Dimitris Diamantidis
Template:Infobox Euroleague Player
Dimitris Diamantidis, also spelled Dimitrios Diamantidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης) (born May 6th, 1980 in Kastoria, Greece) is a Greek professional basketball player. He started his youth career with his home team in Kastoria in 1994 at the age of 14 and stayed there for 5 years. Kastoria's gym was renamed "Dimitris Diamantidis" in his honor, because it was the first place where he played basketball. He is 196 cm (6'5") in height. He plays the point guard position.
Player profile
Diamantidis is a left-handed point guard. He plays mostly as a point guard, but he can also play at both the shooting guard and small forward positions, and he can play as a point forward. He is very athletic and has a huge wingspan, which has led to him being given the nickname of Octopus Man. He is a pass first play maker. He is widely considered to be one of the best perimeter defensive players in the world that is not currently in the NBA.
Professional career
Iraklis
In the summer of 1999, at the age of 19, he began his professional career when he transferred to Iraklis BC and became a starting player there by his second season. Diamantidis helped to bring Iraklis, one of the oldest Greek teams back into prominence after the club had been struggling. With Iraklis, Diamantidis won the Greek A1 League MVP award in the 2003-2004 season.
Panathinaikos
Diamantidis moved a big step up in his career with his move to Panathinaikos BC of Athens in 2004; a basketball powerhouse of the Greek League and also of the Euroleague. With Panathinaikos BC, he has won the Greek Championship 4 times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008), the Greek Cup 4 times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008) and the Euroleague Championship in the Euroleague 2006-07 season.
Diamantidis has won several individual trophies since joining Panathinaikos, such as the Euroleague Defensive Player of The Year 4 times (2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08), the Greek Championship regular season MVP 4 times (2004, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2008), the Greek Championship playoff MVP 2 times (2005-06, 2006-07), and the Euroleague Final Four MVP award (Euroleague 2006-07). Dimitris was also named the 2007 Mr. Europa European Player of the Year.
Due to these great individual and team successes, the president of Panathinaikos BC, Pavlos Giannakopoulos, has signed Diamantidis through the year 2010 at an annual fee of about €1.9 million euros net.
Euroleague statistics
| SEASON | LEAGUE | TEAM | GP | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05 | Euroleague | Panathinaikos | 25 | 27.4 | 8.5 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 0.6 |
| 2005-06 | Euroleague | Panathinaikos | 23 | 30.1 | 8.7 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.8 |
| 2006-07 | Euroleague | Panathinaikos | 24 | 29.1 | 8.9 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 2.2 | 0.6 |
| 2007-08 | Euroleague | Panathinaikos | 19 | 31.0 | 8.5 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.7 |
Greek national team
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | ||
| Representing Greece | ||
| FIBA World Championships | ||
 |
2006 Japan | National team |
| European Championships | ||
 |
2005 Serbia & Montenegro | National team |
Dimitris is a member of the Greek national basketball team. With the national team of Greece he won the FIBA Europe 2005 European Championship. During the European Championship that year, he led the tournament in assists and he was selected to the all-tournament team. In the tournament semifinals against the French national basketball team, Diamantidis hit a game winning 3 point shot with Greece trailing by a score of 66-64 at the end of the game to give Greece the 67-66 victory and send them to the European Championship's final game.
He was also a member of the Greek national team that went on to win the silver medal the next year at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan. He was a key defensive factor in Greece's historic 101-95 victory against Team USA in the semifinals.
Diamantidis was also a member of Greece's national team that competed at the 2004 Olympic Basketball Tournament, which was held in Athens, Greece. He has also been selected to play on Greece's national team for the 2008 Olympic Basketball Tournament in Beijing, China.
Diamantidis was also on the Greek teams that participated in the 2003 European Championship and the 2007 European Championship. With his national team he has also won the silver medal at the 2001 Mediterranean Games and the gold medal at the 2006 Stanković Continental Champions’ Cup. He has also won 6 Acropolis Tournaments with his national squad, being the Acropolis Tournament's MVP twice, in the years 2005 and 2006. He is the player with the biggest participation in the Greek national team.
Awards and honors
Pro career
- 4-time Greek League MVP: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
- 2-time Greek Playoffs MVP: 2006, 2007
- 4-time Greek Champion: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- 4-time Greek Cup winner: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- 4-time Euroleague Defensive Player of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- 1-time Greek League assist leader: 2007
- 1-time European Champion: 2007
- 1-time All-Euroleague First Team: 2007
- 1-time Euroleague Final Four MVP: 2007
- 1-time Mr. Europa European Player of the Year : 2007
Greek national team
- Silver medal with Greece, 2001 Mediterranean Games
- 6-time Acropolis Tournament Champion with Greece 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
- 2-time Acropolis Tournament MVP 2005, 2006
- Gold medal with Greece, 2005 European Championship
- 1-time Eurobasket assist leader: 2005
- 1-time All-Eurobasket Team: 2005
- 1-time Stankovic Cup Winner with Greece: 2006
- Silver medal with Greece: 2006 FIBA World Championship
Notes
External links
- Dimitris Diamantidis Forum
- Euroleague.net player profile
- Panathinaikos BC player profile
- Interbasket.net player profile
- Draftexpress.com player profile
- NBADraft.net article on Diamantidis at the Euroleague Final Four
- Eurobasket2005.com Diamantidis All First Team 2005 European Championship
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