G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki (Men's Basketball)
G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki (, ) is a Greek professional basketball team that is located in Thessaloniki. It serves as the senior men's basketball section of the multi-sport club of G.S. Iraklis. Iraklis currently plays in the second-tier level Greek A2 Basket League. The team's colors are blue and white. Iraklis won the Greek National Championship in 1928 and 1935, and has also reached the Greek Cup final three times. Some of the greatest players in Greek, European and worldwide basketball have played for Iraklis over the years including: Lefteris Kakiousis, Jure Zdovc, James Donaldson, Walter Berry, Xavier McDaniel, Roy Tarpley, Nikos Chatzivrettas, Vasily Karasev, Lazaros Papadopoulos, Dimitris Diamantidis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis. History The Iraklis parent athletic club was founded in 1908, and initially featured football. The club was named after Heracles (or Hercules), the mythical Greek demigod. The basketball team of Iraklis was established in 1921. Iraklis won the inaugural Greek League championship in 1928. To win the championship, Iraklis had to eliminate AEK Athens and Near East, before beating VAO in the championship game. The team won its second Greek championship in 1935. Also in the team's history, three times Iraklis finished in second place in the Greek Championship