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| THE STORY |
| The greek national team had only won a bronze medal in 1949 FIBA european championships, until 1980. Yugoslavia and the USSR seemed always too strong to beat. All of this lasted until May 1980, when Greece faced Sweden, in a game for qualification to the olympic games in Moscow. |
| It was then, when Galis' relationship with the greek team officially started, only one year after he came to Greece (he is rumoured to have obtained a greek passport in one single night). Galis, played his first game ever, scoring 25 points.
Qualification did not come, but the story had just begun: In 1980 Balkan games, Galis scored a total of 120 points and the greek national team won the gold medal winning all the games, even the final against hosts Yugoslavia. |
| To the left: one of Galis' first appearences with Greece |
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| �urobasket 1981 Prague (Czechoslovakia)
In 1981, the greek national team played a challenge round for the qualification to Prague's eurobasket. Galis scored endlessly and Greece won all the games. Galis best performances included a 38 point game against Finland, and a 35 point game against Holland (netherlands) of Rik Smits and Tony Massenburg. But things in Prague did not go the way Greeks expected. The national team, coached by Yannis Ioannidis, won the first two games, but after loss number one, five more followed. Galis scored "only" 20,6 ppg in the tournament.Elimination was inevitable. And that was not the only black spot. Galis remembers his boxing past, punching in the face a greek sports journalist, Theodoros Kotsonis, sending him to the hospital. FIBA decides to punish Galis, keeping him away from any basketball competition for 6 years. Fortunately, the decision was taken back. Meanwhile, this first appearance of Galis with the greek national side in a Eurobasket, was nothing compared to what was about to follow in the future. |
| Meeting Michael Jordan
The year 1982, is remembered by greek basketball fans as the year when two legends of the game met in the same arena. Greece faced the UNC Tar Heels (North Carolina State College) of Michael Jordan, in Sporting's arena. 25 year old Galis, played just according to his standards, but that was more than enough for young Jordan (who dunked flying over the head of a greek player in that game) to say about him: "I think he's superb, he's a complete basketball player". During the game MJ teased Galis saying: "You're bad", as Nick confessed later. Galis and Jordan met again playing in an exibition game for the "DIMITRIA" festival. Galis scored 50 points this time and Michael Jordan, totally stunned, said: "I really did not expect to find such a good offensive player in Europe, especially in your country"! |
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| Michael Jordan wearing the UCN Tar Heels jersey. |
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