Alekos Spanoudakis

Alexandros Spanoudakis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος "Αλέκος" Σπανουδάκης) (8 July 1928[1] – 10 March 2019) was a Greek basketball player. He represented the Greece men's national basketball team. Along with his brother, Ioannis,[2] he is considered to be one of the early leading pioneers of the sport of modern basketball in the country of Greece. While a member of the Greek Basket League club Olympiacos, he became the first Greek basketball player to shoot jump shots in the modern style and technique, in the 1950s.[3]

Alekos Spanoudakis
Personal information
Born(1928-07-08)8 July 1928
Chania, Crete, Greece
Died10 March 2019(2019-03-10) (aged 90)
NationalityGreek
Career information
Playing career1947–1964
PositionShooting guard
Career history
1947–1964Olympiacos
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Greece
EuroBasket
Bronze medal – third place1949 Egypt
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third place1955 Spain

Club career

Spanoudakis played basketball at the club level with the Greek Basket League team Olympiacos. While with Olympiacos in the 1950s, Spanoudakis trained with Bob Cousy[4] and Greek-American Lou Tsioropoulos, of the NBA's Boston Celtics, in Greece. Spanoudakis, and his brother, Ioannis, learned the American style of basketball from the two Celtics players, and they were the first two athletes to bring American basketball techniques to Greece.

National team career

Spanoudakis was a member of the Greece men's national basketball team. With Greece, they won the bronze medal at the 1949 EuroBasket. He played at the 1951 EuroBasket, and at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games.[5]

References
  1. "Έφυγε πλήρης ημερών ο μεγάλος Αλέκος Σπανουδάκης – pikosapikos.gr".
  2. Alexandros Spanoudakis Related Olympians: Brother of Jean Spanoudakis.
  3. 1938-1960: The birth and the first championships.
  4. 1938-1960: The birth and the first championships.
  5. Alekos SPANOUDAKIS (GRE) participated in 3 FIBA / FIBA Zones events.
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