Antonis Fotsis

Greek basketball player (born 1981)

Antonis Fotsis (alternate spellings: Adonis, Antonios, Greek: Αντώνης Φώτσης; born 1 or 2 April 1981) is a Greek professional basketball player for Ilysiakos. He was also the captain of the senior Greek national team. During his playing career, at a height of tall, he played primarily as a power forward, but he could also sometimes be used as a small ball center, or even as a small forward, if needed. Fotsis was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.

Born in Maroussi, Athens, Fotsis began his career as one of the biggest European prospects. Fotsis began his professional career in 1996, with the Greek League club Ilysiakos. He quickly earned a reputation as a very talented young player when playing in the club's senior team. He then transferred to the Greek club Panathinaikos (PAO) in 1997, just at the age of sixteen. It is a fact of significant importance that he started his career as a point guard, and later moved to the small forward, and then power forward positions. Due to his early guard playing status, he was later always recognized as one of the best power forwards in Europe, regarding basketball technique. While being the most dominant youth aged talent in Greece at the time, he twice participated in the Nike Hoop Summit All World Team (1998, 1999). He got little playing time in his first two seasons with Panathinaikos, but he managed to become one of the team's key players during the 1999–00 season. With Panathinaikos, he won the EuroLeague championship that same season, while being barely nineteen. One year later, he became a starter on the Panathinaikos team that made it to the FIBA SuproLeague's Finals.

Fotsis was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies (who were relocated to Memphis right after the draft) in the 2nd round (48th overall) of the 2001 NBA draft. In his one and only season in the NBA, he appeared in 28 games for the Grizzlies during the 2001–02 NBA season, averaging 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. He scored a career high 21 points against the Orlando Magic on January 19, 2002. His final NBA game was on April 17, 2002, in a 94–109 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics, in which he recorded 10 points and 6 rebounds.

After spending the 2001–02 season in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies, he returned to Panathinaikos for the 2002–03 season, and became one of the team's leaders, while scoring an average of 14.5 points per game in EuroLeague. With PAO, he won both the Greek Cup and the Greek League championship that year. In 2003, he moved to the Spanish League club Real Madrid. With Real Madrid, he was one of the key contributors on the teams that made it to the EuroCup Finals in 2004, and won the Spanish League championship in 2005. In 2005, he then transferred to the Russian Superleague club Dynamo Moscow. With Dynamo Moscow, Fotsis was one of the two leaders of the Russian team, along with fellow Greek player Lazaros Papadopoulos. Fotsis won the EuroCup championship in 2006 with Dynamo. One year later, he reached the EuroLeague quarterfinals with Dynamo, where his team lost to Panathinaikos. On March 21, 2007, in a winner take all EuroLeague 2006–07 season showdown with Italian League power Benetton Treviso, for second place in their Top 16 group, and a place in the quarterfinals, Fotsis scored 22 points, and set a single game EuroLeague post year 2000 record with 24 rebounds, helping Dynamo score a 68 65 overtime win. In 2008, he returned to Panathinaikos. It was his second return to the club, and he was in the starting lineup for the team, as they won the coveted Triple Crown during the 2008–09 season. Fotsis was a key contributor to the Triple Crown winners, with his good defensive play and clutch baskets. He also played more minutes than any other "Greens" player in the 2009 EuroLeague Final Four. In the 2009–10 season, Panathinaikos again won the Greek League championship. That same season, Fotsis was named the Greek League MVP for the month of April. He played more minutes than any other "Greens" player in the EuroLeague that season, showing his defensive skills as well. In July 2011, he signed with Olimpia Milano of the Italian League, for two seasons. On July 2, 2013, Panathinaikos announced that they had signed Fotsis for three seasons. In 2016, Fotsis signed a new two year contract with Panathinaikos. On July 25, 2017, he parted ways with Panathinaikos. In August 2017, he announced his return to Ilysiakos, the first team of his professional career back in 1996.

With the junior national team of Greece, Fotsis won the bronze medal at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under 18 Championship. He played with the senior men's Greek national team at the 2009 EuroBasket, and the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was also a member of the Greek men's national teams that won the gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket and the silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He also played at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and he became the captain of Greece's senior national team before the 2009 EuroBasket tournament, where Greece won the bronze medal. He was also a member of the Greek men's national teams that played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the 2011 EuroBasket, the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, and the 2013 EuroBasket. He is the 7th all time leading scorer of the Greek senior men's national team, with 1,734 points scored in his career (9.4 points per game).

Fotsis has had the nickname of "Batman" since his adolescent years, when his teammates in the Greek junior national teams named him after the well known comic strip figure, because of his ability at that age to be an overwhelmingly gliding presence above the basketball rim. In his prime, Fotsis was a good shot blocker, a capable offensive rebounder, and an excellent 3 point shooter, especially for a power forward. He was also very physical on the defensive end of the court, thanks to his athleticism. He also holds Turkish citizenship.