his first game against Iraklis in December of that year, scoring 30 points. Fred Develey, the former coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, who later became coach of Aris, was instrumental in convincing the management that Galis would not only change Greek basketball, but that he would change also Greek basketball in Europe. The management was more concerned about his lack of height than his ability, until they saw him play. 1982–83 Greek Champions It would take another four years for Aris to rise to the top of the Greek League again, winning the national championship in 1983, with Galis taking the game in Greece to new heights, showing coordination and creativity that was then (some would argue even now) unprecedented in Greek courts, and almost beating powerhouse rivals like Olympiacos and Panathinaikos single-handed. That year also marked the return of Giannis Ioannidis to the Aris bench as coach. A very successful 1983–1984 season had a bitter ending, as Aris battled for both the Greek League championship and the Greek Cup, but lost the national cup final to crosstown rivals PAOK, and the league championship game to Panathinaikos, under dubious circumstances. A taste of things to come, however, had been offered during Aris' games against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the qualifying round for the first-tier level FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague), in the fall of 1983. Aris was narrowly eliminated by the very powerful Israeli League team, but not before posting an away win at Tel Aviv, something that no other European team had managed to do for many years. The coming of Giannakis and the domination in Greece 1985–1991: 7 consecutive Greek Championships (5 Doubles) Disappointment did not get much in the way of Aris' progress. With the financial support of Akis Michailides, a successful Greek businessman and President of the team, one of the most crucial transfers ever in the Greek League occurred after the 1983–1984 season, when Aris brought Panagiotis Giannakis to the team from Ionikos Nikaias. Nikos Galis now had a first-class partner. The result was total carnage for other teams. The lethal back court blazed through the Greek League for seven consecutive years, with the help of players such as Nikos Filippou, Michalis Romanidis, Lefteris Subotić, Georgios Doxakis, Vassilis Lipiridis, and others, winning 7 Greek League championships, and 5 Greek Cups (with one Greek Cup being memorably lost to Panathinaikos in 1986, with Galis performing surprisingly