Early years For the
2006–07 season, Printezis was
loaned by
Olympiacos to
Olympia Larissa, of the
Greek League. With Olympia Larissa, he averaged 11.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. At the
Greek All-Star Game weekend that season, he won the slam dunk competition. At the end of that season, he was also voted the
Greek League Best Young Player. Following that success, he returned to Olympiacos.
Málaga In 2009, Printezis signed a three-year contract with an
NBA escape clause after the second year, worth
€3.6 million net income, with the
Spanish ACB League club
Unicaja Málaga.
Return to Olympiacos On April 27, 2011, Printezis returned to his previous club,
Olympiacos Piraeus, after being transferred from Málaga. In the
EuroLeague's
2011–12 season's
Final, Printezis hit a game-winning shot, off an
assist from
Vassilis Spanoulis, with 0.7 seconds remaining on the game clock, to give Olympiacos the EuroLeague championship, with a victory over the Russian
VTB United League club
CSKA Moscow. On 12 July 2012, Printezis signed a new three-year contract with Olympiacos. Prior to signing that contract, he had considered signing a three-year, US$4.5 million net income contract offer from the
Turkish Super League club
Fenerbahçe Ülker, but he chose to stay with Olympiacos instead. With Olympiacos, he also won the
2012–13 season championship of the EuroLeague. On 8 July 2014, he extended his contract with Olympiacos until 2017. On 14 June 2017, Printezis signed a three-year contract extension with Olympiacos. He signed a one-year extension with the team on 16 June 2020. On 15 July 2021, Olympiacos announced that Printezis had agreed to another one-year contract extension with the club. On June 17, 2022, Printezis officially announced his retirement from playing professional club basketball, after winning the
Greek Basket League championship of the
2021–22 season with Olympiacos. During his final season with the Reds, he served as the team's
captain.
NBA draft rights Printezis was selected by the
San Antonio Spurs, in the second round, with the 58th selection overall of the
2007 NBA draft. The draft rights to Printezis were then acquired by the
Toronto Raptors, in exchange for their second-round draft pick in the
2008 NBA draft (the Spurs used that pick to draft
Goran Dragić, and immediately traded Dragić to the
Phoenix Suns, in order to acquire the draft pick they used in
2009 to draft future
NBA All-Rookie Second Team member
DeJuan Blair). On 20 January 2011, the Toronto Raptors traded Printezis' draft rights to the
Dallas Mavericks, in exchange for
Alexis Ajinça, a conditional
2013 second-round draft pick, and cash. On 10 December 2011, the draft rights to Printezis were traded to the
New York Knicks, along with
Tyson Chandler, and the draft rights to
Ahmad Nivins, in a three-way trade. The Mavericks received
Andy Rautins from the Knicks, and a second-round pick from the
Washington Wizards. The Wizards received
Ronny Turiaf from the Knicks, in addition to a Dallas
2012 second-round draft pick, a 2013 Knicks second-round draft pick, and cash considerations. In the summer of 2012, Printezis turned down a one-year contract offer from the Knicks, that reportedly was for slightly more than the minimum
NBA salary. On 21 February 2013, the draft rights to Printezis were subsequently traded to the
Oklahoma City Thunder, in a deal that sent
Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers. On 15 July 2014, Printezis' draft rights and
Thabo Sefolosha, were traded to the
Atlanta Hawks, in exchange for the draft rights to
Sofoklis Schortsanitis, cash considerations, and a trade exception. On 9 July 2015, the draft rights to Printezis, alongside a 2017 second-round draft pick, were traded to the Spurs, in exchange for
Tiago Splitter. ==National team career==