Giorgos Valavanidis (; 16 February 1974 – 12 November 2024) was a Greek professional basketball player.

Professional career

Valavanidis's origin is from

Alexandroupoli Alexandroupolis (, ) or Alexandroupoli (, ) is a city in Greece and the capital of the Evros (regional unit), Evros regional unit. It is the largest city in Greek Thrace and the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,75 ...

and was raised in the local club of

Feres, Evros Feres () is a town and a former municipality in the Evros regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Alexandroupolis, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal uni ...

. He started his career from there and transferred to

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

in 1988. He played with PAOK'S youth teams and he was promoted to the first team in 1991. Valavanidis was member of the team which won the Saporta Cup 1991, at the age of 17. He played with PAOK, until 1994 and he won the Greek League championship in 1992, and

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...

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 ...

. In 1994 Valavanidis moved to MENT, and he played for six years. After 2000 he played with several clubs such as

Xanthi Xanthi is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope mountain chain, the city is divided ...

, Kolossos,

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

Aias Evosmou Aias Evosmou is a Greek multi-sport club based in Evosmos, Thessaloniki. It was founded in 1967 and it has departments in various sports, football, basketball and volleyball. The full name of the club is Athlitikos Politistikos Syllogos Aias Evosm ...

and

Apollon Kalamarias Apollon Kalamarias (Greek: Απόλλων Καλαμαριάς) is a Greek sports club from Kalamaria, a suburb of Thessaloniki. It was founded in 1926. The club is named after Apollo, the mythical Greek god. Its colors are red and black. Histor ...

. In 2010 Valanidis returned to

and became coach at club's academies.

Greek national team

Valavanidis won the silver medal at the

FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The FIBA U16 EuroBasket is the new name for the FIBA U16 European Championship, originally known as the FIBA European Championship for Cadets. It's a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1971 edition. Through the 20 ...

. He also played at the

1992 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 1992 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Hungary in 1992. Final ranking 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Awards External linksFIBA Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:FIBA 199 ...

, in which his team finished in fourth place.

Death

Valavanidis died from a heart attack in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, on 12 November 2024, at the age of 50.

References

External links

at eok.gr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valavanidis, Giorgos 1974 births 2024 deaths Greek men's basketball players Kolossos Rodou B.C. players MENT B.C. players P.A.O.K. BC players Xanthi B.C. players Sportspeople from Alexandroupolis Centers (basketball) 20th-century Greek sportsmen 21st-century Greek sportsmen