The real Greek Freak isn't Giannis Antetokounmpo. His name is Nikos Galis, and one day, he dropped 50 points on Michael Jordan's head.
Before the likes of Nikola Jokic, Dirk Nowitzki, or Arvydas Sabonis, nobody changed European basketball more than Galis.
Who is Nikos Galis?
Galis was a standout at Seton Hall in the late 70s and even averaged 27 points his senior year. He was given a chance to play in the NBA when the Boston Celtics took him with the 68th pick of the 1979 NBA draft.
However, Galis had his NBA dream come to a halt during training camp a few months later. He suffered a severe ankle injury, which led the Celtics to use their last roster spot on Gerald Henderson. It wasn't a bad decision at the time, but looking back a few years later, coach Red Auerbach called that decision the “biggest regret” of his entire career.
So how good exactly was Galis? You'll rarely find any coach admit their biggest mistake let alone one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. We'll get to more on Galis' story in just a bit, but here's an impressive tidbit. Some considered him the “Michael Jordan of Greece.”
Once Galis was released by the Celtics, he decided to head back home to Greece. He signed with Aris Thessaloniki, where he became a legend.
Despite standing only 6-foot tall, Galis dominated Europe, averaging more than 40 points a game twice and losing only a total of six games in 12 seasons. He'd even get offers from a couple of NBA teams in the 80s. However, since FIBA rules didn't allow NBA players to join their national teams until 1992, Galis rejected every offer.
Nikos Galis vs. Michael Jordan
But in 1983, Galis did get a little glimpse of how the NBA was played. The Greek national team invited the North Carolina Tar Heels to an exhibition game on their home soil. Sure, they were a college team, but they did have Jordan, Kenny Smith, Sam Perkins, and Brad Daugherty, players who were one of the first six picks of their respective draft class and had a solid NBA career.
The Tar Heels won the game 100-83, but the only storyline that mattered was the battle between Jordan and Galis. While some reports claimed Galis only scored 24 points instead of 50, he did receive a lot of praise from Jordan after the game:
“I never thought that there was such a good offensive player in Europe, and especially in Greece.”
Whether Galis did score 50 or 24 points that day, he made it look easy against Jordan. You can only imagine his impact in the NBA if FIBA changed its rules to allow professionals to play in tournaments 10 years earlier.
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