.

Aris Basketball Club (Greek name, transliterated into English: K.A.E. Aris) is the basketball team of the Thessaloniki-based Greek sport club Aris Thessaloniki. The basketball department was founded in 1922 and quickly it became very popular among Aris' supporters.

History

The basketball department was founded in 1922 and it makes up the most successful part of Aris A.C tallying 21 national and European titles.

The Empire

The basketball program of Aris has been one of the most gloried athletic programs in Greece, and winning the 1997 Korac Cup has only bolstered the notion that Aris has a unique place in the history of Greek basketball, in fact in the history of Greek sports altogether. It was not coincidental that the Aris basketball team of the 80s and early 90s was called "The Empire".

The team's first championship in the modern era (1979 --achieved to a great extent through the inspired play of Haris Papageorgiou) helped provide a spark for what would be an almost complete domination of Greek basketball by Aris during the second half of the 80s and the early 90s. If that first championship was the spark, then the fuel for ARIS' brilliant stint at the top of the sport was undoubtedly Nikos Galis, thought by the vast majority of Greek basketball fans to be the best Greek basketball player ever, and one of the best ever in Europe.

A legend comes

Nikos Galis came in 1979 and it took Aris four years to rise to the top again, becoming national champions in 1983 under the coaching of Giannis Ioannidis and with Galis taking the game in Greece to new heights, showing coordination and creativity then (some would argue even now) unprecedented in Greek courts, and almost singlehandedly beating powerhouse rivals like Olympiakos and Panathinaikos.

A very successful 1983-1984 season had a bitter ending, as Aris battled for both the championship and the cup but lost the national cup final to crosstown rivals PAOK and the championship game to Panathinaikos. A taste of things to come, however, had been offered during Aris' games against Maccabi Tel Aviv in order to qualify for the European Champions' League in the fall of 1983. Aris was narrowly eliminated by the very powerful Israeli team, but not before posting an away win at Tel Aviv, something that no other European team had managed to do for ?? years.

The seven years reign

Disappointment did not get much in the way of Aris' progress. Possibly the most crucial transfer in Greece occurred after the 1983-1984 season, bringing Panagiotis Giannakis to ARIS from Ionikos Nikea. Nikos Galis now had a first-class partner. The result? Total carnage for other teams. The lethal backcourt blazed through the Greek league for seven consecutive years, with the help of players such as Filippou, Romanidis, Subotic, Doxakis, Lypiridis, and others, winning 7 championships, and 5 cups (one cup being memorably lost to Panathinaikos in 1986, with Galis performing surprisingly poorly in a single-elimination game in Athens). Especially between 1985-1988, the question was not who the champion would be, but if Aris would go undefeated or not.

European fame

In 1984-1985 came Aris' first significant European success: Aris reached the semifinals of the Korac Cup, eventually losing to Varese of Italy and without the services of Galis for the first game in Thessaloniki (he was injured in practice 3 days before the game).

Aris formed the backbone of the Greek national team, sending Galis, Giannakis, Filippou, Romanidis, and Lypiridis (to help Greece win the gold medal in Eurobasket 87 and the silver in 89). The backcourt of Galis-Giannakis first came to European prominence in the 1986 World Championship in Spain, where upstarts Greece performed surprisingly well, while Galis won the top-scorer award.

It was during that year, 1986, that Aris made the news in Europe in the Champions League qualifying round. Having been unceremoniously eliminated by Limoges of France in 1985, Aris was arbitrarily paired against Olimpia Milano in the qualifying round. An insurmountable task, considering that Olimpia were arguably the best team in Europe and furthermore had acquired Bob McAdoo, possibly the best American player (still) to ever play in Europe. Aris --sporting Galis, Giannakis, Subotic, and a third rate American player, Jackson-- managed an unbelievable win in Thessaloniki by 31 points, almost assuring the elimination of Olimpia and advancing into the final group of the 6 best European teams. Unfortunately, the return leg saw Olimpia winning by 34 points and eliminating Aris. Much has been said about backstage scenarios that led to this result, but nothing has been proven.[citation needed]

Aris had to wait for another year to compete in Europe again, but his strength had been established: in 1987 ARIS were not paired against an established team and thus advanced to the final round of the 8 best European champions. The same was achieved in the next four years, and while Aris did not win the Champions Cup they were very successful in the tournaments, reaching the final-four in 1987, 1988, and 1989. By then ARIS had become a household name in basketball in Europe.

Favourite team in Greece

The most important contribution of Aris to Greek basketball was not the recognition brought from Europe. It was the establishment of the sport of basketball in Greece as an almost pure spectacle. Aris (chiefly through the amazing play of Galis) elevated the measly standards that existed among mostly stiff and unimaginative teams to heights that demanded the attention of the sports fans. Here was a team who could mesmerize audiences used to boring styles of play, and could show flashes of brilliance night in and night out. The fervent desire to see the team they support win --quite evident in Greek people-- succumbed to the enjoyment that the fans received from watching a team perform in such an entertaining fashion while dismantling their opponents.

Arenas were completely sold out wherever Aris was playing, opponents' fans were applauding Aris for their performance, and streets were empty when Aris played European games, as Greeks throughout the country were glued to their TV sets to watch the inspired play of Galis and co. Such was the impact that basketball overtook football as the most popular sport in Greece.

Although all that excitement about basketball progressed the game to new heights, prompting many youths to take up the sport and resulting in a large pool of talent for Greece, the game's elevation as a spectator sport was not to last. Nowadays Greece boasts 3-4 clubs that can be considered among the top in Europe, but the satisfaction given to the fans by the teams' quality of play is minimal. The domination of suffocating defenses throughout Europe has favored less talented but physically gifted athletes to take over, dramatically reducing the fan's enjoyment. To this point no team in Greece has matched the Aris team of 8-9 years ago with regard to spectacle.

Aris-PAOK rivalry

Special reference must be made to the rivalry between Aris and PAOK, the two biggest athletic clubs in Thessaloniki. Fierce rivals in all sports, the Aris and PAOK basketball face-offs had a distinct flavor between 1985 and 1992, as those were the two top teams in Greece. In games where a defeat is more than a lost game -- the mood of most of the fans of either Aris or PAOK is quite seriously affected for some time following a defeat to their opponents.

The most memorable game was the third playoff game between the two teams in 1991. ARIS had a 2-game lead from the regular season, but PAOK managed to even the score with 2 victories in the first 2 playoff games, so, naturally, they had the momentum going into the 5th game of the best-of-seven series. PAOK was up by 4 points almost 10 seconds before the end of that 5th game. What followed left scars in many PAOK fans: Galis scored a quick 2-point basket, reducing the deficit to 2 points. A sloppy inbounds pass was stolen by Yannakis, who passed the ball to Galis, who (guarded by a frenzied John Korfas) started to penetrate but then passed the ball to Yannakis who drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer. ARIS went on to win the next playoff game and thus the 1991 championship.

Decline

Despite all the rivalry and constant mocking, most Aris fans did respect PAOK's team, as they were the only ones who could beat us so easily. Towards the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s that respect even turned to trepidation as many of the matches came down to the wire and victory was no longer automatic. It is to PAOK's credit and a rather impressive fact that they did managed to remain a big team while Aris didn't. In fact the time came in 1992 when they were the ones to win the championship, leaving Aris third behind second-place Olympiakos. Losing the second spot that year was a disaster for Aris, since that meant they could not participate in the expanded European league, losing recognition and revenue. That season was salvaged somewhat by winning the Cup of 1992, versus Aek. That final was quite significant since it marked Galis' last game for Aris. The player who almost by himself made basketball hugely popular in Greece had won 8 championships and 6 cups with Aris in 13 years.

The team management made what was proven to be a mistake in their plans for the 1992-3 season. The president (Mitroudis) in cooperation with Giatzoglou (the new coach) decided to build the new team around Giannakis instead of Galis. Even though Roy Tarpley was signed and Aris was dominating in the start, things fell apart and irresponsible management in conjunction with lack of discipline led to the 5th spot in the final standings of the Greek league. While Galis was playing for Panathinaikos, Olympiakos was now the top team (with Ioannidis at the helm), and ARIS were clearly relegated to pretender status. Again, the season was not a total failure: Aris won their first European title, the Cup Winners Cup, beating Efes Pilsen of Turkey 48-50 in a very sloppy, yet dramatic, game. The words of Mitroudis: "God showed pity for us" ("o theos mas lypithike") echoed the sentiment of all ARIS fans that, indeed, this team did deserve to finally win a European trophy. ARIS fans would rather the next two seasons (93-94 and 94-95) did not take place at all.

With the exception of advancing to the semifinals in the weak Cup Winners Cup of 1994, those two seasons are marked by players (Giannakis, Vourtzoumis, Petsarski, Lypiridis, Misunov) filing suit against the team for not receiving their earned salary and incentives. Repeated wrong choices for foreign players, changing of coaches, as well as inept management by the ownership were the highlights rather than success on court. Well-known Terry Catledge fled the team, Vincent and Higgins were released while other inappropriate choices such as Frederick and King were made. Despite all this, the unexpected support of the fans combined with the rise of some Greek players (Angelidis, Liadelis) held Aris from falling to complete disarray, as the team managed to qualify for the Korac Cup of next year. The team's stock had fallen so much that finishing in 6th or 7th place was considered a success.

Hope

The 1995-96 season can be considered the messenger of a change in ARIS' fate. With Soulis Markopoulos as coach, Aris played disciplined basketball with extra emphasis on defense (perhaps for the first time in Aris' history). Liadelis and Angelidis, along with the unexpectedly good Harrold Ellis started to draw the crowd back into Alexandreio Melathron. That Aris team beat PAOK once during the regular season (after three years of crushing defeats to them), while advancing to a 4-team group in Korać Cup, and almost getting first place in that group. Still, at the end of that season there was little to marvel at. Although disastrous elimination by big PAOK in the playoffs set a dismal tone, it was clear that things were on the upswing. In the summer of 1996 something extraordinary for Aris happened.

The team sponsor, Zafiris Samoladas, spent a huge amount of money and revitalized the team. Ortiz, Shackleford, Stavrakopoulos, Floros, Boni, Papadatos, Holopoulos joined the team, which, all of a sudden, appeared very strong and with exceptional depth at every position. The team started well by beating PAOK and Panathinaikos, but faltered against Olympiakos both for the championship and for the cup, losing both games in Thessaloniki and prompting the firing of Markopoulos.

Subotic, from the 1987-1992 era, took over as coach and produced some satisfactory results, but Aris still displayed a lot of the disadvantages of a newly formed team. Aris, though, had a spectacular run to the Korac Cup, Beşiktaş of Turkey, Beobanka of Yugoslavia, Peristeri BC of Greece, and Benetton of Italy were all eliminated in dramatic fashion, with the overtime return leg game in Italy reminding many of the old glory of Aris in Europe. The final was against Tofas Bursa of Turkey and there couldn't be a more satisfying way of winning the cup: Aris—the heavy favorites—lost in shocking fashion by 11 points in the first game in Thessaloniki. Centuries old passions and nationalistic enmity resurfaced, as the Turks, assured of the cup at that stage, were waiting to give the final blow in Bursa. Fortunately for Aris' and Greek fans, the difference in talent and coaching showed in the game in Bursa, where Aris dramatically won by 18 points (70-88), in an arena filled with fanatic spectators who finally broke down and started hurling debris towards the court, when the outcome was evident.

It was a remarkable moment as Liadelis-Angelidis-Sioutis and the other Greek players, lifted the Korac Cup inside the Turkish arena, and filled millions of Greeks with pride.This last win over Tofas Bursa established Aris as the only Greek team who can rightfully be called "Tourkofagos". That was proven to be the high point of the season. Aris returned to the Greek championship games and in idiotic fashion lost three games against inferior opponents Panionios, Papagou, and Peiraikos. If one of these games were won, Aris would have ended up in 3rd place in the regular season, and would have had homecourt advantage for the very important 3rd place in the final playoff standings, that led to the Euroleague for 1997-98. Aris could only look jealous PAOK being over him.Aris faced Peristeri BC for advancing to the final four and was eliminated in a best of 3 series against by the big boss PAOK. All in all, the 1996-97 season was bittersweet. Aris did become a powerhouse again, and could not be counted out of any game, and also won the Korac Cup. Not qualifying, however, for the Euroleague was a tremendous disappointment, considering the fact that Aris had a huge pool of talent and also considering Panathinaikos' decline.

It was a missed opportunity that turned more bitter when PAOK—arguably superior to Aris in the course of the championship—managed to qualify for the Euroleague. In the 1997-98 season, which has yet to start, Aris is sort of an enigma. Having retained all but one (Shackleford) of its main players, and having signed Paspalj, Sok, and Galakteros, the talent is still there, although rebounding problems are sure to appear. The hiring of Kioumourtzoglou as coach was viewed skeptically by many, as he is regarded as an old-fashioned coach who employs aged and predictable tactics for his teams' play. Samoladas has stepped down from the sponsor position, and the team still does not have a wealthy sponsor or a certain source of revenue to pay for players' high salaries. Qualification for the Euroleague is critical this season, but not many of ARIS' fans believe it is a realistic goal, as Olympiakos, AEK, Panathinaikos and PAOK seem to be way ahead in terms of personnel and financial status. Still, miracles can happen.

A miracle

Miracles can happen, and this sentence was perfectly understood by the club players. Suddenly Jose Ortiz left at mid-January, due to the fact that the team hadn't had the money to pay him. Tit Sok followed his way as well. Leadership of Lefteris Hatzopoulos quits, Efthimis Kioumourtzoglou is not longer our coach and ARIS is on God's will since those dramatic moments of the club took place. We have no money, but we 've got plenty of soul. Within two weeks, we beat all of the -considered- big teams of Greece (Olympiakos, PAOK, Panathinaikos and Aek), the two last ones in the Final four of the Greek Cup and we become winners of the 1997-98 Greek Cup. Mario Boni was about to leave us too before the Final-4 but he stayed cause he loves us, and he helped a lot in this tremendous effort. Then he moved in Roma as he couldn't stand it anymore either. Braveheart Aris continues with 8 players from now on.

Season 2002-2003

On October, Aris beats Peristeri at the eight-finals of the Greek Cup and proceeds to the Greek Cup final four for the first time since 1999. Aris fans realise that the best is yet to come, as together with the qualification Aris has a very competitive team that is among the top teams in FIBA's Champions Cup. Among others, Aris has in its squad players, as Willie Solomon, Ryan Stack, Feodor Lickholitov, Miroslav Raicevic, Ivan Grgat. However, the first attempt to re-gain the throne of the Greek Cup is unsuccessful. The final four of the competition, held in Larissa, was the great rendez-vous for all ARIS fans around Greece! 3.500 crazy fans packed the 4.500 capacity stadium of Larissa and tried to fight together with the team, in order to win the first ARIS title since 1998. In the semi-final, ARIS comes back from a -24 difference and finally beats Makedonikos 92-86, proceeding to the great final against rival Panathinaikos, whose task was much easier, as it overcame Irakleio in the other semi-final. The great final, held the next day, was a very tight and competitive game, but at the end, some critical and partial decisions of the referees in favor of Panathinaikos, as well as the fatigue of Aris players from the previous day's semi-final, were the decisive factors that gave Panathinaikos the title. However, Aris fans renewd their rendezvous for the upcoming final four of Champions Cup, that was going to take place in Alexandreio, Thessaloniki! In front of 6.000 crazy fans, who filled Alexandreio Melathron 2 hours before the start jump-ball, Aris hosted KK Hemofarm for the semi-final of the competition, on 2 May 2003. Aris was very nervous and needed a sudden wake-up in the second half to overcome the difficulties of the game and overcome the Serbians rivals by . Yes! It was a reality! Aris was back in an European final! After 6 difficult and unbearable years! Now, there was only one game left to come back to its throne! The game against Prokom Trefl Sopot. Aris fans were again at their positions and created a unique atmosphere that remained the trademark of the competition! So, on May 5, 2003, Aris competed Prokom for the title! The game was almost the same as the previous one for Aris, and although a second-halftime wake-up gave the impression that Aris has won the game, Prokom made an unexpected return and was found to lead 83-81, after a successful 3-point shot by Maciulis, with only 6 seconds left! And there, the 'ghost' of the Emperor, this one that led Aris to the 7-year reign during the late 80's, appeared in the air of Alexandreio Melathron! Willie Solomon received a foul, made one free-throw, missed the second-one, but Miro Raiceivc grabbed the heroic rebound and made the shot!

Season 2003-2004

The beginning of the season finds ARIS as a nomad inside its own city! Alexandreio Melathron is closed down in order to get renovated for the 2004 Olympic Games, and ARIS is obliged to play its home games in Ivanofeio, home field of Iraklis. 2.000 seats are very few to satisfy the hunger of ARIS fans. The season tickets are sold-out, the tickets for each game are out of sight at each occasion and the atmosphere leads ARIS to great moments! ARIS is lucky to have probably its strongest team for the last decade, with famous players as Smush Parker (now player of Los Angeles lakers), Toby Bailey, Nestoras Kommatos, Ryan Stack, Feodor Lichkolitov, Miroslav Raicevic etc and consequently each ARIS game is turned into a real show! ARIS eliminates Iraklis for the Greek Cup, proceeds for second consecutive year into the Greek Cup Final Four that is going to take place in Lamia. Meanwhile, in the domestic league, ARIS runs a winning record and climbs up the Greek League ranking, giving the opportunity to its fans to dream on... On April, ARIS' rendezvous in Lamia will find the team as prepared as possible, its fans ready to move massively and dominate again the tiers of the field. And so it's done! 3.000 ARIS fans help the team overcome easily the obstacle of Apollon Patras in the semi-final and proceed to the great final against hated rival Olympiacos! During this dramatic game, that lasted more than 4 hours, Olympiacos fans cause some serious violence behaviour, throwing fire rockets to ARIS fans and both teams' fans are forced by the referees to evacuate the field. The gams is continued, ARIS players remain concentrate and patient and, hence, ARIS conquers the Greek cup, 73-70! Another title, the second one in 2 years! But this one is special! It is the title that was celebrated in the national road! ARIS fans, who evacuated the stadium, remained into their cars and listened to the radio-broadcast or stayed at road cafe-bars to watch the rest of the game and after the final whistle they rushed into the national road to celebrate! The team of ARIS joined them few moments afterwards and they all returned as a convoy to Thessaloniki! There, ARIS fans gathered at the White Tower, symbol of the city and the team players climbed up the White Tower to watch the crowd and celebrate with them! On the other hand, though, ARIS was eliminated from the FIBA Europe League, by Maroussi, losing 1-2 at a best-of-3 series, in the eight-final round. But the worst of that year was the elimination from the play-offs by Aek who managed to beat ARIS in Ivanofeio and proceed to the semi-finals. This was a great opportunity lost for ARIS to claim the return to Euroleague. But that wouldn't wait for long....

Season 2004-2005

ARIS returns in his real home, Alexandreio, that is totally renovated and became a real ornament for the sports of the city. ARIS changes almost its entire squad, adds the young and talented Sofoklis Schortsianitis and all the fans believe that this is the year the team is actually going to make a step further: the Euroleague! Yet, it is going to be a long road till the Greek League play-offs... On October, ARIS is drawn to play against Makedonikos in the Greek Cup semi-finals. This time there is no Final Four, and the semi-finals include 2 games. ARIS plays as "home" in Larissa, due to a punishment from previous season, loses the games by 1 (73-74) and now, everything is going to be judged, at the second game, held in Kozani! 500 ARIS fans, ignoring the decision of Makedonikos not to give tickets, move to Kozani and push the team at a road win (89-78)- qualification for the big final! Meanwhile, ARIS [articipates for the first time in a ULEB's competition, ULEB CUP, desiring to conquer the cup and gain a ticket for the next season's Euroleague. The team proceeds to the Top-16 and needs to eliminate Lietuvos Rytas (the team that finally won ULEB CUP) at a 2-games series. ARIS loses on aggregate (-2) and now, it has to look at his remaining targets: the Greek Cup final and the League play-offs, in order to fulfill its goals. The Greek cup final takes place in Irakleio, Crete and the decision of the Hellenic Basketball Federation is not to give any tickets for the fans of the two teams, but only in the local society of Irakleio. However, 150 ARIS fans manage to win their entrance in the court and try to help the team win its 22nd title. They didn't know, though... Referees Lazaros Voreadis and Kostas Koromilas SLAUGHTERED the team of ARIS and DONATED the Greek cup to Panathinaikos. The two refs did everything they could and hence, ARIS lost he title, but remained the moral winner of the competition, something that all the Greek basketball community accepted and recognized! The season terminated with the worst possible way: ARIS play-off nightmare, Aek, appeared again and with a road victory in Alexandreio, Aek eliminated ARIS and sent it for early vacation. This was the last time, of course....

Season 2005-2006

During the last season, Aris gave some glorious moments to remember to its fans. Although the team was eliminated from the Greek Cup, Aris managed to reach the ULEB CUP final in Charleroi and win its return to the Euroleague after 14 years of absence! Aris finished 4rth in the ranking of the Greek league and had to fight against Maroussi in the final round. But, first, ARIS had the opportunity to claim its fourth European title in Charleroi. Aris easily proceeded from the group phase to the TOP-16, where the team eliminated at a dramatic 2-game series Panionios. Although ARIS took a road victory 72-70 in Athens, in the second game in Alexandreio, faced some serious trouble from Panionios (and especially Ekonomou and -now player of Aris- Iliadis) and needed to play 2 overtimes (!!) to win finally 112-105 and proceed to the quarter-finals! There, Aris had no trouble eliminating French side Villeurbane with 2 victories (67-60 and 77-67) and in the semi-finals Aris faced KK Hemofarm at a repeat of the semi-final of the 2003 Champions Cup! Aris lost 71-74 in Serbia and needed alate victory in Thessaloniki to claim its presence in the big final of Charleroi against Dynamo Moscow! And the big moment came on April 11th! 6.000 Aris fans turned Belgium into a Greek town and packed every corner of the stadium to create an unbelievable and unforgettable atmosphere to everybody who was there or even watched the game through the TV. However, Aris left its fans with a bitter taste, as it did not manage to control the rhythm of the game, Dynamo dominated in the court and consequently won the ULEB Cup (60-73). But, Aris had no time to waste, as the greatest challenge was about to start! At a best-of-5 series against Maroussi, Aris had to prove its superior level and win the ticket to next season's Euroleague! Each team maintained the home advantage and the series ended up at 2-2, with one game remaining in the ground of Maroussi! This was the real FINAL! Aris' rendez-vous with its history was now on 14 June 2006! The day the emperor would walk back into its palace, into the luxurious competition of Euroleague!

Basketball squad 2006-2007

Number Player Position Height (m)

4 Terrel Castle PG 1.88
5 Georgios Sigalas SF 2.01
7 Simonas Serapinas SG 1.98
8 Alex Scales SG 2.00
9 Giorgos Kalaitzis PG 1.96
10 Savvas Iliadis SG 1.96
11 Mike Wilkinson PF 2.05
12 Kevin Fletcher PF 2.06
13 Panagiotis Karavanas C 2.10
14 Jeremiah Massey PF 2.02
15 Giannis Giannoulis C 2.06
16 Dimitrios Tsaldaris SF 1.96
17 Spyros Panteliadis PG 1.94
20 Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf SG 1.88

Coach / Gordon Herbert Co

Assistant Coach Dimitrios Nikolaidis As
Assistant Coach Athanasios Papachatzis As

Squad transfers 2006/2007

In:

Alex Scales - Signed From Real Madrid
Jeremiah Massey - Signed From Larissa
Simonas Serapinas - Signed From Zalgiris Kaunas
Kevin Fletcher - Signed From Slask Wroclaw
Dimitris Tsaldaris - Signed From Panellinios
Spyros Panteliadis - Signed From AEK
Giorgos Kalaitzis - Signed From Panathinaikos
Savvas Iliadis - Signed From Panionios
Giannis Giannoulis - Signed From Sevilla
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf - Signed From Udine

Out:

Corey Brewer - Transferred To Charleroi
Ryan Stack - Transferred To Olympiacos
Antonis Asimakopoulos - Transferred To Olympiada
Nikolai Padius - Transferred To Dynamo Moscow Region
Ante Grgurevic - Transferred To Larissa
Vladimir Petrovic - Transferred To Racing Paris
Savvas Kamperidis - Transferred To Iraklis
Nikos Orfanos - Transferred To Larissa
Dimitrios Charitopoulos - Transferred To PAOK
Doro Plakadopoulos - Transferred To Olympia Larissa

Titles

Basketball (21x)

Greek Championships (10x) 1930,1979,1983,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991 Runner up 1980,1984
Greek Cups (8x) 1985,1987,1988,1989,1990,1992,1998,2004 Runner up 1984,1993,2003,2005
FIBA Champions Cup (1x) 2003
Korać Cup (1x) 1997
Cup Winner Cup (1x) 1993
ULEB Cup runner up 2006
Euroleague Final Four (3x) 1988, 1989, 1990

Famous basketball players who played for Aris

Nick Galis (Nikos Galis)
Panagiotis Giannakis
Giannis Ioannidis
Nikos Filippou
Giorgos Sigalas
Stojko Vranković
Zarko Paspalj
Harold Ellis
Panagiotis Liadelis
Dinos Angelidis
Roy Tarpley
Tiit Sokk
José Ortiz (Piculín)
Charles Shackleford
Walter Berry
Gary Grand
Mario Boni
Anthony Bowie
Will Solomon
Smush Parker
Sofoklis Schortsianitis
Ryan Stack
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf

Aris Thessaloniki B.C.

Full name K.A.E. Aris Thessaloniki
Arena Alexandreio Melathron

Thessaloniki, Greece
Club colours Yellow and Black
President Athanasios Tzevelekis
Head coach / Gordon Herbert
Assistant coach(es) Dimitrios Nikolaidis
Athanasios Papachatzis

League A1
Season 2006-07
Position A1, Third
Address 2 Gr. Lampraki st.
Thessaloniki 54636 Greece
Tel: (+30) 2310.273495
Fax: (+30) 2310.229690