Kostas Papanikolaou

Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Παπανικολάου; born 31 July 1990) is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League (GBL) and the EuroLeague. Standing at 2.04 m (6'8 1⁄2") tall,[3][4] he plays at the small forward position. He has previously played in the NBA for the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets, as well as for the EuroLeague powerhouse FC Barcelona. Papanikolaou is also a regular member of the senior Hellenic national team. He is widely considered amongst the best defensive players in European basketball.[5]

Kostas Papanikolaou
Papanikolaou with Olympiacos, in 2022
No. 16 – Olympiacos
PositionSmall forward
LeagueGreek Basket League
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1990-07-31) 31 July 1990
Trikala, Greece
NationalityGreek
Listed height204 cm (6 ft 8 in)
Listed weight107 kg (236 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2012: 2nd round, 48th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career2008–present
Career history
2008–2009Aris Thessaloniki
2009–2013Olympiacos
2013–2014FC Barcelona
2014–2015Houston Rockets
2015–2016Denver Nuggets
2016–presentOlympiacos
Career highlights and awards

EuroLeague records

  • First Player in EuroLeague History with:[1]

+2.000 Points, +1.000 Rebounds, +400 Assists, +300 3 PM, +200 Steals, +100 Blocks

  • Olympiacos EuroLeague all-time leader in steals[2]
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Greece
FIBA U-19 World Cup
Silver medal – second place2009 New ZealandUnder-19
FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
Gold medal – first place2009 GreeceUnder-20
Silver medal – second place2010 CroatiaUnder-20
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
Gold medal – first place2008 GreeceUnder-18
Silver medal – second place2007 SpainUnder-18

Professional career

Aris (2008–2009)

Papanikolaou began playing basketball with the youth teams of Proteas Grevenon and Aris, and he made his pro debut in the Greek League, with Aris, during the 2008–09 season. He was named the MVP of the Greek Youth All-Star Game in 2009. He was also named the Greek League's Best Young Player in 2009.[6]

Olympiacos (2009–2013)

On 14 September 2009, Papanikolaou signed a five-year, €1.3 million net income deal with Olympiacos,[7] after Olympiacos paid a €950,000 buyout fee to Aris, to secure his player rights.[8] Papanikolaou's contract with Olympiacos had an NBA buyout clause worth €1 million.[9]

With Olympiacos, he won the EuroLeague and Greek League championships in 2012. Papanikolaou was voted the EuroLeague Rising Star for the EuroLeague 2012–13 season.[10] With Olympiacos, he also won the 2012–13 season EuroLeague championship.

FC Barcelona (2013–2014)

On 20 July 2013, Papanikolaou signed a four-year deal with Spanish League club FC Barcelona,[11] after Barcelona bought Papanikolaou out of his contract with Olympiacos, paying a transfer buyout fee of €1.5 million to Olympiacos, and giving Papanikolaou a contract worth €5.5 million net income, during the contract's first three years (the 4th optional year would be at an additional salary).[8] The contract included NBA buyout clauses in the amounts of €1.1 million for 2014,[12] and €750,000 for 2015.[13]

Barcelona went on to win the 2013–14 Spanish Liga ACB championship.

Houston Rockets (2014–2015)

On 28 June 2012, Papanikolaou was selected with the 48th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. On July 16, 2012, his draft rights were acquired by the Portland Trail Blazers, via a trade that sent Raymond Felton to the Knicks.[14]

On 10 July 2013, Papanikolaou's rights were acquired by the Houston Rockets, via a trade that sent Thomas Robinson to the Trail Blazers.[15]

On 23 September 2014, Papanikolaou signed with the Houston Rockets.[16] On 13 February 2015, he took part in the Rising Stars Challenge of the NBA All-Star Game; in spite of an injury-plagued rookie season, during which he averaged 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, while coming off the bench, the Rockets decided to pick up his team option for the 2015–16 season.[17]

Denver Nuggets (2015–2016)

On 20 July 2015, the Rockets traded Papanikolaou, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Pablo Prigioni, a 2016 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations to the Denver Nuggets, in exchange for Ty Lawson and a 2017 second-round draft pick.[18] On 25 September 2015, he was waived by the Nuggets.[19] He later re-signed with Denver on November 5, 2015,[20] and made his debut for the team that night.[21] He was waived again by the Nuggets on 7 January 2016, before his salary became fully guaranteed.[22]

Return to the Olympiacos (2016–present)

On 20 January 2016, Papanikolaou signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Olympiacos, returning to the club for a second stint.[4][23] On 5 July 2018, Papanikolaou and Olympiacos officially agreed on a new three-year contract extension. He signed another three-year extension on 22 September 2020.[24] On July 6, 2023, Papanikolaou renewed his contract with the Greek club through 2026.

National team career

Greek junior national

As a member of the junior national basketball teams of Greece, Papanikolaou won the silver medal at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and the gold medal at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He also won the silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. Papanikolaou also won the gold medal at the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where he was also named to the All-Tournament Team and won the MVP award.[25] He then won the silver medal at the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship with Greece's junior national team, where he was also named to the All-Tournament Team.[26]

Greek senior national team

In August 2009, Papanikolaou made his debut with the senior men's Greek national basketball team, in a friendly game. With Greece's senior national team, he then played at EuroBasket 2011, the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the EuroBasket 2013, the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the EuroBasket 2015, the EuroBasket 2017, the 2019 FIBA World Cup and the EuroBasket 2022. He has appeared in 134 games for the senior national side and has scored a total of 842 points.

Player profile

A player who with his energy and athletic ability fills every corner of the parquet. He is a modern guard-forward with the ability to fight at least three positions (2-3-4) with great success. Is good 3 points shooter and he loves to run in surprise and often finish the stages with striking nails. It has a prestigious winning mindset and thanks to this it has already celebrated many national and collective titles. Excellent defender,[27][28][29] to his long legs and elusive abilities, while helping him play left-handed.

Awards and accomplishments

Youth club career

Aris Thessaloniki

Club career

Olympiacos

Barcelona

Greek junior national team

Pro clubs

Greek Youth national team
  • 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship MVP
  • 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship All-Tournament Team
  • 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship All-Tournament Team

EuroLeague records
  • First Player in EuroLeague History with:[38]

+2.000 Points, +1.000 Rebounds, +400 Assists, +300 3 PM, +200 Steals, +100 Blocks

  • Olympiacos EuroLeague all-time leader in steals[2]

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
† Denotes seasons in which Papanikolaou won the EuroLeague
Led the league

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Houston 43118.5.350.292.7222.72.0.7.34.2
2015–16 Denver 26611.3.364.313.6431.5.6.5.22.6
Career 69715.8.354.297.6882.31.5.6.33.6

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015 Houston 802.6.250.000.500.3.0.0.0.4
Career 802.6.250.000.500.3.0.0.0.4

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2009–10 Olympiacos 616.4.250.000.5001.2.8.5.0.82.0
2010–11 161413.7.447.435.6473.1.3.6.13.94.6
2011–12† 221319.8.490.333.6883.4.6.5.36.17.4
2012–13† 313023.8.497.521.7234.41.4.9.78.711.7
2013–14 Barcelona 282725.0.507.361.5003.42.2.8.56.98.5
2015–16 Olympiacos 7518.9.410.118.5834.31.0.6.45.95.9
2016–17 373223.2.422.316.8264.81.51.2.48.19.7
2017–18 282324.1.469.373.7754.32.11.0.48.311.3
2018–19 302323.2.545.371.7383.91.60.8.96.98.1
2019–20 262123.5.606.391.7083.61.51.4.88.59.4
2020–21 141321.4353.370.8952.21.90.6.75.75.9
2021–22 373723.2556.311.7582.51.60.9.86.66.6
2022–23 383825.2647.429.7293.81.90.7.28.710.3
Career 32027722.4.559.376.7313.71.50.8127.38.6

References
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  2. Stathakopoulos, Christos. "Οι 7 πρώτοι όλων των εποχών στην Ευρώπη". Olympiacos BC (in Greek). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  3. PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS HEIGHT: 2.04.
  4. "Olympiacos officially announced Papanikolaou". Eurohoops.net. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  5. "EuroLeague Best Defender by Eurohoops: Κώστας Παπανικολάου, Greeks do it better". Eurohoops (in Greek). 8 May 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  6. "Best young player, Papanikolaou". ArisBC.gr. 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
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