Stathis Neratzakis

Stathis Nerantzakis
Al Rayyan
PositionHead coach
LeagueQatari Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1977-05-11) 11 May 1977 (age 49)
Thessaloniki, Greece
Coaching career
1996–present
Career history
Coaching
1996–2004P.K. Neapolis (youth)
2007–2010Diagoras Rhodes (youth)
2010–2019Kolossos Rodou (assistant)
2019Larissa (assistant)
2019–2024PAOK (assistant)
2020PAOK (interim)
2024PAOK
2024–presentAl Rayyan
Career highlights
  • Amir Cup champion (2025)
  • Qatar Basketball Super Cup champion (2025)

Stathis Nerantzakis (Greek: Στάθης Νεραντζάκης; born 11 May 1977) is a Greek professional basketball coach who is the head coach of Al Rayyan of the Qatari Basketball League. He previously spent five seasons with PAOK, initially as an assistant coach before becoming the club's head coach in 2024.

In 2024, Nerantzakis moved to Qatar to take charge of Al Rayyan. He subsequently led the club to the Amir Cup title in 2025 and the inaugural Qatar Basketball Super Cup later that year.

Early life and playing career

Nerantzakis was born in Thessaloniki on 11 May 1977. He graduated from the School of Physical Education and Sports Science of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

He began playing basketball in the youth system of P.K. Neapolis and later played for Ermis Lagkada, YMCA Thessaloniki and Diagoras Rhodes. While still playing, he also began coaching, working with the youth teams of P.K. Neapolis from 1996 to 2004. He later coached in the youth system of Diagoras Rhodes between 2007 and 2010.

Coaching career

Kolossos Rodou and Larissa

In 2010, Nerantzakis joined the coaching staff of Kolossos Rodou, where he remained until 2019. He spent nearly a decade with the Rhodes-based club before leaving in 2019.

At the beginning of the 2019–20 season, Nerantzakis had a brief spell as a member of the coaching staff of Larissa.

PAOK

On 18 November 2019, Nerantzakis joined PAOK as an assistant coach to Kostas Charalampidis, alongside Charalampos Karaiskos.

Following Charalambidis' resignation in February 2020, Nerantzakis temporarily assumed responsibility for the first team. FIBA confirmed that he would coach PAOK in its Basketball Champions League game against Telekom Baskets Bonn. PAOK defeated Bonn 103–84 under Nerantzakis on 4 February 2020 in the final group-stage game of its 2019–20 Basketball Champions League campaign.

He subsequently returned to his role as an assistant coach and remained on PAOK's coaching staff. In July 2020, the club confirmed that Nerantzakis and Karaiskos would continue as assistants to Kostas Mexas.

On 17 February 2024, following the departure of Fotis Takianos, PAOK appointed Nerantzakis as head coach until the end of the 2023–24 season. His promotion from the assistant coaching staff to the head coaching position was also reported by Greek sports media.

During Nerantzakis' tenure as head coach, PAOK signed former NBA guard Kevin Porter Jr. for the remainder of the 2023–24 season in April 2024.

Nerantzakis coached PAOK for the remainder of the Greek league season, including the club's playoff series against Panathinaikos.

Nerantzakis left PAOK in June 2024 after five years with the club, following the appointment of Massimo Cancellieri as head coach for the following season.

Al Rayyan

In July 2024, Nerantzakis agreed to become the head coach of Qatari club Al Rayyan, succeeding fellow Greek coach Stergios Koufos. Reports at the time stated that his initial agreement with the club was for one season. Nerantzakis later said that after leaving PAOK he had decided that he wanted to work abroad and viewed Qatar as an opportunity to experience a developing basketball market.

In his first season with the club, Nerantzakis guided Al Rayyan to the 2024–25 Amir Cup title. Al Rayyan defeated Al Arabi 77–70 in the final, winning the competition for the tenth time in the club's history.

In October 2025, Al Rayyan won the inaugural Qatar Basketball Super Cup. The team defeated Al Ahli 101–74 in the semifinal before beating Al Sadd 97–72 in the final at the Lusail Multipurpose Indoor Arena. Nerantzakis subsequently discussed the title and his experience coaching in Qatar in an interview with ERT Sports.

On 20 August 2026, Nerantzakis renewed his contract with Al Rayyan, continuing as the club's head coach for the 2026–27 season.

Honours

Al Rayyan

References

  1. ↑ "Clubs". Qatar Basketball Federation. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ο Στάθης Νεραντζάκης αναλαμβάνει τον ΠΑΟΚ" [Stathis Nerantzakis takes charge of PAOK] (in Greek). PAOK BC. 17 February 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "ΠΑΟΚ: Τα ηνία στον Νεραντζάκη έως το τέλος της σεζόν" [PAOK: Nerantzakis takes charge until the end of the season]. Gazzetta (in Greek). 17 February 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 Karamouza, Vasiliki (16 July 2024). "Στο Κατάρ ο Στάθης Νεραντζάκης" [Stathis Nerantzakis moves to Qatar]. SPORT24 (in Greek). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Pallas, Giannis (16 July 2024). "Ο Νεραντζάκης συμφώνησε με την Αλ Ραγιάν του Κατάρ!" [Nerantzakis agrees with Al Rayyan of Qatar]. Sportal (in Greek). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Al Rayyan beat Al Arabi to claim 10th Amir Cup title". The Peninsula. 23 May 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "Al Rayyan clinch Qatar Super Cup title". The Peninsula. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Ο Στάθης Νεραντζάκης στο τεχνικό επιτελείο του ΠΑΟΚ" [Stathis Nerantzakis joins PAOK's coaching staff] (in Greek). PAOK BC. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Everything you need to know ahead of Tuesday's Gameday 14 fixtures". FIBA. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Trigkas, Alexandros (4 February 2020). "ΠΑΟΚ – Βόννη 103-84: "Αντίο" στο BCL με εντυπωσιακή νίκη" [PAOK – Bonn 103–84: Farewell to the BCL with an impressive win]. SPORT24 (in Greek). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  11. ↑ "Games Results – Basketball Champions League 2019–20". FIBA. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Nerantzakis and Karaiskos team up with Kostas Mexas". PAOK BC. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  13. ↑ Pallas, Giannis (19 February 2024). "«Πρώτη» για Νεραντζάκη στον ΠΑΟΚ, στο επιτελείο ο Κωστόπουλος" [First practice for Nerantzakis at PAOK, Kostopoulos joins the staff]. Sportal (in Greek). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  14. ↑ Feronas, Thanos (1 April 2024). "Κέβιν Πόρτερ: Ο ΠΑΟΚ ανακοίνωσε την απόκτηση του 24χρονου Αμερικανού" [Kevin Porter: PAOK announces the signing of the 24-year-old American]. SPORT24 (in Greek). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  15. ↑ Gioulenoglou, Michalis (1 April 2024). "ΠΑΟΚ: Επίσημο του Κέβιν Πόρτερ Τζούνιορ μέχρι το τέλος της σεζόν" [PAOK: Kevin Porter Jr. officially signs until the end of the season]. Gazzetta (in Greek). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Νεραντζάκης: «Κρατάω την αγωνιστικότητα που δείξαμε»" [Nerantzakis: "I keep the competitiveness that we showed"] (in Greek). PAOK BC. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  17. ↑ Markezinis, Spyros (11 June 2024). "ΠΑΟΚ: Ευχαρίστησε τον Στάθη Νεραντζάκη για τα τελευταία 5 χρόνια" [PAOK thanks Stathis Nerantzakis for the last five years]. Gazzetta (in Greek). Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "Νεραντζάκης: «Η Αλ Ραγιάν ταιριάζει με τα "θέλω" μου»" [Nerantzakis: "Al Rayyan suits what I want"]. ERT Sports (in Greek). 20 July 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Al Rayyan emerge as Amir Cup basketball champions". Qatar Basketball Federation. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "Al Rayyan, Al Sadd reach Qatar Super Cup final". The Peninsula. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  21. 1 2 "Νεραντζάκης: «Για το Κατάρ είναι μεγάλο στοίχημα η διοργάνωση του Παγκοσμίου Κυπέλλου»" [Nerantzakis: "Hosting the World Cup is a major challenge for Qatar"]. ERT Sports (in Greek). 19 October 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Συνεχίζει στον πάγκο της Αλ Ραγιάν ο Στάθης Νεραντζάκης" [Stathis Nerantzakis remains on the bench of Al Rayyan]. Sportal (in Greek). 20 August 2026. Retrieved 29 August 2026.