Georgios Printezis

Georgios Printezis (alternate spelling: Giorgos) (Greek: Γιώργος Πρίντεζης; born February 22, 1985) is a Greek professional basketball player. He is currently playing with Olympiacos Piraeus. He is 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) tall and he plays at the power forward position. He is best known for his game-winning shot, off a Vassilis Spanoulis assist, against CSKA Moscow at the end of the EuroLeague 2011–12 season's Final. Ηe is nicknamed "The Greek Lightning", "Saint Georgios Printezis", or simply, "The Saint".

Professional career

Early years

In the 2006–07 season, Printezis was loaned by Olympiacos to Olympia Larissa in the Greek League, where 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, he signed a 3-year contract with an NBA escape clause after the second year, worth €3.6 million euros with the Spanish ACB League club Unicaja Málaga.

Back to Olympiacos

On April 27, 2011, Printezis returned to his previous club, Olympiacos, after being transferred from Málaga. In the EuroLeague 2011–12 season's Final, he hit a game-winning shot, off an assist from Vassilis Spanoulis, with .7 seconds remaining on the game clock, to give Olympiacos the EuroLeague championship, with a victory over CSKA Moscow.

On July 12, 2012, he signed a new three-year contract with Olympiacos. Prior to that, he had considered a three-year, 4.5 million US dollars net income contract from Fenerbahçe Ülker, but he chose to stay with Olympiacos instead. With Olympiacos, he also won the 2012–13 season championship of the EuroLeague. On July 8, 2014, he extended his contract with Olympiacos until 2017.

NBA

Printezis was selected by the San Antonio Spurs 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, in exchange for their second round draft pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Spurs used that pick to draft Goran Dragić, and immediately traded Dragić to the Phoenix Suns to acquire the draft pick they used in 2009 to draft future NBA All-Rookie Second Team member DeJuan Blair). On January 20, 2011, the Toronto Raptors traded his draft rights to the Dallas Mavericks for Alexis Ajinça, a conditional second 2013 second round draft pick, and cash.

On December 10, 2011, the draft rights to Printezis were traded to the New York Knicks, 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 Wizards received Ronny Turiaf from the Knicks, in addition to a Dallas 2012 second round pick, a 2013 Knicks second round 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 NBA salary. On July 16, 2012, his and Kostas Papanikolaou's draft rights were traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, in a deal that sent Raymond Felton to New York. On February 21, 2013, his draft rights were subsequently traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, in a deal that sent Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers. On July 15, 2014, his draft rights and Thabo Sefolosha, were traded to the Atlanta Hawks, in exchange for the draft rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis, cash considerations, and a trade exception. On July 9, 2015, his draft rights, alongside a 2017 second-round pick, were traded to the Spurs, in exchange for Tiago Splitter.

Greek national team

With the junior national teams of Greece, Printezis played at the 2001 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, and at the 2004 and 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championships. He was selected to the senior men's Greek national basketball team that played at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. He won the bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2009, and he also played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

He was also a member of Greece's senior national teams that played at the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the EuroBasket 2013, the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and the EuroBasket 2015.

Career statistics

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

EuroLeague

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career

• Greek Youth All-Star Game: MVP (2006)
• 4x Greek League Senior All-Star: (2007, 2008, 2013, 2014)
• Greek All-Star Game Slam Dunk Champion: (2007)
• Greek League Best Young Player: (2007)
• 2x EuroLeague Champion: (2012, 2013)
• 3x Greek League Champion: (2012, 2015, 2016)
• Greek League Most Improved Player: (2012)
• 4x Greek League Best Five Team: (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• FIBA Intercontinental Cup Champion: (2013)
• Greek League Women's Favorite Player: (2015)