Michael Batiste
Template:Infobox Euroleague Player Michael James "Mike" Batiste (born November 21, 1977 in Long Beach, California) is an American professional basketball player currently playing for Panathinaikos of the Greek League. He is 6 ft 8 ¼ (2.04 m) tall and is regarded as one of the best power forwards currently playing in the Euroleague. He usually draws the attention of fans with his many highlight reel dunks and dominant finishing plays around the basket. He is also known as the player that can travel all over the floor with no consequence. This has earned him the nickname Travelling Mike.
College
Batiste played collegiality for Arizona State University. He led the Pacific Ten Conference (Pac-10) in blocked shots during the 1997-1998 season and was named First Team Pac-10 in 1998-1999.
NBA
During the 2002-03 NBA season Batiste played with the Memphis Grizzlies. In 75 games played he averaged 6.4 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game in 16.6 minutes per game. He was also signed by the Los Angeles Clippers in September 2002, but he was waived before playing in any regular season games.
Europe
After leaving Arizona State, Batiste had a European stint, representing TEC Spirou Charleroi in Belgium (2000-2001) and Lauretana Biella (2001-2002), in the top Italian League.
Panathinaikos
In July 2003, following his NBA season, Batiste joined the Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos Athens, and he has since then played a major role in a team that has won 6 Greek Championships (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) and 5 Greek Cup championships in a row (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009). With Panathinaikos, he also won the Euroleague 2006-07 and 2008-09 championship and the coveted Triple Crown in Basketball in 2007 and in 2009.
Awards and achievements
- Won 6 Greek Championships (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
- Won 5 Greek Cups (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009)
- Won 2 Euroleague Championships (2007, 2009)
- Won 2 Triple Crown in Basketball Championships (2007, 2009)