Fragiskos "Frankie" Alvertis (alternate spelling: Fragkiskos,Archive.FIBA.com Fragkiskos ALVERTIS (GRE). ; born 11 June 1974) is a Greek former professional basketball player and general manager of Panathinaikos Athens. As a player, he was the long-time captain of Panathinaikos, where he spent his whole professional career. In 1990, Alvertis joined Panathinaikos, after moving to the club from Glyfada. Alvertis is first on the list of the EuroLeague championships won by a player, with five, since the competition went to the Final Four format, beginning with the 1987–88 season. The former Italian player Dino Meneghin, is first overall, with seven EuroLeague championships won, when including all formats of the competition, dating back to the competition's inaugural 1958 season.
As a member of the Greens, he won eleven Greek League championships, five EuroLeague Championships, eight Greek Cup titles, and one FIBA Intercontinental Cup title. Alvertis is commonly referred to as one of the best pure shooters of European basketball during the 1990s decade, and the beginning of the new millennium. He won the Greek League Three-Point Shootout Contest three years in a row (1996 I, 1996 II, 1997), and he shot 41.0 percent from three-point range throughout his EuroLeague career.
Alvertis played in the EuroLeague Final Four for the eight and final time in 2007. On February 3, 2008, Alvertis was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors, over the previous half-century by the EuroLeague Basketball Experts Committee, in recognition of his major contribution to Panathinaikos' rise on the European continental scene.EuroLeague official website, Fragiskos Alvertis presentation as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors,
Alvertis retired from playing professional club basketball, following the 2008–09 season. At the beginning of the 2009–10 season, his number 4 jersey was retired by the club. It was the first Panathinaikos basketball shirt number that the club had ever retired. The retired number 4 jersey was hung up in the rafters above the playing court of the Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall, along with the club's trophy banners. In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball. He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.Greek League Hall of Fame welcomes Ford, Bodiroga, Radja, Wilkins, Tarpley.
Alvertis was a member of the Greece men's national basketball team, from 1995 to 2004. As a member of the Greece men's national team, he made it to the FIBA World Championship semifinals in 1998, and twice made it to the EuroBasket semifinals, in 1995 and 1997.
Club career
1990–1996 Alvertis' eventful transfer to Panathinaikos from Glyfada, cost Panathinaikos' men's water polo department, as it included the trade of the Panathinaikos Water Polo Club's main star, Dimitris Seletopoulos, in order to get Alvertis. A great deal had been accomplished for Panathinaikos in the trade however, as the years to come would demonstrate. Alvertis was indeed an intriguing prospect at the time, almost 10 cm (4 inches) taller than the conventional shooting guard. His potential was proven to be great in the 1991 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, where Alvertis led the Greek team to the silver medal alongside Panagiotis Liadelis.FIBA Europe official website, U16 European Championship Men 1991 - Greece's roster, At the same time, Panathinaikos was going through a transition period during which the lackluster team of the late 1980s strove to become a European powerhouse. Consequently, young Alvertis had to wait until the 1993–94 season to get significant playing time on a team with high ambitions, as PAO reached the EuroLeague Final Four. The star of the twenty-year-old player shone right away, particularly in the Top 8 playoff series against reigning champions Limoges.FIBA Europe official website, Fragiskos Alvertis' 1993-94 EuroLeague stats, Alvertis averaged 13 points per game, forcing Head Coach Božidar Maljković to state that he already was to be counted as one of the very best players in Europe.
Panathinaikos had a status to confirm in the 1994–95 season and Alvertis helped them do so by elevating his play to an even higher level. Using his sharp shooting with a rare maturity for a player his age, he was a major contributor to his team's march towards a second consecutive EuroLeague Final Four. In the Top 8 playoffs against Kinder Bologna and Predrag Danilović, he averaged 12.7 points and 3.3 rebounds, while holding Danilović to just 8 points and 4–15 from the field in the decisive Game 3. Although the semifinal against Olympiacos proved to be tough, as he only shot 1-10 from the field for only 3 points, he scored a season high 29 points in the third place game against Limoges. Alvertis finished his EuroLeague season averaging 12 points per game.FIBA Europe official website, Fragiskos Alvertis' 1994-95 EuroLeague stats,
In the 1995–96 season, Alvertis saw NBA legend Dominique Wilkins join the team and the EuroLeague title seemed closer than ever.FIBA Europe official website, Panathinaikos' 1995-96 EuroLeague roster He averaged 10.8 points per game in the competition, led Panathinaikos in scoring during the winning Final against Barcelona with 17 points, and was selected to the EuroLeague All-Final Four Team.EuroLeague official website, Fragiskos Alvertis' profile In the Greek League semifinals, Panathinaikos faced a Panionios team under Dušan Ivković, featuring the likes of Žarko Paspalj and Fanis Christodoulou. Alvertis scored 12 points in the last eight minutes of a dramatic Game 3, leading Panathinaikos to the Finals where they fell to Olympiacos. He also won the 1996 FIBA Intercontinental Cup, as he averaged 19.7 points per game against Olimpia de Venado Tuerto, who were the defending Argentine National League and FIBA South American League champions at the time.
1996–2004
Alvertis cemented his role as one of Panathinaikos' main stars, in spite of the fact that the team experienced a dispiriting 1996–97 season. Although he increased his scoring average to 12.7 points per game, he was unable to help PAO reach the 1997 EuroLeague Final Four as they were bested by eventual champions Olympiacos in the quarterfinal playoffs. His 35 points facing Caja San Fernando set his EuroLeague personal record.FIBA Europe official website, Caja San Fernando - Panathinaikos box score The Greek League outcome would add up to the season's drama, as Alvertis' 29 points against PAOK in Game 2 of the quarterfinal playoffs were not enough to prevent a 90–85 defeat.
Strengthened by the addition of another NBA legend in Byron Scott for the 1997–98 season, Panathinaikos won their first national league title since 1984. In the memorable semifinal playoff series, AEK was coming off of a 1998 Euroleague Finals campaign, led by the likes of Bane Prelević, Willie Anderson and Victor Alexander. Alvertis averaged 16.7 points per game and led Panathinaikos in scoring. Following the win in the final series against PAOK and Peja Stojaković, he was voted to the All-Greek League Team, alongside teammate Dino Radja.
After an unexpected failure to reach the EuroLeague Top 8 in the 1998–99 season, Alvertis won one more Greek League title. Panathinaikos beat Olympiacos in the finals, after breaking home court advantage and winning the decisive Game 5 in the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
In the 1999–00 season, having missed an important part of the season due to an injury, Alvertis still came back on time. Performing efficient basketball, he helped Panathinaikos win their second EuroLeague championship, at the 2000 Thessaloniki EuroLeague Final Four, as well as their third straight Greek League championship, downing PAOK in the final. Together with Dejan Bodiroga, he led Panathinaikos in scoring in the final playoff series, averaging 15.7 points per game.
The following season, Alvertis helped lead Panathinaikos to the 2001 SuproLeague Final Four, averaging 13.4 points per game. The Greens lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final.FIBA Europe official website, SuproLeague 2000-01 Final stats As for the Greek League, Olympiacos had once again a very solid team that year, featuring Dino Radja, David Rivers and Nikos Oikonomou. After the final series was tied at 2–2, Alvertis scored 23 points in Game 5, including seven straight points in the clutch, thus offering Panathinaikos one more Greek League title. His legend, especially among the green fans, was still growing.
After winning everything at the club level, Alvertis' thirst for titles did not subside nonetheless. In the 2001–02 season he led the Panathinaikos offense along with Dejan Bodiroga, Damir Mulaomerović and İbrahim Kutluay, averaging 10.2 points per game;EuroLeague official website, Fragiskos Alvertis' 2001-02 page in the 2002 EuroLeague Final against Kinder Bologna, he scored 11 points, showing great leadership throughout the game. By lifting his third EuroLeague title, Alvertis proved that the sky was the limit concerning the number of his titles.
Owing to the renovation of the Nikos Galis Olympic Indoor Hall for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Panathinaikos had to move to the 2,500 capacity Sporting Arena for the 2002–03 season. The club's budget consequently decreased by nearly half, thus hurting the team's strength. Despite that, Panathinaikos led its regular season EuroLeague group with an 11–3 record. After averaging 12.7 points per game in the first three Top 16 games, Alvertis’ season was cut short by an injury which caused him to miss the remaining three games.EuroLeague official website, Fragiskos Alvertis' 2002-03 page As a result, Panathinaikos did not manage to make it to the 2003 EuroLeague Final Four, without its natural leader. In the Greek League, Alvertis was there to assure PAO's dominance, winning its fifth title in six seasons. He averaged 12 points per game in the finals against AEK, and was voted the Greek League MVP. Prior to that, he had led the Greens to their first Greek Cup since 1996, scoring 22 points in the final against Aris, and being named the tournament's MVP.
The 2003–04 season presented many similarities to the previous one, as Panathinaikos remained in the Sporting Arena. Despite Alvertis averaging 11.2 points per game and providing veteran leadership in the locker room, his EuroLeague season ended again on an injury in the fourth game of the Top 16 against Barcelona. Panathinaikos was not able to reach further to the 2004 EuroLeague Final Four.EuroLeague official website, Fragiskos Alvertis' 2003-04 page Alvertis’ sixth Greek League title came after averaging 11 points in the playoffs, including a 21 points outing against Olympiacos in the quarterfinals. The latter was the seventh and last time he led all Panathinaikos scorers in a playoff matchup versus their archrivals.
2004–2009: A new role for a leader The 2004–05 season meant an adjustment for the captain of Panathinaikos. Unable to contribute to Head Coach Obradović's demanding systems as efficiently as before, he was not starting in any of the games anymore. Nevertheless, he came off the bench as a spot shooter, who gave the team valuable perimeter scoring and experience.EuroLeague official website, Fragiskos Alvertis' 2004-05 page Along with the team's new stars Dimitris Diamantidis, Jaka Lakovič, and Mike Batiste, PAO made it to the 2005 EuroLeague Final Four in Moscow, where they lost to Šarūnas Jasikevičius' and Anthony Parker's Maccabi Tel Aviv. Alvertis finished the EuroLeague season with an average 8.4 points per game, the lowest since his first EuroLeague campaign in the 1993–94 season. Finally that same season, he lifted another Greek League trophy, after averaging 12 points per game against AEK in the Greek League's Finals.