Wikipedia

Georgios Papagiannis

Georgios Papagiannis (Greek: Γιώργος Παπαγιάννης; born July 3, 1997), nicknamed Big Papa, is a Greek professional basketball player for AS Monaco of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroLeague. Born in Marousi, Attica, Greece, he is a 7 ft 2 3⁄4 in (2.20 m)[1] tall center, with a 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) wingspan.[2] An All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2022, Papagiannis is a member of the senior National Team of Greece.

Georgios Papagiannis
Γιώργος Παπαγιάννης
Papagiannis, 2023
No. 9 – AS Monaco
PositionCenter
LeagueLNB Pro A
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1997-07-03) July 3, 1997 (age 27)
Megara, Greece
Listed height2.21 m (7 ft 3 in)
Listed weight121 kg (267 lb)
Career information
High school
NBA draft2016: 1st round, 13th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012–2013Peristeri
2014–2016Panathinaikos
2016–2018Sacramento Kings
2018Portland Trail Blazers
2018–2023Panathinaikos
2023–2024Fenerbahçe
2024–presentAS Monaco
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Greece
European U-18 Championship
Gold medal – first place 2015 Greece Under-18
European U-16 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Ukraine Under-16
Papagiannis at the EuroBasket 2017

Early life

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Papagiannis was born in Marousi, a northern suburb of Athens, Greece, and spent his early years in Megara, in the western region of Athens. 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

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Peristeri (2012–2013)

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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)

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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 (2016–2018)

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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, 2016, 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] On March 18, 2017, he had his first double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the Kings' 110–94 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[23] During his rookie season, he had multiple assignments with the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League.[24]

On February 8, 2018, Papagiannis was waived by the Kings.[25]

Portland Trail Blazers (2018)

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On March 8, 2018, Papagiannis signed a 10-day contract with the Portland Trail Blazers.[26] Despite not playing a single game for Portland at the end of his 10-day contract, Papagiannis signed a two-year contract on March 18.[27] He appeared in one game with the Blazers. Papagiannis was waived by the Blazers after the end of the 2018 NBA Summer League.[28]

Return to Panathinaikos (2018–2023)

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On July 20, 2018, Papagiannis returned to Panathinaikos, signing a five-year contract,[29] with the last two years of the contract being team options.[30] The contract also included an NBA opt-out option, after the third year of the contract.[31]

After the departure of Ioannis Papapetrou in the summer of 2022, Papagiannis was named team captain for the first time in his career. During the 2022–2023 campaign, in 33 EuroLeague games, he averaged 8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 24 minutes per contest. Additionally, in 34 domestic league matches, he averaged 9.3 points, 6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocks in 22 minutes per contest.

On July 14, 2023, after weeks of stagnant negotiations, Papagiannis informed Panathinaikos that he had rejected their contract renewal proposal and he would be leaving the club after a total of seven seasons together.

Fenerbahçe (2023–2024)

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On July 15, 2023, Papagiannis signed a two-year deal with Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe, under his national team coach Dimitrios Itoudis.

National team career

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Greek junior national team

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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.[32] He also played with Greece at the 2013 TBF Under-16 World Cup 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,[33] after leading the tournament in blocks per game.[34]

Papagiannis also played at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, and the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where he was voted to the All-Tournament Team.[35]

Greek senior national team

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Papagiannis became a member of the senior Greek national basketball team in 2017. He played with Greece at the EuroBasket 2017, and at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification. He also played for Greece at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Career statistics

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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

NBA

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Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Sacramento 22 0 16.1 .549 .000 .857 3.9 .9 .1 .8 5.6
2017–18 Sacramento 16 0 7.4 .415 — — 2.3 .6 .1 .4 2.1
Portland 1 0 3.7 1.000 — — 1.0 — 2.0 — 2.0
Career 39 0 12.2 .514 .000 .857 3.1 .7 .2 .6 4.1

EuroLeague

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* Led the league
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2015–16 Panathinaikos 6 0 5.0 .308 — .500 1.7 — — .3 1.5 1.3
2018–19 26 12 12.2 .694 — .556 2.8 .2 .3 .6 4.0 5.2
2019–20 27 22 17.5 .620 .000 .667 4.7 .2 .4 .9 6.9 8.7
2020–21 32 22 21.9 .652 .125 .667 5.4 1.0 .3 1.6 8.8 13.6
2021–22 29 23 28.4 .643 — .737 8.2* .9 .8 1.7* 10.3 17.4
2022–23 33 22 23.7 .576 .486 .750 5.7 .7 .4 1.2 8.5 11.4
2023–24 Fenerbahçe 38 11 16.0 .617 .488 .667 3.1 .8 .3 .8 5.7 7.2
Career 191 112 19.6 .623 .443 .693 4.8 .6 .4 1.1 7.2 10.3

Domestic leagues

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Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12   Peristeri HEBA A1 6 3.6 .400 — 1.000 1.2 — — — 0.8
2012–13   Peristeri HEBA A1 4 15.8 .308 .000 1.000 1.5 1.2 .5 — 2.5
2014–15   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 11 10.1 .553 — .000 3.5 .1 .3 1.3 3.8
2015–16   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 22 12.0 .680 — .667 2.9 .5 .2 .7 6.8
2016–17   Reno Bighorns D-League 23 32.1 .507 .500 .763 8.1 .5 .5 2.5 13.6
2017–18   Reno Bighorns G League 10 27.1 .522 .000 .789 9.7 1.1 .4 1.5 13.5
2018–19   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 28 13.3 .594 .000 .826 5.1 .6 .4 1.1 6.7
2019–20   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 17 16.2 .732 .000 .629 5.8 .5 .3 1.2 9.6
2020–21   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 31 21.4 .633 .000 .814 5.7 1.0 .6 1.3 10.2
2021–22   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 31 27.1 .662 .000 .683 8.2 1.1 .4 1.6 10.3
2022–23   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 32 21.8 .662 .467 .704 5.9 1.4 .3 1.2 9.4
2023–24   Fenerbahçe TBSL 21 22.3 .591 .273 .826 5.7 1.1 .6 1.0 9.9

Awards and accomplishments

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Club career

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Greek junior national team

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References

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  1. ^ PAPAGIANNIS, GEORGIOS HEIGHT: 2.20.
  2. ^ "7 Foot Greek Hoops Phenom Georgios Papagiannis is Coming to America". TheHoopDoctors.com. September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  3. ^ "2013 Jordan Brand Classic International Game". JordanBrandClassic.com. March 3, 2013. Archived from the original on September 10, 2016. 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. ^ a b 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. ^ "Kings vs. Bucks – Box Score". ESPN.com. November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  23. ^ "Westbrook leads Thunder past Kings without triple-double". ESPN.com. March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  24. ^ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  25. ^ @ShamsCharania (February 8, 2018). "Sources: The Kings are waiving center..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "Trail Blazers Sign Georgios Papagiannis To 10-Day Contract". NBA.com. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  27. ^ TRAIL BLAZERS SIGN GEORGIOS PAPAGIANNIS THROUGH 2018-19.
  28. ^ "George Papagiannis waived by Trail Blazers, planning to sign in Greece". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. July 18, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  29. ^ Panathinaikos brings Papagiannis home.
  30. ^ Υπέγραψε ο Παπαγιάννης στον Παναθηναϊκό (PHOTO) (in Greek).
  31. ^ Papagiannis signed with Panathinaikos.
  32. ^ "FIBAEurope.com STATISTICAL LEADERS - PLAYERS Blocked Shots". FIBA.com. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  33. ^ "MVP PENO LEADS ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM". FIBAEurope.com. August 19, 2013. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  34. ^ "FIBAEurope.com STATISTICAL LEADERS - PLAYERS Blocked Shots". FIBA.com. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  35. ^ "MVP CHARALAMPOPOULOS HEADLINES ALL-STAR FIVE". FIBAEurope.com. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
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