There are a lot of great Greek Coaches. However, not all the great coaches will be discussed here because it would take many pages just to dictate all the great Greek Coaches in history.
One of the Best Greek Coaches
Giannis Ioannidis was born on February 26, 1945 in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is a former basketball player and a former basketball coach.
When he was still young, particularly 15 years old, he joined the Aris Thessaloniki basketball team, after several years of playing for the team, he became the team’s head coach. He is considered to be the best Greek basketball coach because he is the one with the most titles won.
Giannis Ioannidis won 12 Greek Basketball Championships. He led the team Aris to eight Greek Basketball Championships in the year 1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990, he also led the team Olympiacos to four consecutive Greek Basketball Championships in the year 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996. He also won six Greek Cups.
He led the team Aris to five Greek Cups in the year 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 and the team Olympiacos in the year 1994. He also led three Greek Basketball Championship Runner-ups: with Aris in 1984, with Olympiacos in 1992, and with AEK Athens in 1997. Giannis Ionnidid also led three Euroleague Final Four Runner-up : in 1994 and 1995 with Olympiacos and in 1998 with AEK Athens.
He is also of the Greek Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted as both a player and a coach. However he announced his retirement from professional basketball coach career in the year 2004, before he was elected a New Democracy MP for the Thessaloniki A constituency in the 2004 general election, and reelected in 2007.
Considered as one of the best European Coaches
Želimir “Željko” Obradović was born on March 9, 1960 in Serbia. He is a professional basketball coach and is a former professional basketball player. His career as a basketball player was really very successful, so did his basketball coach career.
He has been the head coach of Panathinaikos Athens since the summer of 1999, and he has lead the team to become the top club in European club basketball during that time, while simultaneously maintaining the club at the top position in the HEBA A1 Greek national championship. In total, he has won 10 Greek Championships with Panathinaikos Athens in the year 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, 6 Greek Cups in the year 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and 4 Euroleague titles (2000, 2002, 2007 and 2009) with the “Greens” or the Panathinaikos Athens.
In 2007, he achieved winning the highly coveted Triple Crown chmapionship for the second time as a headcoach ( the first was in 1992 with Partizan Belgrade) and won the Euroleague Coach of the Year Award. Also in 2009, he managed for third time this achievement in Berlin as head coach. He is currently the head coach of the Greek Powerhouse Panathinaikos Athens and is generally considered one of the best European coahes ever.