Naismith Trophy does the rounds in Athens on latest tour stop

ATHENS (Greece) - One of the great basketball cities of the world, Athens, was a stop this month for the Trophy Tour, presented by J9.

The Naismith Trophy, which will be lifted by the country that wins the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 on September 10 in Manila, the Philippines, was taken to several famous locations in the Greek capital.

And legendary players from the Greece team that played at the 2006 World Cup in Japan, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, aka "Big Sofo", and Nikos Zisis, had their photos taken with the trophy.

Schortsanitis and his two children with the trophy in front of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

 Zisis with the trophy at the Panathenaic Stadium, which was constructed in 330 BC  

Zisis, who played for Greece's senior side from 2001 through 2015 and was a member of the team that won FIBA EuroBasket 2005 in Belgrade and reached the 2006 World Cup Final, was photographed with the trophy at the Panathenaic Stadium.

Schortsanitis famously scored 14 points in 17 minutes against the USA at the 2006 World Cup, helping Greece win 101-95 to advance to the Final. He and his children were photographed with the trophy at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

The trophy was photographed before the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a stone Roman theater structure found on the southwest slope of the Acropolis.

Trophy displayed before the Acropolis, the ancient citadel on the rocky outcrop above the city of Athens

While in Athens, the Naismith Trophy was taken to OAKA (above) on the night of Greece's Acropolis Tournament game against Serbia.

While at the game, Greece U20 players (above) Evangelos Zougris, Sotiris Stavrakopoulos and Alexandros Kalaitzakis had their photos taken with the trophy that they dream of winning one day.

FIBA