Nikos Zisis

Nikos Zisis, a key contributor to Greece’s triumph at Eurobasket in Belgrade the summer of 2005, was named Young Player of the Year by FIBA Europe, the sport’s governing body on the continent.

Zisis has been a winner at every stage of his career so far. At the Europeans, he won silver at the 1999 Under-16 tournament, bronze at the 2000 Under-18 event, and gold at the 2002 Under-20 championship, where he was also named the tournament’s MVP.

At the 2005 Eurobasket tournament, Zisis led the scoring in Greece’s win over host nation Serbia-Montenegro, but more importantly, chose his moments to pick up the offensive slack.

This aspect of his game was made clear in the elimination game against Israel when he tallied 23 points (7/10 shooting) and six assists in Greece’s important 67-61 victory.

Zisis also rose to the occasion in the tournament’s semifinal and final with 11 and 13 points, respectively.

Besides his senior-level participation at Eurobasket, the Nikos Zisis has also represented Greece in the Olympic Games.

At club-level competition, Zisis excelled in 2005 with his former Greek club AEK in the Euroleague. AEK fans still recall his three-pointer on the buzzer against Efes Pilsen for a 70-69 win.

He helped his former Greek club win the Greek Cup in 2001 as well as the league title the following year.

Zisis’s statistics were among the best of all of the Euroleague’s young players in 2005, which eventually drew the attention of top European clubs. Nikos Zisis signed with Treviso following Eurobasket.