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| PLAYING FOR ARIS IN GREECE |
| Nick Galis became a player of Aris Thessaloniki in the 1979-1980 season of the greek league. It took a long time for Nick to decide to come to Greece, and the negotiations between him and the team's managerial staff were harsh. Galis' transfer to Aris, was something new for greek basketball. Nick decided to play for the greek champions (that year) and refused the much better (financially) offers of Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus. He saw his moving to Greece as a contemporary situation that would probably last for one or two years, thinking of returning to the NBA as soon as possible. In his first game wearing Aris black and yellow jersey (number 7), he scored 30 points against Iraklis Thessaloniki, shooting quite bad. |
| That day, a lot was said and heard, mainly bad things. But what made real sense out of all those comments, was Anestis Petalidis' quote: "Gentlemen, write down whatever you want. I don't care. But watch out, because one day you're gonna lick where you spit at, right now. Galis will one day prove that ONE can beat FIVE". (Anestis Petalidis was a former Aris' coach and one of the few people who knew about basketball in Greece those days) |
| Galis with Panayiotis Fassoulas |
| Galis' first season was rather experimental and certainly not demonstrative of his incredible talent. So Galis, always a headstrong, decided to stay for one more season. The 1980-1981 season, was about to be the year of his personal success. "Gangster"(his nickname), wearing no 6 now, offered to the loyal fans of basketball some of the most amazing shows of his career, scoring hundreds of unique baskets, having an incredible field goal percentage, filling the arenas wherever he played (he was the league's main attraction and offered some of his fame to the game itself) and pulling off some remarkable records: |
| Galis celebrating |
| 1) Scored 1.143 points, averaging 43,9 ppg. It was the highest scoring ever, in one single season (playoffs not included).
2) In the game against Ionikos Nikeas, he scored 62 points, which was to be his best performance in the greek league. 3) In the game against Carrera Venezia, he scored 57 points, which was his highest ever in a european game. |
| He was still a king without his crown, though. Setting the winning of the greek championship as his next goal, Galis left back his will to return to the USA. In 1983 he made it. And that was only the begining. In 1984, Aris lost the championship to Panathinaikos, but got Panayiotis Yiannakis from Ionikos Nikeas. Yiannakis was the captain of the greek national team. He was the second biggest name in the league, a magnificent point guard and sharp shooter, with a scoring record of 73 points, against Aris. Galis and Yiannakis made an invincible duet and won almost every trophy in Greece, from 1985 to 1991. All those years, PAOK Thessaloniki of Panayiotis Fassoulas challenged them, but only managed to beat them in the 1991-1992 season. The games between the two teams, have reached a mythical status. |
| Specifically: Greek Championships: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991.
Greek Cup: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992. |
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| Galis' achievements with Aris: |