Legendary Greek basketball player Nick Galis, undoubtedly one of the best in Europe, 20 years after his retirement was honored in Thessaloniki by his former club Aris BC.
Deputy Culture Minister Yiannis Ioannidis attended the great event, while he announced that the main hall of the Alexandrio Sports Palace of Thessaloniki has been named the Nick Galis Hall, with the decision to retire Galis’ iconic number 6.
Thousands of fans mostly from Aris, along with many former team-mates, coaches and opponents attended the ceremony creating a touching atmosphere for the testimonial to Galis, which also included a friendly game between the current Aris team and Limoges from France.
55- year-old Galis stated: “When I came out and felt the love (of the fans), I could not resist. All the moments were great, hanging my jersey, the new name of the hall. It was one night that I will never forget as long as I live…The only times I have felt like this was at the birth of my daughter and today; I want to thank everyone for this.”
Galis is considered by many to be the greatest individual athlete that Greece has ever had. He has been a real inspiration for millions of Greeks to take up the sport and shoot hoops. Former Barcelona player Audie Norris was quoted, “I’ll never forget his name, as long as I live, because my son’s name is Nikos as well. It is true. He was named Nikos, because of Nick Galis. I had that much respect for the man, as a person and as a player.”
Galis remains Euroleague’s and Greek Championship’s all-time leader in career points scored and points per game. Furthermore, he holds the FIBA World Championship scoring records for the highest career points per game average.
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