Georgi Glouchkov

Georgi Nikolov Glouchkov (alternate spelling: Gueorgui) (; born 10 January 1960) is a Bulgarian former professional basketball player and president of Bulgarian Basketball Federation. A 6 ft 8 in (204 cm) power forward-center, he was the first player from an Eastern bloc country to compete in the American National Basketball Association (NBA).

Glouchkov has served as Bulgaria's Minister of Youth and Sports under Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev since 9 April 2024.

Professional career After one successful season with the Bulgarian club Luskov Yambol's junior side, Glouchkov got promoted to their senior side, by his junior coach, Simeon Varchev, at age 19. They also worked together in the Bulgarian clubs Balkan Botevgrad and Akademik Varna. By the mid-1980s, he had established a reputation as being one of Europe's top five players at the time. After averaging 23 points and 19 rebounds per game, during the Bulgarian National League's 1984–85 season, in which his team, Akademik Varna, won the Bulgarian National League championship, he attracted the attention of the Phoenix Suns, who selected him in the seventh round (with the 148th pick overall) of the 1985 NBA draft.

Glouchkov knew very little English and was accompanied by Bozhidar Takev, a Bulgarian basketball coach and trainer, who translated for him. At the beginning of the season, Glouchkov, by way of his rebounding ability, became a regular member of the team's playing rotation; as the year went on, however, Glouchkov began gaining weight, and his productivity decreased. He ended the 1985-86 NBA season with averages of 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.

As the season concluded, Glouchkov began losing weight at a dramatic pace. When he reported to the Suns' 1986 summer league team, he weighed 25 pounds less than he had weighed when he first signed with the Suns.

Glouchkov returned to his homeland. He continued to play professional basketball in various European national domestic leagues, including Italy's LBA, Bulgaria's NBL, and Spain's ACB. He had his most post-NBA success with the Italian club Phonola Caserta, whom he led to the FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup finals during the 1988–89 season, before losing to the Spanish Liga ACB club Real Madrid, in the finals. Glouchkov was a FIBA Balkans Selection in 1991.

National team career Glouchkov competed in his first tournament with the junior youth teams of Bulgaria, at age 17, when he played with the Bulgarian national cadets team at the 1977 FIBA European Championship for Cadets. Glouchkov was also a member of the senior men's Bulgarian national team. He represented Bulgaria's senior team at four FIBA EuroBasket tournaments. He played at the 1979 FIBA EuroBasket, the 1985 FIBA EuroBasket, the 1989 FIBA EuroBasket, and the 1991 FIBA EuroBasket.

Career statistics

NBA Source

Regular season

Honours and titles European competitions FIBA European Cup Winners Cup Runner-up (1): 1988–89 FIBA Korać Cup Semifinalist (1): 1986–87

Domestic competitions Italian League Runner-up (1): 1986–87 Italian Cup Winner (1): 1987–88 Runner-up (1): 1988–89

Bulgarian Championship Champion (1): 1984–85 Bulgarian Cup Winner (1): 1980–81