's under-19 national basketball team (Greek youth national basketball team), () is the representative for Greece in men's international youth basketball competitions, and it is organized and run by the Hellenic Basketball Federation. ...

, he also won the gold medal at the

1995 FIBA Under-19 World Cup The 1995 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: 1995 Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19) was the 5th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship. It was held in multiple cities in Greece, from 12 to 22 July 1995. Host country ...

. With the

Greece men's national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team () represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Greece. Greece is currently ranked 13th in the FIBA Worl ...

, Papanikolaou competed at the

1998 FIBA World Cup The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and hosted in Greece ...

, and finished in 4th place in the world with Greece. He also competed with Greece at the following

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

s: the

1997 EuroBasket The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a ber ...

, the

1999 EuroBasket The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

, the

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

, and the

2003 EuroBasket The 2003 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2003, was the 33rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as the Europe qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, giving a berth ...

. Papanikolaou was also a member of the Greece team at the

1996 Summer Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

; and he was also a member of Greece's team at the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. In both Olympics, Greece managed to finish 5th in the world.

Coaching career

On January 24, 2012, Papanikolaou began his coaching career, as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, where he stayed for about one month. In the summer of 2012, he became the head coach of Ilysiakos. In 2013, he became an assistant coach for the

. In 2014, he coached the Greece men's national under-17 basketball team at the

2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship The 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship (Arabic: بطولة العالم لكرة السلة 2014 تحت 17 سنة ) was the 3rd edition of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship co ...

Personal life

His hails are from

Preveza Preveza (, ) is a city in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza, which is the s ...

and

Nafpaktia Nafpaktia (), Latinized Naupactia, is the historical name for the region around the port town of Nafpaktos (Naupactus) in Central Greece. It is also the name of a municipality in the Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, West Greece region, Greece. ...

ο Φον Δημητράκης του ελληνικού μπάσκετ
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Honors and accomplishments

Pro career

*6× Greek League Champion: (1996, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) *7× Greek League All-Star: (1996 II, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006) *5×

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

Winner: (1997, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007) *2×

Champion: (

) *

EuroLeague All-Final Four Team The EuroLeague All-Final Four Team, or FIBA SuproLeague All-Final Four Team, was an award given by Europe's premier level league, the FIBA Euroleague, to the top five basketball players of each season's EuroLeague Final Four competition. The Eur ...

: (

) *2× Triple Crown: Champion (1997, 2007) * Greek All-Star Game Slam Dunk Champion: (2001)

Greece junior national team

: *

References

External links

Euroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileDraftexpress.com Profile

Greek Basket League Profile

Hellenic Basketball Federation Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papanikolaou, Dimitrios 1977 births Living people AEK B.C. coaches AEK B.C. players Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Greek basketball coaches Greek Basket League players Greek men's basketball players Ilysiakos B.C. coaches Makedonikos B.C. players Olympiacos B.C. players Olympic basketball players for Greece Panathinaikos B.C. players Panionios B.C. players Basketball players from Athens Power forwards Shooting guards Small forwards Sporting basketball players 1998 FIBA World Championship players