On September 18th, Beijing time, the Greek basketball club Olympiakos held a special ceremony to retire the No.7 jersey for legendary defender Spanoulis. Spanoulis, 41, known as "Kobe in Europe", announced his retirement two years ago. Spanoulis also played briefly in the NBA, and was a teammate with China star Yao Ming.
At the retirement ceremony of the jersey, Spang wore a suit, and when the No.7 jersey appeared over the arena, the veteran burst into tears. "Playing in Olympiacos has always been my dream … We have experienced difficulties, but I hope everyone can feel my love for you." Spanoulis told the fans at the scene. He also got a beautiful gift from the team.
Spanoulis started his career in the Greek League. In the 2004 NBA draft, he was selected by the lone ranger in the 50th round. In 2006, Spanoulis joined the Rockets and became a teammate with Yao Ming. He was not happy with the Rockets. He only played 31 games in the whole season, averaging 8.8 minutes, getting 2.7 points, shooting 31.9% from the field and shooting 17.2% from three points. In July 2007, the Rockets traded Spanoulis and a second round to the Spurs in exchange for Scola and Jackie Butler. The Spurs laid off Spanoulis in August of the same year, and Spanoulis returned to Europe to play.
Although he didn’t make a name for himself in the NBA, he was a real god in Europe. He won the European championship three times in his career and was selected as the best team in the Champions League seven times. He was also elected as the European Player of the Year for two consecutive years. In the Greek League, Spang won the championship seven times, won the cup championship four times and won the MVP of the Greek League three times.
Spang in the international arena has also made impressive achievements. In the 2006 World Cup, he led Greece to beat the American men’s basketball team, which had stars such as James, Wade and Anthony. Spang scored 22 points in that game.
During the retirement ceremony of the jersey, Spang also paid tribute to his late father. "When I was only 15 years old, my father left me because of cancer. I decided to dedicate my career to him at that time. I hope he will be proud of me."