Georgios Papagiannis

Georgios Papagiannis
No. 50 Reno Bighorns
Position Center
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1997-07-03) July 3, 1997
Marousi, Greece
Nationality Greek
Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight 240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school Westtown School
(West Chester, Pennsylvania)
American School
(Athens, Greece)
NBA draft 2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career 2012–present
Career history
2012–2013 Peristeri
2014–2016 Panathinaikos
2016–present Sacramento Kings
2016–presentReno Bighorns
Career highlights and awards

Georgios "George" Papagiannis (alternate spellings: Georgio, Giorgios, Giorgos) (Greek: Γιώργος Παπαγιάννης; born July 3, 1997) is a Greek professional basketball player for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League, on assignment from the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Maroussi, Athens, Greece, he is a 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall center, with a 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) wingspan.[1] His nickname is "Big George".[2] He was selected 13th overall in the 2016 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns, and was later traded to the Sacramento Kings.

High school career

Papagiannis played at the Jordan Brand Classic International Game in 2013.[3] He announced that he was committing to Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in May 2013. He then attended school and played basketball at Westtown, during the 2013–14 academic school year and basketball season, as a high school junior.[4] After his junior year of high school in the United States, he transferred to the American School in Athens, Greece, for his senior year of high school.

Professional career

Peristeri (2012–2013)

Papagiannis made his senior men's club debut with Peristeri on January 5, 2012, at the age of 14, in a Greek Basket League 2011–12 season game against Panathinaikos.[5] He became the youngest player to ever play in the modern era of the Greek Basket League (since the league first became fully professional, under the organization of HEBA, starting with the 1992–93 season).[6][7] He also spent the entire 2012–13 season with Peristeri.[8]

Panathinaikos (2014–2016)

On June 25, 2014, Papagiannis signed with Panathinaikos on a multi-year deal, yet there was a player option in the contract, which allowed him to leave Panathinaikos for a US college during the summer of 2015.[9] Papagiannis, considered to be one of the biggest young European talent prospects, received scholarship offers from 17 USA colleges, including UConn, Arizona, Temple,[10] NC State,[11] Oregon, St. John's, and Kentucky.[12] On July 8, 2015, it was announced that Papagiannis had chosen to continue playing for Panathinaikos.[11][13] His Panathinaikos contract included a €500,000 euros buyout option.[14]

Papagiannis was a member of the Panathinaikos teams that won both the 2015 edition and the 2016 edition of the Greek Cup. He also played in six games with Panathinaikos during the 2015–16 Euroleague season competition, where he averaged 1.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, in 5 minutes per game.[15] In the 2015–16 Greek League season, he averaged 6.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, in 11.5 minutes per game, in 23 games played.[16]

Sacramento Kings (2016–present)

In April 2016, Papagiannis entered the 2016 NBA draft,[17] and was projected as a mid-to-late second round pick, but he also garnered interest as a late first round pick.[18] However, on June 23, Papagiannis was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Phoenix Suns, becoming the highest drafted Greek player ever. His rights were later traded to the Sacramento Kings on draft night.[19] and in July, he joined the Kings for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[20] On July 15, 2016, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Kings.[21] On November 5, he made his NBA debut in a 117–91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, recording two points and one rebound in six minutes off the bench.[22] During his rookie season, he has had multiple assignments with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League.[23]

Greek national team

With the Greek Under-16 junior national team, Papagiannis played at the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, which he led in blocks per game.[24] He also played with Greece at the 2013 TBF International Under-16 Tournament in Sakarya, Turkey, where he helped Greece win the gold medal. He also played at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, where he won the bronze medal and was named to the All-Tournament Team,[25] after leading the tournament in blocks per game.[26]

Papagiannis also played at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, and the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where he was voted to the All-Tournament Team.[27]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2015–16 Panathinaikos 6 0 5.0 .308 .000 .500 1.7 0.0 0.0 .3 1.5 1.3
Career 6 0 5.0 .308 .000 .500 1.7 0.0 0.0 .3 1.5 1.3

Awards and accomplishments

Club career

Greek national team

References

  1. "7 Foot Greek Hoops Phenom Georgios Papagiannis is Coming to America". TheHoopDoctors.com. September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  2. Frazier, Nicholas (June 23, 2016). "NBA DRAFT PROSPECT PROFILE: GREECE C GEORGIOS PAPAGIANNIS". GreenStreet.weei.com. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  3. "2013 Jordan Brand Classic International Game". JordanBrandClassic.com. March 3, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  4. Santoliquito, Joseph (October 29, 2013). "Westtown's Georgios Papagiannis enters high school basketball with NBA possibilities". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
  5. "ESAKE.gr Day 11". Esake.gr (in Greek). Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  6. "Real Madrid set sights on Georgios Papagiannis". TheHoop.blogspot.mx. June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  7. "Παπαγιάννης ο «Βενιαμίν» της Α1". Real.gr (in Greek). January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  8. "Giorgos Papagiannis career stats & achievements". BasketHotel.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  9. "Panathinaikos and Papagiannis reach agreement". PAOBC.gr. June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  10. "UConn interested in Greek big man Georgios Papagiannis". Sportando.com. January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Hladik, Matt (July 8, 2015). "Report: 4-Star Center Georgios Papagiannis Won't Play College Basketball, Will Pursue Pro Career In Greece". TheSpun.com. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  12. Winn, Luke (July 1, 2015). "Possible Greek import Georgios Papagiannis could be recruiting coup". SI.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  13. Orfanaki, Giorgos (July 8, 2015). "Διάλεξε ΠΑΟ ο Παπαγιάννης". EuroHoops.net (in Greek). Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  14. Barkas, Aris (June 22, 2016). "Papagiannis flirting with the first round". EuroHoops.net. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  15. "PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS Euroleague 2015-16 STATISTICS". Euroleague.net. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  16. "Σ Γιώργος - Basket League ΣΚΡΑΤΣ 2015-16". Esake.gr (in Greek). Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  17. "Georgios Papagiannis will enter the 2016 NBA Draft". Sportando.com. April 19, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  18. Kyler, Steve (June 4, 2016). "NBA AM: Is Derrick Rose On His Way Out?". BasketballInsiders.com. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  19. "Kings Announce Draft-Night Trade". NBA.com. June 23, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  20. "Kings Announce 2016 NBA Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 5, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  21. "Kings Sign Papagiannis, Richardson and Labissiere". NBA.com. July 15, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  22. "Teletovic, Parker lead Bucks to 117-91 win over Kings". ESPN.com. November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  23. "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  24. "FIBAEurope.com STATISTICAL LEADERS - PLAYERS Blocked Shots". FIBA.com. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  25. "MVP PENO LEADS ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM". FIBAEurope.com. August 19, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  26. "FIBAEurope.com STATISTICAL LEADERS - PLAYERS Blocked Shots". FIBA.com. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  27. "MVP CHARALAMPOPOULOS HEADLINES ALLL-STAR FIVE". FIBAEurope.com. February 8, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
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