Theodoros Papaloukas

Theodoros Papaloukas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παπαλουκάς; born 8 May 1977), commonly known as Theo Papaloukas or Thodoris Papaloukas, is a retired Greek professional basketball player.

Papaloukas started his career in 1995, with his local club of Ampelokipoi, before being transferred two years later to Dafni, and then to Panionios in 1999.

He then played for another small, but at the time rising club, called Ampelokipoi, with whom he began his pro career in 1995.

He then transferred to Dafni of the Greek 2nd Division in 1997, and transferred again two years later to Panionios, a traditional basketball club of the top-tier level Greek Basket League.

With Dafni, Papaloukas won the Greek 2nd Division title, and the Greek 2nd Division Player of the Year award, in the 1998–99 season.

He was a four-time All-EuroLeague selection, a member of the EuroLeague 2000–10 All-Decade Team and was named one of the 50 greatest EuroLeague contributors in 2008.

A revolutionary figure in basketball, as illustrated by his unique ability to come off the bench and alter the course of an encounter, and his uncanny feel for the game, he symbolized the rise of European basketball in the new millennium.

With Olympiacos, he led the Greek Basket League in assists in the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons.

In 2001, Papaloukas finally moved to Olympiacos, a long-time Greek League power, as well as one of the perennial contenders in the EuroLeague.

After the 2001–02 season, he left Olympiacos, and moved to another EuroLeague powerhouse, the Russian Super League A club CSKA Moscow, in 2002.

His performances with the latter earned him a transfer to EuroLeague powerhouse Olympiacos, where in 2002, he won his first title, the Greek Cup.

A year later, he moved to Moscow for CSKA, the club that he would help to regain its past glory.

After making a minimal impact during his first two seasons in the Russian capital, he evolved into a major contributor to CSKA's success, playing as a sixth man in the 2004–05 season, both in the EuroLeague and the Russian Super League A.

Papaloukas took part in two Olympic tournaments, in 2004 and 2008, with Greece finishing in their personal all-time best fifth position on both occasions.

Papaloukas helped lead the Greece men's national basketball team to a title, EuroBasket 2005, and a silver medal in 2006 FIBA World Championship.

He was elected to the All-Tournament Team in both competitions.

After three disappointing years, at the club level, Papaloukas was a main factor helping the team win the 2005–06 EuroLeague title, the club's first EuroLeague title in 35 years, with a clutch performance in the 2006 Final Four - 19 points in the semifinal against FC Barcelona, and another 18 points at the final against the then back-to-back European champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv, which led to him being awarded him the Final Four MVP award; after he was also named the best point guard of the EuroLeague for that season.

Alongside him on the All-EuroLeague First Team, were the best shooting guard, Juan Carlos Navarro of Barça, the best small forward, Anthony Parker of Maccabi (the 2005–06 EuroLeague MVP), the best power forward, Luis Scola of TAU Cerámica, and the best center, Nikola Vujčić of Maccabi.

In 2006, Papaloukas led CSKA to their first EuroLeague title in thirty-five years, and thus earning an All-EuroLeague First Team selection and the EuroLeague Final Four MVP award in the process.

The following year, he cemented his status as a EuroLeague competition icon, after being named the EuroLeague MVP, before falling short of a second straight EuroLeague title in the championship's final against Panathinaikos.

In 2006, he was named the FIBA Europe Men's Player of the Year.

A native of Athens, Greece, Papaloukas began his big career at the small local Athens junior team Ethnikos Ellinoroson.

In 2007, Papaloukas was voted the EuroLeague MVP of 2006–07 EuroLeague season.

CSKA advanced to the final against Panathinaikos, which was held on the Greens' home court, the Athens Olympic Indoor Hall (which had been chosen as the site more than a year in advance).

Panathinaikos won the game, by a score of 93–91, in a very exciting game.

Papaloukas scored 23 points and dished out 8 assists, but a number of sportswriters intimated that he did not receive adequate support from his CSKA teammates, and thus his team lost the final.

Papaloukas was also a key member of CSKA's 2007–08 EuroLeague championship team.

Papaloukas was then pursued in free agency by the NBA clubs the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Miami Heat to fill their point guard spot.

However, on 7 July 2007 Greek newspapers reported that Papaloukas agreed to a newly structured 3-year contract with CSKA, worth €10.5 million net income.

In 2008, he won his second EuroLeague title with CSKA, in what would be his last year in Moscow.

In the summer of 2008, Papaloukas returned to Olympiacos, and with them he reached another two EuroLeague Final Fours, thereby giving him a then record of eight consecutive EuroLeague Final Four appearances, a record he shared at the time with his former teammate J.R. Holden.

On 20 June 2008, one year after his contract extension with CSKA, Papaloukas used an option to leave his contract with no buyout to sign a three-year contract with Olympiacos with an annual salary of €3.5 million net income.

In the first two years of his contract, he helped Olympiacos reach the EuroLeague Final Four, averaging 8 points and 5.2 assists in the EuroLeague 2008–09 season, and 7.4 points and 5.1 assists in the EuroLeague 2009–10 season.

In the third, and last, year of his contract, the team failed to advance to the EuroLeague Final Four, losing 3 games to 1 to Montepaschi Siena in the EuroLeague quarterfinal playoffs, despite having the home court advantage.

On 13 August 2011 Papaloukas signed a contract with the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv, the finalists of the 2010–11 EuroLeague.

In Macccabi, Papaloukas didn't get much playing-time, averaging only 9.1 minutes per game in the EuroLeague, and playing in only 8 Israeli Super League 2011–12 season games.

The shortage of playing-time led to his release, after only one disappointing season with the yellows.

In December 2012, Papaloukas was invited to a tryout with CSKA Moscow.

He was signed by the team, and then officially returned to the court in a EuroLeague game against Anadolu Efes, on 28 December 2012.

On 12 December 2013 he was honored with a EuroLeague Basketball Legend Award.