Giorgos Sigalas (alternate spelling: Georgios) (; born 31 July 1971 in

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), ...

, Greece) 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 and is the current

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 ...

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

club Iraklis. During the decade of the 1990s, the tall

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

was the regular

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

of the pro club Olympiacos Piraeus, of the Greek League 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 ...

, and also of 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 ...

. Nicknamed

Rambo Rambo may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *John Rambo, the main character from the ''Rambo'' franchise * Mary Rambo, female character in '' Invisible Man'' Films * ''Rambo'' (franchise), starring Sylvester St ...

, during his playing career, Sigalas was one of the best European defensive players of his generation. Sigalas helped Olympiacos Piraeus to win a EuroLeague title in

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 ...

, as well as to make two more

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is European professional club basketball pyramid, the highest level tier, and most important professional sports, professional sports club, club bask ...

appearances, in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. With the Greece men's national team, he competed in six consecutive

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 ...

tournaments, (

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

), and he made it to the semifinals on the first three occasions. Sigalas was also instrumental on the Greek teams that made the semifinals of both the

1994 FIBA World Championship The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the 12th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Canada from August 4 to 14, 1994. The tournament was held at SkyDome ...

and the

1998 FIBA World Championship 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 ...

, as well as on Greece's team that finished in fifth place 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, ...

Professional career

Greece

Sigalas won five consecutive Greek League championships, while playing with Olympiacos Piraeus, from 1993 to 1997. He also won two

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 ...

titles with Olympiacos, in 1994 and 1997. He also 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 ...

. In 1997, while playing with Olympiacos, Sigalas won the European basketball Triple Crown, meaning his team won the Greek League championship, the

title, and also the European-wide top-tier level

championship, all in the same season. As of 2020, it is still the only time it has happened in the club's history.

Italy

Sigalas left Olympiacos Piraeus in 1997, after winning the

championship with them, and he then joined the Italian League team

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. He played there during the 1997–98 season.

Return to Greece

Sigalas then returned to the Greek League the following year, to play with

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

. He stayed with Aris until 2000, when he transferred to Aris' arch-rival PAOK Thessaloniki, with whom he played with from 2000 to 2002.

Spain

Sigalas next played in the Spanish League with

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, at the beginning of the 2002–03 season.

Back to Italy

Sigalas returned to the Italian League, to play with

Viola Reggio Calabria Viola Reggio Calabria is an Italian professional basketball club based in Reggio Calabria, Calabria. At its heyday the club was renowned for discovering talented players who would go on to play at the highest level, for example five former player ...

, at the end of the 2002–03 season.

End of career in Greece

In the last years of his pro playing career, Sigalas returned home to once again play in the Greek League, to finish his club career. He played with Makedonikos in the 2003–04 season, with

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''), ...

in the 2004–05 season, and finally, Sigalas ended his career back with

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

, where he played from 2005, until he retired in the year 2007.

National team career

Greece under-18, under-20 national teams

Sigalas made his U18 international debut with the

Greece men's national under-18 basketball team The Greece men's under-18 national basketball team (, ''Greece youth U-18 men's national basketball team'') is the representative national basketball team of Greece in international men's youth basketball competitions, such as the FIBA U18 EuroBas ...

at the

1990 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 1990 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in the Netherlands in 1990. Final ranking 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Awards External linksFIBA Archive {{DEFAU ...

, and the

Greece men's national under-20 basketball team The Greece men's national under-20 basketball team (, (Greek young men's national basketball team) is the representative for Greece in international Under-20 age basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of fi ...

won a silver medal at the

1992 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 1992 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 1992 European Championship for Men 'Under22 and Under') was the first edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Athens, in Greece, hosted the tournament. Italy ...

Greece men's national team

Sigalas was the long-time

of the

. He played with the Greece men's national team in 185

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

. With Greece's senior team, he competed in six consecutive

s (

, and

). Sigalas competed with the Greece men's national team at the

, and the

, as well as at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games.

Post-playing career

After retiring from playing professional club basketball, Sigalas worked as a TV basketball commentator in Greece, for

games. He also worked as a

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 ...

for the

. He would coach Ermis Lagkada, during the 2009–10 season. Later, he coached the Cypriot League team Keravnos, and the Greek team

Aigaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( ) is a town and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens urban area, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo, whose name comes from the words αίγα/a ...

. In January 2020, Sigalas was hired as the assistant coach of Ilias Kantzouris, for

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 ...

club

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (), commonly referred to as Iraklis Thessaloniki, is a multi–sporting club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded on 29 November 1908 and i ...

. He then spent two seasons as an assistant coach with Kolossos Rodou, before returning to

in 2022, under coach Kastritis.

Awards and accomplishments

Pro club career

* 5× consecutive Greek League Champion: (1993–1997) * 4× Greek League Finals MVP: (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997) * 2×

Winner: (1994, 1997) * 7× Greek League All-Star: (1994 I, 1994 II, 1996 I, 1996 II, 1998, 2001, 2002) * EuroLeague All-Final Four Team: (1994) *

FIBA European Selection The FIBA Europe All-Star Game was the all-star basketball exhibition game, which was also known as the "FIBA Europe Festival". The "FIBA Europe Festival All-Star Game" was held from 1964 to 1995. It was organized by FIBA Europe. The FIBA Europe ...

: (1995) *

FIBA EuroStar FIBA EuroStars was an annual All-Star Game showcase of the sport of European professional club basketball. It was organized by FIBA Europe. Commonly considered to be the European equivalent of the NBA All-Star Game, the FIBA EuroStars Game featu ...

: (1996) * Greek League MVP: (1996) *

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

: (1997) * Triple Crown Winner: (1997) * Acropolis Tournament MVP: (1999)