Georgios Printezis


Georgios "George" Printezis is a Greek professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the EuroLeague. Printezis won back to back EuroLeague titles with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013. His game-winning shot against CSKA Moscow at the end of the 2012 EuroLeague Final, off an assist from Vassilis Spanoulis, is one of the all-time highlights in the history of the EuroLeague.
He earned an All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2017. While representing the senior Greek national team, Printezis was instrumental in the national team's bronze medal run at the 2009 EuroBasket.

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's 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.
On June 14, 2017, Printezis signed a three-year contract extension with Olympiacos. He signed a one-year extension with the team on June 16, 2020.

NBA draft rights

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. 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.

National team career

Greek junior national team

With the junior national teams of Greece, Printezis played at the 2001 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the 2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, and the 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

Greek senior national team

Printezis was selected to the senior men's Greek national basketball team that played at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He won the bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket, 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 following tournaments: the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the 2013 EuroBasket, the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the 2015 EuroBasket, the 2017 EuroBasket, and the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Career statistics

†Denotes seasons in which Printezis' team won the EuroLeague

EuroLeague

Awards and accomplishments

Club career