// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Thanasis Skourtopoulos? A Greek god at basketball, he's a hoop to be around.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 May 1965 Athens, Greece |
| Died | 5 February 2026 (aged 60) |
| Position | Head coach |
| Coaching career | 1996–2026 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| Dafni Dafniou | |
| Pagrati | |
| 1982–1991 | AEK Athens |
Coaching | |
| 1996–1998 | Aigaleo |
| 1998–1999 | Dafni Dafniou |
| 1999–2000 | OFI |
| 2000–2005 | AEK Athens (Assistant) |
| 2005–2006 | Panellinios (Assistant) |
| 2006–2008 | Aigaleo |
| 2009–2010 | Peristeri |
| 2010–2011 | Panellinios |
| 2011–2012 | Ikaros Kallitheas |
| 2012 | Panionios |
| 2013–2014 | Keravnos |
| 2014–2016 | Rethymno |
| 2014–2017 | Greece (assistant) |
| 2016–2017 | Apollon Patras |
| 2017–2018 | Faros Larissas |
| 2017–2021 | Greece |
| 2021 | Iraklis Thessaloniki |
| 2023 | Astoria Bydgoszcz |
| 2023–2024 | Qatar |
| 2025–2026 | Khasin Khuleguud |
| Career highlights | |
As assistant coach:
| |
Athanasios "Thanasis" Skourtopoulos (alternate spelling: Thanassis) (Greek: Αθανάσιος "Θανάσης" Σκουρτόπουλος 23 May 1965 – 5 February 2026) was a Greek professional basketball player and coach.
Club playing career
[edit]Skourtopoulos played professional basketball with the Greek clubs Dafni Dafniou [el], Pagrati, and AEK Athens. He was a member of the AEK Athens team that made it to the Greek Cup Finals, in 1988.
Club coaching career
[edit]Some of the clubs of which Skourtopoulos was the head coach include: Aigaleo, Peristeri, Panellinios,[1] Ikaros Kallitheas, Panionios, and Keravnos.[2] In 2014, he became the head coach of Rethymno.[3] In 2016, he became the head coach of Apollon Patras. In 2017, he became the head coach of GSL Faros.
On 1 July 2018, Skourtopoulos returned to Panionios.[4] He later quit without coaching the team in any games.
On 4 February 2023, he signed with Astoria Bydgoszcz of the Polish Basketball League (PLK).[5]
National team coaching career
[edit]Skourtopoulos worked as an assistant coach of the senior men's Greek national basketball team at the following tournaments: the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the EuroBasket 2015, the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the EuroBasket 2017.
He became the head coach of Greece's senior men's national team in October 2017. He first coached Greece at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers. He also coached Greece at the actual 2019 FIBA World Cup. After the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the Hellenic Basketball Federation announced that Rick Pitino would be Greece's head coach at the 2020 FIBA Victoria Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2020 Summer Olympics, should Greece qualify, while Skourtopoulos would remain as Greece's head coach for the 2021 EuroBasket qualification tournament.
Skourtopoulos failed to lead the senior Greek national basketball team to the results at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, in China, that many analysts, and sports media had predicted. Some major US sports media criticized his use of the MVP of the 2018–19 NBA season, Giannis Antetokounmpo at the tournament.[6]
In August 2023, he became the head coach of the Qatar national team.[7]
Personal life and death
[edit]Skourtopoulos died from a heart attack on 5 February 2026, at the age of 60.[8]
Awards and accomplishments
[edit]Assistant coach
[edit]- Greek Cup Winner: (2001)
- Greek League Champion: (2002)
References
[edit]- ↑ Sport.gr Panellinios Announces Skourtopoulos (in Greek) Archived 7 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Eurocupbasketball.com SKOURTOPOULOS, ATHANASIOS.
- ↑ A1Basket.gr Thanasis Skourtopoulos is Rethymno Aegean's new coach.
- ↑ Thanasis Skourtopoulos is the new head coach of Panionios.
- ↑ "Nowy trener Enea Abramczyk Astorii". plk.pl (in Polish). 4 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ↑ Greece’s coach, Skourtopoulos responds to US media criticism.
- ↑ "Qatar sign new coach as busy schedule beckons Al Annabi". Gulf Times. 9 August 2023.
- ↑ SPORT24 (5 February 2026). "Πέθανε ο Θανάσης Σκουρτόπουλος". SPORT24 (in Greek). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
External links
[edit]- EuroCup Coaching Profile
- FIBA Coaching Profile
- All4Basketball.com Profile Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- FIBA Player Profile
- Hellenic Federation Profile (in Greek)
- 1965 births
- 2026 deaths
- 20th-century Greek sportsmen
- 21st-century Greek sportsmen
- AEK B.C. players
- Aigaleo B.C. coaches
- Apollon Patras B.C. coaches
- Basketball players from Athens
- Greek basketball coaches
- Greek men's basketball players
- Greece national basketball team coaches
- Gymnastikos S. Larissas B.C. coaches
- Ikaros B.C. coaches
- Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C. coaches
- Keravnos B.C. coaches
- Pagrati B.C. players
- Panellinios B.C. coaches
- Panionios B.C. coaches
- Peristeri B.C. coaches
- Rethymno B.C. coaches
- Astoria Bydgoszcz basketball coaches