Nikos Linardos (; born August 26, 1963, in

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 Greek former professional basketball player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. During his playing career, at a height of tall, he 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.

Professional career

Linardos played

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 enterprises * ...

basketball with the Greek League team Panionios Athens. He was a member of the Panionios team that finished in 2nd place in the Greek League in 1987, which is the club's highest ever finish in the league. He was also a member of the Panionios team that won the 1991

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 ...

title, which is the only top-tier level title in the club's history. During his club career, he also played with the Greek clubs Sporting Athens,

Panellinios Athens Panellinios G.S. (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γ.Σ.), full name, Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος), is a Greek multi-sport club that is located in Athens and was founded i ...

, and

Maroussi Athens Maroussi B.C. () alternately translated as Marousi, Amaroussio, or Amaroussion, is a professional basketball club that is based in Maroussi, a northern suburb of Athens, Greece. The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Maroussi Basketball Clu ...

National team career

Linardos was a member of the senior men's Greek national team. With Greece, he won the gold medal at the 1987 FIBA EuroBasket.

Coaching career

After his playing career ended, Linardos 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 ...

. He worked as an assistant basketball coach under head coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...

, at

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, in the 1997–98 season. He also worked as an assistant under head coach

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, in the 1998–99 season. Linardos was also an assistant coach under

Vangelis Alexandris Evangelos "Vangelis" Alexandris (; born February 2, 1951) is a Greek former international basketball player and coach. With a height of 1.82 meters, he played as a point guard and was nicknamed "''The Tiger ''" due to his dynamic playing style. He ...

, and under

Panagiotis Giannakis Panagiotis "Notis" Giannakis (, ; born January 1, 1959), alternatively spelled Panayiotis Yiannakis or Yannakis, is a former Greek professional basketball player and coach. He is considered to be one of the greatest sportspeople of Greece. He st ...

, in the senior men's Greek national team, from 2007 to 2008. Linardos was 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 ...

of the Greek club

Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi (), also known as Amarousio (), is a city and a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens urban area, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was '' Athmonon'' () and it r ...

, and the Cypriot club

APOEL APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

. With APOEL, he won the

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup, formally known as the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup of First and Second Division () for sponsorship purposes, is a Cypriot knockout football club competition, hosted annually by the Cyprus Football Association. First held in 1934, it i ...

title in 2003. After that, he worked as the head coach of the Cypriot club

Apollon Limassol Apollon Limassol FC (, ''Apollon Lemesou'') is a Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon FC currently plays in the Cypriot First Division and has won the championship tit ...

, and the reek club Panionios Athens. In 2013, Linardos began to coach a youth academy basketball team in

Galatsi Galatsi (, ''Galátsi'' ), called in Katharevousa Galatsion (, ''Galátsion''), is a town, a northern suburb of Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica (region), Attica region. The municipality has an area of 4.026 km ...

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 ...

, along with his former teammate from his playing days, Michalis Romanidis. In July 2018, Linardos became the Director of the basketball academies of

Panionios GSS Panionios G.S.S. (Greek: Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'', is a Greek multi-sport club founded in 1890. Originally ...

Sports commentating career

Linardos has also worked as a

sports commentator In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

, doing analysis during broadcasts of basketball games on Greek TV.

Personal life

Linardos' father, Petros (1925–2022), was a

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. His grandparents were

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

from

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

.πέθανε ο σπουδαίος αθλητικογράφος Πέτρος Λινάρδος naftemporiki.gr
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References

External links

Hellenic Basketball Federation Profile

KBA Coach Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linardos, Nikos 1963 births Living people 20th-century Greek sportsmen 21st-century Greek sportsmen FIBA EuroBasket–winning players Greek basketball coaches Greek men's basketball players Maroussi B.C. coaches Maroussi B.C. players Panionios B.C. coaches Panionios B.C. players Panellinios B.C. players Power forwards Sporting basketball players