Last month, we took a trip down Draft History Lane, revisiting the picks the Spurs made from 2001-2024.
One thing caught my attention — some draft rights move around the league without ever materializing into the plater who was actually drafted.
Georgios Printers is one of those players.
Most basketball fans have never heard of Georgios Printezis. He’s not a recognizable name.
But in Greece, he is known for his many accolades received over his nineteen seasons with Olympiacos.
Although Printezis never suited for an NBA team, his rights made the rounds.
He was originally drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 58th pick in the 2007 draft, the same year a team called the Seattle Supersonics drafted an eighteen-year-old Kevin Durant.
His rights were traded to the Toronto Raptors for their second-round draft pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, which the Spurs flipped for a 2009 pick.
In January of 2011, the Toronto Raptors traded Printezis’ draft rights to the Dallas Mavericks for Alexis Ajinça, a conditional 2013 second-round draft pick, and cash.
On December 10, 2011, his draft rights, along with Tyson Chandler, and the draft rights to Ahmad Nivins, went to the New York Knicks in a three-way trade. The following summer, Printezis turned down a one-year contract offer from the Knicks.
Shortly thereafter, his draft rights and those of Kostas Papanikolaou were sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange Raymond Felton.
In February of 2013, the draft rights to Printezis were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, sending Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers.
On July 15, 2014, Printezis’ draft rights were attached to Thabo Sefolosha and sent to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis, cash considerations, and a trade exception.
One year later, his draft rights, along with a 2017 second-round draft pick, were traded to the Spurs, in exchange for Tiago Splitter.
His rights started and ended with the Spurs. In between he was tied to the Raptors, Mavericks, Knicks, Trail Blazers, Thunder, and Hawks, yet he never played an NBA game. Eight moves between seven different teams.
His one league-minimum contract offer wasn’t enough to have him sever ties with his native team and give his talents a try across the the pond.
Why? Here’s a sample of his European accolades:
2× EuroLeague champion
FIBA Intercontinental Cup champion
4× Greek League champion
3× Greek Cup winner
2× Greek League Finals MVP
5× All-Greek League Team
Greek League Best Young Player- 2007
Greek League Most Improved Player- 2012
Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer- 2012
6× Greek All-Star
Greek All-Star Game Slam Dunk champion- 2007
In 2022, Georgios Printezis was inducted into the Greek League Hall of Fame. In 2024, just two years after his retirement, his jersey was retired by the club.
Chances are, he never needed the NBA. It seems he had no more desire to suit up than the teams that volleyed his draft rights around for a decade.
But such is the life of draft rights.
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