Sofoklis Schortsanitis

Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Greek: Σοφοκλής Σχορτσανίτης; born 22 June 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian.[1]

Sofoklis Schortsanitis
Schortsanitis with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2011
Personal information
Born (1985-06-22) 22 June 1985
Tiko, Cameroon
NationalityGreek / Cameroonian
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight380 lb (172 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2003: 2nd round, 34th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Clippers
Playing career2000–2020
PositionCenter
Number21, 15, 5, 18, 12, 6, 22
Career history
2000–2003Iraklis
2003–2004Cantù
2004–2005Aris Thessaloniki
2005–2010Olympiacos
2010–2012Maccabi Tel Aviv
2012–2013Panathinaikos
2013–2015Maccabi Tel Aviv
2015Crvena zvezda
2015–2016PAOK
2017–2018Aries Trikala
2019–2020Ionikos Nikaias
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
FIBA World Cup 0 1 0
FIBA Stanković World Cup 1 0 0
FIBA EuroBasket 0 0 1
FIBA Under-19 World Cup 0 0 1
Albert Schweitzer U-18 World Tournament 1 0 0
FIBA U-18 European Championship 0 0 1
Total 2 1 3
Representing  Greece
Men's Basketball
FIBA World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2006 Japan
FIBA Stanković World Cup
Gold medal – first place2006 China
FIBA EuroBasket
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Poland
FIBA U19 World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Greece Under-19
Albert Schweitzer U18 World Tournament
Gold medal – first place 2002 Germany Under-18
FIBA Europe U18 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Germany Under-18

An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the EuroLeague title in 2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and reached the EuroLeague Final in 2010 and 2011, while playing for Olympiacos and Maccabi, respectively. He was a member of the Greece men's national basketball team that captured silver medal honours in the 2006 FIBA World Championship and a bronze medal in the EuroBasket 2009. He is nicknamed "Big Sofo" or "Baby Shaq".[2]

Early years

Born in his native port town of Tiko, Cameroon, Schortsanitis moved to his father's native country of Greece with his mother when he was very young. He has a younger brother called Alexandros.[3] Schortsanitis first took up basketball in his home city of Kavala. It was there where his parents advised him to play basketball, and Schortsanitis at first did not like the sport. But eventually the game grew on him, he was always practicing. Eventually, a scout/coach discovered his talent, and pushed him into the sport.

Professional career

Schortsanitis began playing professional basketball with Iraklis in the 2000–01 Greek League season. Starting in the 2002–03 Greek League season when he was 17, he averaged 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per league game. His performance record would be a failure in Cantù's 2003–04 season, in the Italian League; he lacked maturity and experience. He would return to Greece to play in the 2004–05 season with the Greek club Aris.

Olympiacos

In the 2005–06 season, Schortsanitis was transferred to Olympiacos. He became a vital member of the team that reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals, and his performances impressed Panagiotis Giannakis, who picked him for the Greece men's national basketball team at the end of the season.

During the following two years, Schortsanitis failed to achieve consistency, and his chronic weight issues reemerged, to the point that he spent almost the entire 2007–08 season dealing with them.[4] He came back in shape for the 2008–09 season, and helped Olympiacos reach the EuroLeague Final Four. In the 2009–10 season, he made another step towards consistency, displaying his most mature performances with Olympiacos, on the club's way to the EuroLeague Final, which they lost to Juan Carlos Navarro's and Ricky Rubio's Barcelona, 86–68.

Maccabi Tel Aviv

On 5 August 2010, Schortsanitis signed a two-year deal with the then five-time EuroLeague champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League.[5] His presence alongside Jeremy Pargo, Chuck Eidson, and Doron Perkins helped the team reach the 2011 EuroLeague Final, where they eventually lost to Dimitris Diamantidis' Panathinaikos, by a score of 78–70. Schortsanitis averaged 12 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1 assist per game throughout the EuroLeague 2010–11 season, earning an All-EuroLeague First Team selection.[6]

In the 2011–12 season, Schortsanitis fought a chronic knee injury, which affected his performance during the season, and left him unable to participate with the national team that summer. Nevertheless, he helped Maccabi reach the EuroLeague quarterfinals, where they were topped by Panathinaikos, losing the series, 3–2.

Panathinaikos

On 4 July 2012, Schortsanitis signed a three-year contract with the Greek club Panathinaikos,[7] worth €1.5 million euros net income.[8] He reportedly turned down significantly more lucrative offers from Baskonia Vitoria and Galatasaray, among others, to return to Greece and fulfill his desire to play for Panathinaikos. In July 2013, Panathinaikos announced that Schortsanitis would not continue play for the club.[9]

Second stint with Maccabi

On 10 July 2013, Schortsanitis returned to Maccabi after one season in Panathinaikos, and signed a three-year contract with the defending Israeli Premier League champions.[10] In his comeback season with Maccabi, the club won the finals of that season's EuroLeague, which was the first EuroLeague championship won in Schortsanitis' career. Over 29 games played in the EuroLeague that season, he averaged 9.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, in 14.2 minutes per game of playing time.

Crvena zvezda

On 2 August 2015, Schortsanitis signed a one-year contract with the Serbian club Crvena zvezda.[11][12] On 28 October 2015, he parted ways with Zvezda. In 6 games played with the club in the ABA League's 2015–16 season, he averaged 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.[13]

PAOK

On 2 November 2015, Schortsanitis signed with the Greek club PAOK, for the rest of the season.[14] With PAOK, he averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, in the European-wide 2nd-tier level EuroCup's 2015–16 season.[15]

Apollon Patras

In December 2016, Schortsanitis joined the Greek club Apollon Patras. However, on 28 December, he suffered a serious injury, as he ruptured his Achilles tendon, during one of the team's practices. The injury caused him to then miss the entire remainder of the Greek Basket League 2016–17 season, and he was thus not able to play in any games with Apollon.

Aries Trikala

On 18 October 2017, Schortsanitis returned to action, and joined Aries Trikala of the Greek Basket League, for the 2017–18 season.[16] On 6 January 2018, he made his debut in a 76–86 loss to Rethymno Cretan Kings, recording 6 points and one rebound, off the bench.[17][18]

Ionikos Nikaias

On 24 July 2019, Schortsanitis signed with Ionikos Nikaias for the Greek Basket League 2019–20 season.[19]

NBA draft rights

Schortsanitis drew interest from the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers in the summer of 2006, after having been originally selected in the 2nd round (34th overall) of the 2003 NBA draft; however, because he was still under contract with Olympiacos at the time, he did not make a move to the NBA.[20] In 2010, his contract with Olympiacos expired, and he elected to participate in the NBA Summer League with the Clippers, with an eye towards joining the team; this time, however, the Clippers were unimpressed, and he failed to secure a contract with the team. On 30 July 2012, the Los Angeles Clippers traded the draft rights of Schortsanitis to the Atlanta Hawks in a sign-and-trade deal for Willie Green.[21]

On 15 July 2014, his draft rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Thabo Sefolosha, the rights to Georgios Printezis, and cash considerations.[22]

Retirement

On 10 December 2020, Schortsanitis announced his retirement from playing pro club basketball. Thus, making him one of the eleven players from the 2003 NBA draft Class to have never played in the NBA.[23]

National team career
Schortsanitis playing for the Greece men's national basketball team.

Greece "Under" national teams

Schortsanitis was on the squad of the Under-16 national team that played at the 2001 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the squad of the Under-18 national team that won a bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and the squad of the Under-19 national team that won a bronze medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. Schortsanitis was on the squad of the junior national team that won the gold medal at the 2002 Albert Schweitzer Under-18 World Tournament, where he was also named the MVP of the tournament.

Greece national team

Play at friendly games and qualifiers were Schortsanitis' introduction to being on the senior Greek national team, before making his first appearance at a major FIBA competition at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, which was held in Japan. He helped Greece to win the silver medal, after they defeated Team USA, by a score of 101–95, in the semifinals. Schortsanitis scored 14 points, in 17 minutes in the game. He also played with Greece at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

At the 2009 EuroBasket, which was held in Poland, Schortsanitis' performance was decisive in Greece winning the tournament's bronze medal game against Slovenia, as he scored 23 points on a 78% field goal shooting percentage, while grabbing six rebounds, blocking two shots, and managing to draw 12 fouls. He also played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Player profile

Schortsanitis is a classic, "old school" style center that plays in the low post on offence, and that defends the rim and painted lane area of the court on defense. Schortsanitis was measured at the 2003 NBA pre-draft camp at a height of 6 ft 8+3⁄4 in (2.05 m) tall barefoot, 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall with shoes on,[24] and with a 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) wingspan.[25][26]

His official playing weight was listed as 380 pounds (172 kg).

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
† Denotes season in which Schortsanitis' team won the EuroLeague

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2005–06 Olympiacos 22119.1.618—.6324.9.51.2.610.712.0
2006–07 Olympiacos 17111.0.655—.5071.8.7.4.46.65.4
2008–09 Olympiacos 1318.3.568.000.6251.8.3.2.14.42.8
2009–10 Olympiacos 191813.3.614—.4862.5.6.5.27.26.6
2010–11 Maccabi 222019.2.585—.6254.11.0.8.612.013.0
2011–12 Maccabi 211416.0.595—.6253.01.0.6.48.78.6
2012–13 Panathinaikos 26912.1.576—.6042.3.9.3.17.86.4
2013–14† Maccabi 292014.2.613—.5772.61.1.8.39.68.3
2014–15 Maccabi 262014.7.528—.5492.31.0.3.46.75.9
2015–16 Crvena zvezda 2115.2.500—.500.5.0.0.54.5-1.5
Career 19710514.5.593.000.5832.9.8.6.48.47.9

Awards and accomplishments

Professional career

Greek junior national team

Greek senior national team

References
  1. "Prospect Profile: Sofoklis Schortsanitis". NBA.com. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  2. Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Baby Shaq, Big Sofo).
  3. ALEXANDROS SCHORTSANITIS basketball profile.
  4. "The Long Journey Of Sofoklis Schortsanitis". losangeles.sbnation.com. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  5. "Maccabi Tel Aviv announced Sofoklis Schortsanitis". Sportando.net. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  6. "MVP Diamantidis heads 2010-11 All-Euroleague First Team". Euroleague.net. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  7. "Panathinaikos lands Schortsanitis". Euroleague.net. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  8. Article on sport24.gr about Schortsanitis' transfer.
  9. "Panathinaikos waive Sofoklis Schortsanitis". Sportando.com. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  10. "Sofoklis Schortsanitis Returns to Maccabi". maccabi.co.il. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  11. "Skorcanitis menja Bobana Marjanovića". kkcrvenazvezda.rs (in Serbian). 2 August 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  12. "Crvena Zvezda signs former-Euroleague champ Schortsanitis". Euroleague.net. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  13. "Friendly breakup – Crvena zvezda parted ways with Schortsanitis". aba-liga.com. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  14. "PAOK adds size with Euroleague champ Schortsanitis". Eurocupbasketball.com. 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  15. SCHORTSANITIS, SOFOKLIS EuroCup 2015-16 STATISTICS.
  16. "Sofoklis Schortsanitis joins Trikalla". eurobasket.com. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  17. "'Big Sofo' is back: Schortsanitis again on the court after almost two years". Sportando.com. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  18. "Trikala Aries 76 - 86 Rethymno Cretan Kings". baskethotel.com. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  19. "Ionikos Nikaias signs Sofoklis Schortsanitis". Sportando. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  20. "– ΝΒΑ καλεί Σχορτσιανίτη" (in Greek). Sport24.gr. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  21. CLIPPERS ACQUIRE GUARD WILLIE GREEN FROM ATLANTA.
  22. Thunder Acquires Schortsanitis and Trade Exception.
  23. "Sofoklis Schortsanitis retires from basketball". Eurohoops. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  24. Sofoklis Schortsanitis Position: Center ▪ Shoots: Right 6 feet 10 inches (208 cm).
  25. "Official NBA Draft Measurements". Ibiblio.org. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  26. "Greek Prospects – ESPN.com Chad Ford 6'10". Interbasket.net. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
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