Antonis Koniaris (alternate spelling: Antonios) (Greek: Αντώνης Κόνιαρης; born September 30, 1997) is a Greek professional basketball player for Lavrio of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He is a 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) tall[1]point guard.
Early career
Koniaris began playing youth basketball during primary school, in 2006, after joining a local team in Akrotiri, Chania.
Professional career
Koniaris began his pro career in 2013, after he signed with the Greek League club PAOK. On 24 July 2014, Koniaris' agent, Tasos Delimpaltadakis, announced via Twitter, that Panathinaikos had signed a young point guard. Some hours after this, Panathinaikos announced the signing of Koniaris, for 5 years.[2][3] As a member of Panathinaikos, Koniaris won two Greek Cups, in 2015 and 2016.
On August 19, 2016, he returned to PAOK, after signing a three-year contract with them.[4] On June 30, 2019, Koniaris signed a three-year contract (two years guaranteed, plus one option year) with the Greek EuroLeague club Olympiacos.[5]
On July 1, 2019, he has signed a 3-year deal with Olympiacos of the EuroLeague.[6] During his rookie season in Piraeus, Koniaris appeared in 24 EuroLeague Regular Season games, averaging 3.4 points, 1.4 assists and 1.4 rebounds as the back-up point guard of the team, under the instructions of coach Kęstutis Kemzūra at first and later of Georgios Bartzokas.
On January 16, 2021, after playing only friendly games and struggling for minutes with the Reds in the EuroLeague rotation, he went on loan to Monbus Obradoiro of the Liga ACB.[7] On March 1, 2021, Koniaris left the Spanish club after a short spell of just 3 games in the Liga ACB. On March 5 of the same year, he returned to the Greek Basket League for Ionikos Nikaias, once again on loan from Olympiacos, until the end of the 2020–21 season.
On December 30, 2021, Koniaris, having recovered from a serious ACL injury, signed with AEK Athens through the summer of 2024. In 7 league games, he averaged 2.3 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.6 steals in under 10 minutes per contest. During the 2022–2023 season, in 17 league games, he averaged 1 point, 1 rebound and 0.9 assists, playing around 10 minutes per contest.
On June 28, 2023, Koniaris moved to Promitheas Patras. In 24 domestic league matches, he averaged 5.5 points, 1.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 18 minutes per contest. Additionally, in 14 BCL games, he averaged 5.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 18 minutes per contest. On June 19, 2024, Koniaris renewed his contract with Promitheas. However, on September 29 of the same year, he departed from the club.
With the junior national teams of Greece, Koniaris won the gold medal at the 2013 TBF Under-16 World Cup in Sakarya, Turkey, where he helped Greece win the gold medal. He was named to the tournament's All-Tournament Team, and was also named the MVP of the tournament. He also won the bronze medal at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship.[8]
