Vassilis Xanthopoulos (alternate spellings: Vasilis, Vasileios, Vasilios;

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Βασίλης Ξανθόπουλος; born 29 April 1984) 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 last served as the

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 ...

for

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), ...

of the

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 ...

(GBL). He is 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall and he played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position. During his pro club career, Xanthopoulos won the World Club Championship

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 ...

title in 2019, a European Triple Crown winner in 2007, the European-wide top-tier level

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 in 2007, and the European-wide secondary level

FIBA Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefor ...

championship in 2018.

Early life and youth career

Xanthopoulos grew up playing for the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or Sports league, league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team (a ...

s of the Greek club Olympiacos Piraeus. Xanthopoulos began playing with Olympiacos' junior teams in 1997. He began his senior men's club playing career with the Greek club

Peiraikos Syndesmos Peiraikos Syndesmos (Greek: Πειραϊκός Σύνδεσμος) or simply Peiraikos, also written Piraikos Syndesmos, is one of the oldest sports clubs in Greece, based in Piraeus. It was founded in 1894. Today Peiraikos has departments in baske ...

, of the Greek 3rd Division, in the 2001–02 season.

Professional career

Near East (2002–2004)

Xanthopoulos started his professional career with 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 ...

club

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

in 2002.

Panathinaikos (2004–2005)

Xanthopoulos transferred from

to the Greek powerhouse

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

in 2004.

PAOK (2005–2006)

In 2005, Xanthopoulos was loaned by

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

Panathinaikos (2006–2007)

In 2006, Xanthopoulos returned 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 ...

, and with them he won the European Triple Crown in 2007. His team accomplished this by winning the Greek League championship, the

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 ...

, and the

all in the same season.

Panionios (2007–2009)

In 2007, Xanthopoulos transferred to the Greek club

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''), ...

Panellinios (2009–2011)

In 2009, Xanthopoulos moved to the Greek club

Panellinios 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 ...

Panionios (2011–2012)

In 2011, Xanthopoulos rejoined

Panathinaikos (2012–2013)

In 2012, Xanthopoulos returned to

as an auxiliary player.

Obradoiro (2013–2014)

Xanthopoulos moved to the Spanish League club Obradoiro in 2013.

Panionios (2014–2015)

Xanthopoulos returned for a second stint with

in 2014.

Aris (2015–2017)

In 2015, Xanthopoulos moved to

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 spent two seasons.

AEK (2017–2019)

On July 5, 2017, Xanthopoulos 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 ...

of the

, where he signed a one-year contract, with the option of renewal for another season. With AEK, he won the

title, in 2018, as well as the

title during the same season.

Peristeri (2019–2020)

On July 1, 2019, Xanthopoulos and

AEK 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. Established ...

officially parted ways. Three days later, Xanthopoulos joined the Greek club

. He averaged 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game with Peristeri. On August 13, 2020, Xanthopoulos left the team.

Kolossos Rodou (2020–2022)

On August 21, 2020, Xanthopoulos moved to the Greek club Kolossos Rodou. On June 30, 2021, he renewed his contract with the

Greek island Greece has many islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000, depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 and 227. The largest Greek island by ...

team, and was named

. In 17 games, he averaged 4.2 points (shooting with 36% from the 3-point line), 2.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1 steal in 20 minutes per contest. He was ruled out just before the end of the season, due to an unspecified injury.

Return to AEK (2022–2023)

On August 29, 2022, Xanthopoulos returned to

for a second stint, following his Kolossos head coach

Ilias Kantzouris Ilias Kantzouris (Greek: Ηλίας Καντζούρης; born August 11, 1973) is a Greek professional basketball coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague, under head coach Vassilis ...

to the team. In 22 league games, he averaged 2.4 points, 1 rebound and 3.8 assists in 14 minutes per contest.

Peristeri (2023–2025)

On July 29, 2023, Xanthopoulos returned to

, under head coach

Vassilis Spanoulis Vassilis Spanoulis (), also commonly known as Bill Spanoulis (), or Billy Spanoulis (; born 7 August 1982) is a Greek former professional basketball player and basketball coach, coach, who is currently the head coach for AS Monaco Basket, AS Mon ...

. On May 3, 2025, Xanthopoulos announced his retirement from professional basketball after the last game of the season against Panionios.

National team career

Greek junior national team

Xanthopoulos was a member of the Greek junior national teams. He won the bronze medal at the

2002 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2002 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Germany in 2002. Final ranking 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Awards External linksFIBA Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:F ...

, the bronze medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, and the silver medal at the 2005

FIBA Under-21 World Cup The FIBA Under-21 World Championship was a men's under-21-only basketball competition organized by the International Basketball Federation The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizat ...

. He also played at the

2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the seventh edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Brno, in the Czech Republic, hosted the tournament. Slovenia national basketball team, Slovenia won their second title. Teams ...

Greek senior national team

Xanthopoulos was also a member of the senior men's Greek national team. With Greece's senior national team, he played at the 2011 FIBA EuroBasket.

Career statistics

Domestic Leagues

Regular season

, - , 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 24 , , 25.5 , , .413 , , .370 , , .412 , , 1.7 , , 4.0 , , 1.4 , , 0 , , 6.6 , - ,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 24 , , 14.1 , , .457 , , .483 , , .692 , , 1.7 , , 3.0 , , 1.0 , , 0 , , 3.6 , - , 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Obradoiro , align=center , ACB , 34 , , 17.3 , , .296 , , .278 , , .618 , , 1.8 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , 0 , , 2.8 , - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Panionios , align=center , GBL , 24 , , 27.0 , , .398 , , .339 , , .813 , , 2.5 , , 5.4 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 25 , , 16.4 , , .361 , , .265 , , .500 , , 1.6 , , 3.2 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 2.7 , - , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Aris , align=center , GBL , 26 , , 21.2 , , .347 , , .328 , , .710 , , 2.6 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , 0 , , 4.2 , - , 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

A.E.K. 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. Established ...

, align=center , GBL , 26 , , 17.4 , , .300 , , .229 , , .750 , , 1.5 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , 0 , , 2.5 , - , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 13 , , 16.2 , , .361 , , .350 , , .500 , , 1.9 , , 2.6 , , .5 , , .1 , , 2.6

FIBA Champions League

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 18 , , 19.6 , , .571 , , .429 , , .714 , , 2.2 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;" , 2017–18† , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 20 , , 17.3 , , .529 , , .400 , , .917 , , 1.4 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 8 , , 16.3 , , .375 , , .200 , , - , , 1.0 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , 0 , , .9

References

External links

Euroleague.net Profile

Eurobasket.com Profile

Greek Basket League Profile

Hellenic Basketball Federation Profile

Spanish League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xanthopoulos, Vassilis 1984 births Living people 21st-century Greek sportsmen AEK B.C. players Aris B.C. players Basketball players from Athens Greek expatriate basketball people in Spain Greek men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Kolossos Rodou B.C. players Liga ACB players Near East B.C. players Obradoiro CAB players Olympiacos B.C. players Panathinaikos B.C. players Panellinios B.C. players Panionios B.C. players P.A.O.K. BC players Peiraikos Syndesmos B.C. players Peristeri B.C. players Point guards