Dimitris Diamantidis

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Dimitris Diamantidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Διαμαντίδης) (born May 6, 1980 in Kozani, Greece) is a Greek basketball player who is considered the best Greek talent of the 2000's. The young player from Kastoria started his career with his home team in 1994 and stayed there for 5 years. In the summer of `99 he was transferred to Iraklis and was a starter in his second season. This year he makes a big step in his career with his move to Panathinaikos BC. He is an integral member of the National team and will play in the Olympics. With Panathinaikos has won two times the Greek Championship and the Greek Cup.

Having won several individual trophies, such as the Euroleague best defender (2005,2006) and the Greek Championship MVP awards (2004,2006), as well as the European Basketball Championship in 2005 with the Greek national team, Diamantidis is considered to be among the very best point guards in Europe. With Panathinaikos he has won two times the Greek Championship and the Greek Cup. He is also a member of the Greek National team which won the silver medal in the Mundobasket which took part in Japan.

Diamantidis' nickname is the Octopus Man. He is one of the best defensive players in European basketball and dominates in various categories such as rebounds, steals and blocks. However his serious defect is his lack of scoring ability, failing to average more than 9 points despite playing more than 30 minutes per game in top class basketball teams, such as Panathinaikos BC and the Greek National team.