Printezis included in EuroLeague Team of the Decade
Giorgos Printezis, a two-time EuroLeague champion with Olympiacos, has been included in the competition’s Team of the Decade.
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On Tuesday, the EuroLeague organisation revealed that Printezis is the latest member of the Team of the Decade between 2010 and 2020:
“A natural fit on the 2010-20 EuroLeague All-Decade team as voted by fans, media, players and coaches, Georgios Printezis helped redefine the power forward position and authored the biggest shot in the EuroLeague over the last decade.
“One of the most versatile players in competition history, Printezis can hit the outside shot with unlimited range, can run the floor like a guard and has supreme post skills which allow him to finish around the rim with either hand as one of the few true ambidextrous players in basketball history. He started the decade with Unicaja Malaga and spent most of it with Olympiacos Piraeus, with which he won two EuroLeague titles.”
Printezis has been regarded as a legend of Olympiacos since he scored the winning basket against CSKA Moscow in the memorable final of the 2011/2012 EuroLeague campaign. The Greek international subsequently helped the Erythrolefki successfully defend their title a year later.
The 35-year-old forward was named in the All-EuroLeague First Team of the 2016/2017 season as Olympiacos reached the final.
“If someone had told me many years ago that I would be in the All-Decade Team, I would have said that he was crazy,” said Printezis when speaking to the EuroLeague. “I don’t like to talk a lot about myself, I try to avoid that in my interviews. I am more happy that we have had a lot of success with my team in the last years, we’ve given happy moments to our fans. We won two very important titles, while going to the Final Four two more times. This is what will stay in my heart. I feel very happy, I’ve worked a lot to be here. When we won two EuroLeagues, I was very happy, trust me. We gave a lot of happiness to everybody. Some of the fans cried every day because of the EuroLeague, and this gives me a lot of power and energy.”
“As you get older, you start to think less and be more focused on things which make you happy,” he continued. “Personally, I am happier when my team wins and I enjoy the game more. I try to give my best to help the team. In 2012, no one expected us to win, everyone thought that they would be us easily. A year later, all of the teams knew that we were dangerous. We knew that we had a good chemistry. The teams in the Final Four knew what to expect, but let’s say that we fought more. We played great games, our defence was good and our offense was great. Let’s not say that it was more important, all EuroLeagues are different, but it was something really nice. I was never a player who watches statistics and cares about how many points or rebounds I register, and I don’t read newspapers. I want to play well, I am always trying to improve and to put more things in my game, but I’m more happy that the team succeeds.”
Olympiacos teammate, Vassilis Spanoulis, congratulated Printezis with this following Instagram post:
30.3k Likes, 134 Comments - Spanoulis Vassilis (@vassilis7span) on Instagram: "Σου αξιζει και με το παραπανω φιλαρακι μου!συχγαρητηρια💪 # alldecadeteam# @pripripri15"
This season, Printezis has made 25 appearances in the EuroLeague for Olympiacos, averaging 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Olympiacos occupy 11th place of the regular season standings.
