Antonis Fotsis
Αντώνης Φώτσης

Nickname(s)	Batman[1]
Position	Power Forward
Height	6 ft 10.25 in (2.09 m)
Weight	250 lb (113 kg)
League	Greek League Euroleague
Team	Panathinaikos
Born	April 1, 1981 (1981-04-01) (age 29) Maroussi, Athens
Nationality	Greek
Draft	2nd round, 47th overall, 2001 Vancouver Grizzlies
Pro career	1996–present
Former teams	Ilisiakos (1996-97) Panathinaikos (1997-01), (2002-03) Memphis Grizzlies (2001-02) Real Madrid (2003-05) Dynamo Moscow (2005-08)
Awards	2x Acropolis Tournament MVP 2002, 2008 Best Euroleague Player Age 22 and Under 2003

Antonis Fotsis (alternate spelling: Antonios Fotsis) (Greek: Αντώνης Φώτσης; born April 1, 1981 in Maroussi, Athens) is a Greek professional basketball player. He is a 2.09 m (6 ft 10 ¼ in) power forward. He currently plays with Panathinaikos and captains the Greek national basketball team.

Player profile

Fotsis began his career as one of the biggest talents in Europe, while playing at the youth level. He is good at blocking shots, a top offensive rebounder, and an excellent 3 point shooter especially for a power forward. He plays a physical style defensive game and is a specialist at finishing with dunks off of lob passes and on the fast break. He has also captained the senior men's Greek national team. He is considered to be the best Greek basketball player in the power forward position of all time and one of the best players in recent basketball history along with Dimitris Diamantidis , Vasilis Spanoulis and Giannis Bourousis.

Pro career

Europe

Fotsis began his professional career in 1996 with the Greek A1 League club Ilisiakos. He then transferred to the Greek club Panathinaikos (PAO) in 1997. He got little playing time in his first 2 seasons with Panathinaikos, but he managed to become one of the team's key players during the 1999-00 season. With Panathinaikos, he won the Euroleague Championship that same season. One year later, he became a starter on the Panathinaikos team that made it to the FIBA Suproleague finals.

After spending the 2001-02 season in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies, he returned to Panathinaikos for the 2002-03 season, and became one of the team's leaders. With PAO, he won both the Greek Cup and the Greek Championship that year. In 2003, he moved to the Spanish ACB League club Real Madrid.

With Real Madrid, he was one of the key contributors on the teams that made it to the Eurocup Finals in 2004, and won the Spanish Championship in 2005. In 2005, he then transferred to the Russian Superleague club Dynamo Moscow. With Dynamo Moscow, Fotsis was one of the two leaders of the Russian team, along with fellow Greek player Lazaros Papadopoulos.

Fotsis won the Eurocup Championship in 2006 with Dynamo. One year later, he reached the Euroleague quarterfinals with Dynamo, where his team lost to Panathinaikos. On March 21, 2007, in a winner-take-all Euroleague 2006-07 season showdown with Italian A League power Benetton Treviso, for second place in their Top 16 group and a place in the quarterfinals, Fotsis scored 22 points and set a single-game ULEB Euroleague record with 24 rebounds, helping Dynamo score a 68-65 overtime win.[2]

In 2008, he returned to Panathinaikos. It was his second return to the club and he was a key player for the team as they won the coveted Triple Crown during the 2008-09 season. Fotsis was a key contributor to the Triple Crown winners with his good defensive play and clutch baskets.He also played more minutes than any other green player in the final four. In the 2009-10 season, Panathinaikos won the Greek Championship. That same season, Fotsis was named the Greek League MVP of the month for the month of April.He played more minutes than any other green player during Euroleague season.[3]

NBA

Fotsis was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies (which where relocated to Memphis right after the draft) in the 2nd round (48th overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft.[4] In his one and only season in the NBA, he appeared in 28 games for the Grizzlies during the 2001-02 NBA season, averaging 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He scored a career high 21 points against the Orlando Magic on January 19, 2002.

Medal record
Men's Basketball
Competitor for  Greece
FIBA World Championship
Silver	2006 Japan	National Team
FIBA European Championship
Gold	2005 Serbia	National Team
Bronze	2009 Poland	National Team

Fotsis was a member of the senior men's Greek national basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2005 FIBA European Championship, the silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and the bronze medal at the 2009 FIBA European Championship. He became the captain of Greece's senior national team in 2009.

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career

* Nike Hoop Summit All-World Team: (1998)
* Nike Hoop Summit All-World Team: (1999)
* Won 7 Greek Championships: (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2010)
* Won 2 Euroleague Championships: (2000, 2009)
* 4x Greek All Star Game: (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010)
* Best Euroleague Player Age 22 and Under: (2003)
* Won 2 Greek Cups: (2003, 2009)
* Won the Spanish Championship: (2005)
* Won the Eurocup Championship: (2006)
* Won the Triple Crown: (2009)
* Holds the ULEB Euroleague Single Game Rebounding Record: (24)

Greek national team

* 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship: Bronze Medal
* Won 7 Acropolis Tournaments: (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
* 2x Acropolis Tournament MVP: (2002, 2008)
* 2005 FIBA European Championship: Gold Medal
* 2006 Stanković Continental Champions' Cup: Gold Medal
* 2006 FIBA World Championship: Silver Medal
* 2009 FIBA European Championship: Bronze Medal

References

1. ^ Euroleague.net Spanoulis interview.
2. ^ "Dynamo's Fotsis breaks all-time rebounds record!". Euroleague. March 21, 2007. http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/10164/180/item.
3. ^ ESAKE.gr - COSMOTE MVP Απριλίου ο Φώτσης (Greek).
4. ^ "NBA Draft 2001". nba.com. http://www.nba.com/draft2001/news/draft_order.html. Retrieved 2011-01-29.