Georgios Printezis (alternate spelling: Giorgos) ; born 22 February 1985, (a.k.a. the Saint), is a Greek former 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, who spent the majority of his pro club career with Olympiacos Piraeus of the

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 ...

and 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 ...

. Printezis won back-to-back

titles with Olympiacos in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. His game-winning shot against the Russian club CSKA Moscow, at the end of the 2012 EuroLeague Final, off an assist from Vassilis Spanoulis, is one of the all-time highlights in the history of the EuroLeague. Printezis earned an All-EuroLeague First Team selection in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. While representing the senior Greek national team, Printezis was instrumental in Greece's bronze medal run at the 2009 EuroBasket.

Professional career

Early years

For the 2006–07 season, Printezis was loaned by Olympiacos to Olympia Larissa, of the Greek League. With Olympia Larissa, he averaged 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. At the Greek All-Star Game weekend that season, he won the slam dunk competition. At the end of that season, he was also voted the Greek League Best Young Player. Following that success, he returned to Olympiacos.

Málaga

In 2009, Printezis signed a three-year contract with an

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

escape clause after the second year, worth €3.6 million net income, with the Spanish ACB League club Unicaja Málaga.

Return to Olympiacos

On April 27, 2011, Printezis returned to his previous club, Olympiacos Piraeus, after being transferred from Málaga. In the

's 2011–12 season's

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, Printezis hit a game-winning shot, off an assist from Vassilis Spanoulis, with 0.7 seconds remaining on the game clock, to give Olympiacos the EuroLeague championship, with a victory over the Russian

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

club CSKA Moscow. On 12 July 2012, Printezis signed a new three-year contract with Olympiacos. Prior to signing that contract, he had considered signing a three-year, US$4.5 million net income contract offer from the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

club Fenerbahçe Ülker, but he chose to stay with Olympiacos instead. With Olympiacos, he also won the 2012–13 season championship of the EuroLeague. On 8 July 2014, he extended his contract with Olympiacos until 2017. On 14 June 2017, Printezis signed a three-year contract extension with Olympiacos. He signed a one-year extension with the team on 16 June 2020. On 15 July 2021, Olympiacos announced that Printezis had agreed to another one-year contract extension with the club. On June 17, 2022, Printezis officially announced his retirement from playing professional club basketball, after winning the

championship of the 2021–22 season with Olympiacos. During his final season with the Reds, he served as the team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

NBA draft rights

Printezis was selected by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, in the second round, with the 58th selection overall of the 2007 NBA draft. The draft rights to Printezis were then acquired by the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, in exchange for their second-round draft pick in the 2008 NBA draft (the Spurs used that pick to draft

Goran Dragić Goran Dragić (born 6 May 1986) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Dragon", he played professional basketball in Slovenia and Spain before entering the NBA in 2008. Dragić also played for the Phoenix Suns, Miam ...

, and immediately traded Dragić to the Phoenix Suns, in order to acquire the draft pick they used in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

to draft future

NBA All-Rookie Second Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

member DeJuan Blair). On 20 January 2011, the Toronto Raptors traded Printezis' draft rights to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, in exchange for Alexis Ajinça, a conditional

second-round draft pick, and cash. On 10 December 2011, the draft rights to Printezis were traded to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, along with Tyson Chandler, and the draft rights to Ahmad Nivins, in a three-way trade. The Mavericks received Andy Rautins from the Knicks, and a second-round pick from the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. The Wizards received Ronny Turiaf from the Knicks, in addition to a Dallas

second-round draft pick, a 2013 Knicks second-round draft pick, and cash considerations. In the summer of 2012, Printezis turned down a one-year contract offer from the Knicks, that reportedly was for slightly more than the minimum

salary. On 16 July 2012, his and Kostas Papanikolaou's draft rights were traded to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

, in a deal that sent Raymond Felton to New York. On 21 February 2013, the draft rights to Printezis were subsequently traded to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, in a deal that sent Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers. On 15 July 2014, Printezis' draft rights and Thabo Sefolosha, were traded to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, in exchange for the draft rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis, cash considerations, and a trade exception. On 9 July 2015, the draft rights to Printezis, alongside a 2017 second-round draft pick, were traded to the Spurs, in exchange for

Tiago Splitter Tiago Splitter Beims (born January 1, 1985) is a Brazilian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time All-EuroLeague Team se ...

National team career

Greek junior national team

With the junior national teams of Greece, Printezis played at the 2001 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, and the

2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the eighth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Chekhov, in Russia, hosted the tournament. Russia won their first title. Ukraine and the Czech Republic were relegated to Div ...

Greek senior national team

Printezis was selected to the senior Greek national team that played at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. With Greece, he won the bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket. In addition to that, Printezis was on Greece's national teams that played at the following major tournaments: the 2008 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the 2013 EuroBasket, the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the 2015 EuroBasket, the 2017 EuroBasket, and the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Club career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="6", Olympiacos , 3 , , 0 , , 2.0 , , , , , , , , .3 , , , , , , , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , 3 , , 0 , , .9 , , 1.000 , , , , , , .3 , , , , , , , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , 1 , , 0 , , 5.2 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0.0 , , -1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , 8 , , 0 , , 8.9 , , .611 , , .500 , , .500 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .3 , , , , 3.8 , , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 21 , , 10 , , 19.0 , , .513 , , .238 , , .609 , , 3.2 , , .6 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.7 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 20 , , 15 , , 18.7 , , .636 , , .500 , , .517 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 8.8 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, 12 , , 6 , , 24.2 , , .517 , , .421 , , .750 , , 4.3 , , .8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 11.7 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , 14 , , 8 , , 15.6 , , .386 , , .182 , , .688 , , 2.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.6 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2011–12† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="11", Olympiacos , 21 , , 4 , , 21.8 , , .500 , , .310 , , .864 , , 4.1 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , 10.6 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2012–13† , 29 , , 27 , , 20.9 , , .465 , , .312 , , .750 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , 10.5 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 21 , , 14 , , 21.2 , , .443 , , .273 , , .659 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 10.2 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 20 , , 13 , , 25.1 , , .486 , , .300 , , .696 , , 4.8 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 12.2 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , 21 , , 20 , , 25.3 , , .561 , , .364 , , .698 , , 5.5 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , 14.1 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 32 , , 32 , , 25.4 , , .468 , , .403 , , .700 , , 5.1 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 12.8 , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 28 , , 27 , , 25.6 , , .466 , , .343 , , .691 , , 5.5 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 12.0 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 30 , , 26 , , 25.6 , , .480 , , .308 , , .621 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , 10.6 , , 12.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , 25 , , 21 , , 25.0 , , .526 , , .371 , , .690 , , 4.3 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 11.8 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , 31 , , 14 , , 18.2 , , .561 , , .436 , , .569 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 8.5 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , 35 , , 0 , , 9.3 , , .485 , , .375 , , .846 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .1 , , .0 , , 3.6 , , 3.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 375 , , 237 , , 20.3 , , .543 , , .340 , , .685 , , 3.9 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 9.6 , , 10.2

Domestic leagues

Regular season & Playoffs

Greece national team career statistics

National team

Awards and accomplishments

Club career

Titles won

*2×

Champion:

(with Olympiacos Piraeus) *

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, previously known to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs and the FIBA Club World Cup, is an annual international men's basketball competition organised by FIBA, the sport's global governing body. The competit ...

Champion:

(with Olympiacos Piraeus) * 4× Greek League Champion:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

(with Olympiacos Piraeus) * 3×

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: 2002, 2011,

(with Olympiacos Piraeus)

Other honors

* 2× EuroLeague Finals Finalist:

(with Olympiacos Piraeus) * 6× EuroLeague Final Four Participation:

(with Olympiacos Piraeus) * 7× Greek League Finalist:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

(with Olympiacos Piraeus) * 5×

Finalist: 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013,

(with Olympiacos Piraeus)

Greek senior national team

* 2009 EuroBasket: * 3× Acropolis Tournament Champion: 2013, 2015, 2017

Individual awards and accomplishments

European awards

* EuroLeague 2010–2020 All-Decade Team: 2020 * All-EuroLeague First Team:

* EuroLeague MVP of the Month: April 2015 *3×

EuroLeague MVP of the Round The EuroLeague MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Round, previously known as the EuroLeague MVP of the Week, is an EuroLeague awards, award of European professional club basketball system, Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, t ...

: * Eurobasket.com's All-Europe First Team: 2017

Domestic awards

* Greek League Hall of Fame: 2022 *2× Greek League Finals MVP: 2012, 2015 *5× All-Greek League First Team: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 * 4× All-Greek League Second Team: 2007, 2013, 2018, 2019 *3× All-Greek League Forward of the Year: 2012, 2016, 2017 * Greek League Domestic Player of the Year: 2017 * Greek All-Star Game Slam Dunk Champion: 2007 *6× Greek League All-Star: 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019 * Greek Youth All-Star Game

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

: 2006 * Greek League Best Young Player: 2007 * Greek League Most Improved Player: 2012 * Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer: 2012

Club team awards

* No. 15 retired by Olympiacos Piraeus (2024) *Olympiacos Piraeus 2010–20 Team of Decade * Olympiacos Piraeus' All-Time

Rebounding Leader * Olympiacos Piraeus' All-Time Greek League Top Scorer

National team awards

* Acropolis Tournament Top Scorer:

Professional career

Early years

Málaga

Return to Olympiacos

NBA draft rights

National team career

Greek junior national team

Greek senior national team

Club career statistics

EuroLeague

Domestic leagues

Regular season & Playoffs

Greece national team career statistics

National team

Awards and accomplishments

Club career

Titles won

Other honors

Greek senior national team

Individual awards and accomplishments

European awards

Domestic awards

Club team awards

National team awards

References

External links