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| GALIS IN EUROPEAN COMPETITIONS
All those years, Galis also dominated the european competitions. After Aris' first steps, the first heartbeatings for the team's fans came in 1984-1985. Aris played in the Korac cup semi finals against Varese. Just before the first game between the two teams, Galis broke his hand and the party ended soon. In 1986, in the quarter final of Euroleague against Olimpia "Tracer" Milano, Galis did a basketball orgy, scoring 44 points and Aris smashed the italian team winning by 31 points. In an incredible second leg game, a weak later, Aris lost by 34 and was eliminated. The next three years, Aris entered the Euroleague's final four, but the team never made it. Galis last game playing for Aris, was in the 13th of May in the Peace and Friendship Stadium, playing against AEK athens in the greek cup final. A month later, he was officially out of the team, after a disrespectful behaving to him, by the team's new management. His new team was Panathinaikos. Galis, being 35, returned in the poing guard position after 13 years, passing greatly and making everyone pull their hats off for him. The italian newspaper, Gazzetta dello sport wrote: "Galis is indeed a white Michael Jordan". He finally led Panathinaikos to the teams first Euroleague final four, but in his 4th personal and last ever attempt, Galis would fail again. |
| GALIS AND THE GREEK NATIONAL TEAM
Galis enjoyed the best moments of his basketball career, playing for the greek National Team, which was rather surprising, considering the fact that the national teams were tougher than any club team by then, including a mighty USSR and the united Yugoslavia basketball team, one of the most talented ever. He wore the blue-white jersey for the first time in his life in 1980. Being the top gun of a company that included legendary players like Yannakis, Fassoulas and Christodoulou, he won two gold medals in the Balkan games of 1980 and 1986, but a true demonstration of what the team was capable of doing, was given in 1986 FIBA world championships. It was there where the greek team, even being unlucky in some key games and playing without Panayiotis Fassoulas, played wonderfully and tight, and reached the 10th place worldwide. Galis was the tournament's superstar scoring 53 points in the opening game and 49 in the closing one, and the team seemed capable for anything. Indeed, in 1987, with Galis coming out from another dimension and playing in front of a passionate home croud, Greece won the gold medal in FIBA european championships. Galis was MVP scoring 37 ppg, and basketball became the country's national sport right away. What could be better for a hero, than a tiny person smashing some superpowers such as the USSR and Yugoslavia, almost all alone? In 1989, Galis was back in the top, to establish himself and the greek team as a legends. Greece, away from home this time, won the silver medal, after beating the mighty Soviet Union side of Arvydas Sabonis in the semi finals. Galis played his best game for the national team that night, scoring 45 points out of his team's total of 81. His last appearance with the greek national team, was in the 1991 FIBA european championships, where he was 5th, scoring 32 ppg, even at the age of 34. Nick's brilliant career came to an end three years later. Playing for Panathinaikos in 1994, in one of the first games of the 1994-1995 season against Abelokipi, he had a fight with coach Kostas Politis and left the arena, and also left basketball. For years, there were rumours that he would come back to Aris, to end his career in the way he deserved, but that just never happened. |
| GALIS TODAY
Immediately after the end of his career, Galis showed interest to his companies and to his relationship with children. He never got into coaching in a professional level. His public appearances are anyway rare. It is remarkable though, the fact that he was chosen as one of the 5 final torch carriers for Athens Olympics 2004. Today he's married to Eleni Panagiotou, with whom he has a daughter. It's Nick's second marriage after the one with Jenny Gali, who sadly died in a car accident in 1987. |
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