Nick Galis inspired a nation of Greek basketball fans -- so much so that a member of the overseas media in attendance at the Basketball Hall of Fame press conference on Thursday thanked him profusely for all he had done for the game in his country. Galis earned lucrative contracts and is widely accepted as the greatest Greek player of all time after leading the team to the 1987 EuroBasket championship.
So you'll pardon the 2017 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame inductee if he isn't too concerned with being cut from the Boston Celtics shortly after being drafted in 1979.
"It was my decision too," Galis said. "We sat down and talked. I had generous offers from Greece, coming from a poor family to go overseas. It was a decision I never regretted because I fell in love with the place and people as soon as I got there. I've been there 38 years now. I never left. No regrets."
The Celtics missed out on a star. Galis averaged 33.4 points per game during his Greek career -- a combo guard capable of both scoring and distributing. But the Celtics had Tiny Archibald and Chris Ford, as well as rookie Gerald Henderson. Galis was the 68th pick -- a fourth-round selection in 1979, back when the NBA draft had more than two rounds. He left for Greece after an underwhelming, injury-riddled training camp.
Then-Celtics general manager Red Auerbach reportedly regretted the decision to let Galis go -- according to the Hall of Fame's information, Auerbach once said in retrospect that "the only big mistake of my career was not signing Galis back then."
If Auerbach did feel that way, Galis said he never reached out personally. Galis said he considers what might have happened if he went to the NBA, but -- again -- he has no regrets.
"I was happy," he said. "I was satisfied with my decision. We started something new in Greece -- the Big Bang in 1987 after the Euro Championship. I was very satisfied we could do something like this for my country."
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