Kostas Papanikolaou Explained

Kostas Papanikolaou
Position:Small forward
Height M:2.04
Weight Kg:107
League:Greek Basket League
EuroLeague
Team:Olympiacos
Number:16
Birth Date:31 July 1990
Birth Place:Trikala, Greece
Draft Year:2012
Draft Round:2
Draft Pick:48
Draft Team:New York Knicks
Career Start:2008
Years1:2008–2009
Team1:Aris Thessaloniki
Years2:2009–2013
Team2:Olympiacos
Years3:2013–2014
Team3:FC Barcelona
Team4:Houston Rockets
Team5:Denver Nuggets
Years6:2016–present
Team6:Olympiacos
Highlights:

Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou (Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Παπανικολάου; born 31 July 1990) nicknamed "Air Pap" 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] he plays at the small forward position. He is widely considered among the best defensive players in European basketball.[3]

A back-to-back EuroLeague champion with Olympiacos in 2012 and 2013, Papanikolaou was the EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer in 2012 and won the EuroLeague Rising Star award in 2013. He has reached another two finals with the Reds in 2017 and 2023. Papanikolaou is also the first player in EuroLeague history to record 2.000 points, 1.000 rebounds, 400 assists, 300 three-pointers made, 200 steals and 100 blocks.[4] Since very early in his career, he has been a regular member of the senior Hellenic national team.

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.[5]

Olympiacos (2009–2013)

On 14 September 2009, Papanikolaou signed a five-year, €1.3 million net income deal with Olympiacos,[6] after Olympiacos paid a €950,000 buyout fee to Aris, to secure his player rights.[7] Papanikolaou's contract with Olympiacos had an NBA buyout clause worth €1 million.[8]

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.[9] 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,[10] 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). The contract included NBA buyout clauses in the amounts of €1.1 million for 2014,[11] and €750,000 for 2015.[12]

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.[13]

On 10 July 2013, Papanikolaou's rights were acquired by the Houston Rockets, via a trade that sent Thomas Robinson to the Trail Blazers.[14]

On 23 September 2014, Papanikolaou signed with the Houston Rockets.[15] 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.[16]

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.[17] On 25 September 2015, he was waived by the Nuggets.[18] He later re-signed with Denver on November 5, 2015,[19] and made his debut for the team that night.[20] He was waived again by the Nuggets on 7 January 2016, before his salary became fully guaranteed.[21]

Return to 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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25]

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 smart off-ball player with speed and size, Papanikolaou can play the positions 2-4 comfortably. He is a very effective shooter from 3-point range, and also loves to attack close-outs and finish strong at the rim. On the other side of the ball, Papanikolaou is a excellent defender[26] [27] [28] to his long legs and elusive abilities, while helping him play left-handed, he was the 2017 Greek League Best Defender, winning the same honor in the Spanish ACB League in the 2014 season. He has also been recognized as a leader, captaining Olympiacos to the Euroleague Championship Game in 2023.

Awards and accomplishments

Titles won and Other honors

Greek junior national team

Individual awards and accomplishments

European awards

(2013)

(2012)

Domestic awards

Club team awards

Youth club awards

(2009)

Greek Youth national team awards

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Houston| 43 || 1 || 18.5 || .350 || .292 || .722 || 2.7 || 2.0 || .7 || .3 || 4.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Denver| 26 || 6 || 11.3 || .364 || .313 || .643 || 1.5 || .6 || .5 || .2 || 2.6|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"|| 69 || 7 || 15.8 || .354 || .297 || .688 || 2.3 || 1.5 || .6 || .3 || 3.6|}

Playoffs

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015| style="text-align:left;"| Houston| 8 || 0 || 2.6 || .250 || .000 || .500 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .4|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"|| 8 || 0 || 2.6 || .250 || .000 || .500 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .4

EuroLeague

Denotes season in which Papanikolaou won the EuroLeague
Led the league

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4"| Olympiacos| 6 || 1 || 6.4 || .250 || .000 || .500 || 1.2 || .8 || .5 || || .8 || 2.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11| 16 || 14 || 13.7 || .447 || .435 || .647 || 3.1 || .3 || .6 || .1 || 3.9 || 4.6|-| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2011–12†| 22 || 13 || 19.8 || .490 || .333 || .688 || 3.4 || .6 || .5 || .3 || 6.1 || 7.4|-| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2012–13†| style="background:#CFECEC;"|31* || 30 || 23.8 || .497 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|.521* || .723 || 4.4 || 1.4 || .9 || .7 || 8.7 || 11.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2013–14| style="text-align:left;"| Barcelona| 28 || 27 || 25.0 || .507 || .361 || .500 || 3.4 || 2.2 || .8 || .5 || 6.9 || 8.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015–16| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="9"|Olympiacos| 7 || 5 || 18.9 || .410 || .118 || .583 || 4.3 || 1.0 || .6 || .4 || 5.9 || 5.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2016–17| style="background:#CFECEC;"|37* || 32 || 23.3 || .422 || .316 || .826 || 4.8 || 1.5 || 1.2 || .4 || 8.1 || 9.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18| 28 || 23 || 24.0 || .469 || .373 || .775 || 4.3 || 2.1 || 1.0 || .4 || 8.3 || 11.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| 30 || 23 || 23.4 || .431 || .371 || .738 || 3.9 || 1.6 || .8 || .3 || 6.9 || 8.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| 26 || 21 || 23.9 || .481 || .391 || .708 || 3.6 || 1.5 || 1.4 || .3 || 8.5 || 9.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| 14 || 13 || 21.7 || .365 || .370 || .895 || 2.2 || 2.0 || .6 || .5 || 5.7 || 5.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| 37 || 37 || 23.4 || .408 || .331 || .758 || 2.5 || 1.6 || .9 || .2 || 6.6 || 6.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| 38 || 38 || 25.3 || .526|| .429 || .729 || 3.8 || 2.0 || .7 || .2 || 8.7 || 10.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24| 38 || 33 || 25.1 || .435 || .362 || .652 || 3.6 || 2.7 || .8 || .1 || 7.4 || 9.3|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career| 358 || 310 || 22.9 || .458 || .375 || .724 || 3.7 || 1.7 || .8 || .3 || 7.3 || 8.7

Domestic leagues

Denotes season in which Papanikolaou won the Liga ACB or the Greek Basket League championship
YearTeamLeague
2008-09 Aris14 3.5 .333 .200 .100 .3 .3 .3 .0 0.6
GBL21 10 .578 .277 .727 1.2 .6 .4 .0 2.3
2010-11 OlympiacosGBL30 16.8 .634 209 .634 3.5 .9 1.0 .2 5.7
2011-12 OlympiacosGBL32 20 .598 .363 .683 4.5 .6 1.0 .3 7.8
2012-13 OlympiacosGBL34 22.1 .697 .400 .634 4.1 1.7 1.0 .6 9.2
2013-1440 23.4 .527 .333 .787 4.0 1.1 .9 .4 6.6
2015-1619 20 .662 .345 .682 4.2 1.5 1.1 .2 9.4
2016-17 OlympiacosGBL32 21.3 .621 .360 .791 4.5 1.4 .9 .3 9.7
2017-18 OlympiacosGBL30 22.4 .647 .315 .737 4.9 2.0 .8 .4 8.3
2018-19 OlympiacosGBL22 23.4 .564 .328 .729 3.1 2.4 1.1 .1 7.3
2021-22 OlympiacosGBL29 21.6 .611 .400 .687 3.1 2.3 .9 .1 7.0
2022-23 OlympiacosGBL30 22.3 .630 .340 .688 2.9 3.2 .8 .4 7.6
2023-24 OlympiacosGBL3323.1.584.367.6933.92.7.6.18.4

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=001255#!careerstats PAPANIKOLAOU, KOSTAS HEIGHT: 2.04.
  2. Web site: Olympiacos officially announced Papanikolaou. Eurohoops.net. 20 January 2016. 20 January 2016.
  3. Web site: 2018-05-08 . EuroLeague Best Defender by Eurohoops: Κώστας Παπανικολάου, Greeks do it better . 2022-03-18 . Eurohoops . el.
  4. Web site: 2022-11-10 . Κώστας Παπανικολάου: Ένα απίστευτο "milestone", μοναδικό στην ιστορία της Ευρωλίγκας! (pic) . 2023-02-07 . Eurohoops . el.
  5. Web site: Best young player, Papanikolaou . ArisBC.gr . 24 June 2009 . 24 June 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140809163300/http://www.arisbc.gr/index.php?SCREEN=page&PageID=2111&LangID=2 . 9 August 2014 .
  6. Web site: OLYMPIACOS nabs prospect Papanikolaou . Euroleague.net . 14 September 2009 . 14 September 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140809213046/http://www.euroleague.net/euroleaguenews/transactions/2009-10-signings/i/58160/3694/olympiacos-nabs-prospect-papanikolaou . 9 August 2014 .
  7. Web site: http://www.redplanet.gr/basket/paei-sthn-mpartselona-o-papanikolaoy.2340225.html . el:Πάει στην Μπαρτσελόνα ο Παπανικολάου! . RedPlanet.gr . 20 July 2013 . 20 July 2013 . el . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140726043335/http://www.redplanet.gr/basket/paei-sthn-mpartselona-o-papanikolaoy.2340225.html . 26 July 2014 .
  8. Web site: http://www.redplanet.gr/basket/papanikolaoy-o-kathenas-mporei-na-grafei-o-ti-thelei.2223408.html . el:Παπανικολάου: "Ο καθένας μπορεί να γράφει ό,τι θέλει" . RedPlanet.gr . 22 April 2013 . 22 April 2013 . el . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140810070743/http://www.redplanet.gr/basket/papanikolaoy-o-kathenas-mporei-na-grafei-o-ti-thelei.2223408.html . 10 August 2014 .
  9. Web site: Rising Star Trophy winner: Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos Piraeus. Euroleague.net. 1 May 2013. 1 May 2013.
  10. Web site: FC BARCELONA lands Kostas Papanikolaou! . Euroleague.net . 20 July 2013 . 20 July 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140726000350/http://www.euroleague.net/euroleaguenews/transactions/2013-14-signings/i/114958/8177 . 26 July 2014 .
  11. Web site: Interest from Houston for "Pap", not offer yet . Eurohoops.net . 15 July 2014 . 15 July 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140918112237/http://www.eurohoops.net/2014/07/dribbling/52621 . 18 September 2014 .
  12. Web site: http://www.sport24.gr/Basket/OmadesBasket/A1Olympiakos/paei-mpartselona-o-papanikolaoy.2340187.html. el:ΑΠΟΚΛΕΙΣΤΙΚΟ: Πάει Μπαρτσελόνα ο Παπανικολάου!. Sport24.gr. 20 July 2013. 20 July 2013. el.
  13. Web site: Knicks Acquire Felton & Thomas . KnicksNow.com . 16 July 2012 . 16 July 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140419012802/http://knicksnow.com/posts/1601/knicks-acquire-felton-thomas . 19 April 2014 .
  14. Web site: Rockets Acquire Papanikolaou, Todorovic and Two Future 2nd Round Picks. NBA.com. 10 July 2013. 10 July 2013.
  15. Web site: Rockets Sign Kostas Papanikolaou. NBA.com. 23 September 2014. 23 September 2014.
  16. News: Rockets pick up option on Kostas Papanikolaou. 24 June 2015. blog.chron.com. 24 June 2015.
  17. Web site: Nuggets Acquire Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Cash Considerations and First Round Pick From Houston. NBA.com. 20 July 2015. 20 July 2015.
  18. News: Stein. Marc. Sources: Kostas Papanikolaou, part of Ty Lawson deal, waived by Nuggets. 25 September 2015. ESPN.com. 25 September 2015.
  19. Web site: Nuggets Sign Kostas Papanikolaou. NBA.com. 5 November 2015. 5 November 2015.
  20. Web site: Hayward scores 20, Jazz beat Nuggets 96-84. NBA.com. 5 November 2015. 5 November 2015.
  21. Web site: Wojnarowski. Adrian. Sources: Nuggets waive forward Kostas Papanikolaou. Yahoo.com. 7 January 2016. 8 January 2016.
  22. Web site: Olympiacos officially announced Papanikolaou. Euroleague.net. 20 January 2016. 20 January 2016.
  23. News: Olympiacos signs Kostas Papanikolaou to contract extension . Sportando . September 22, 2020 . September 22, 2020 . Carchia . Emiliano .
  24. News: GOLDEN GREEKS CONQUER FRANCE. 26 July 2009. FIBAEurope.com. 26 July 2009.
  25. News: MVP ALBICY HEADLINES ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM. 18 July 2010. FIBAEurope.com. 18 July 2010.
  26. Web site: 2020-06-17 . Κώστας Παπανικολάου: Το αμυντικό "πολυεργαλείο" του Ολυμπιακού (video) . 2022-03-22 . Eurohoops . el.
  27. Web site: Πάλλας . Γιάννης . 2021-11-05 . Όταν λέμε άμυνα, εννοούμε... Παπανικολάου! . 2022-03-20 . Onsports.gr . el.
  28. Web site: thrylos24.gr . 2020-04-17 . Μιλουτίνοφ: "Από τους κορυφαίους αμυντικούς στην Ευρώπη ο Παπανικολάου..." . 2022-03-23 . Thrylos24.gr . el.
  29. Web site: 2018-05-08 . EuroLeague Best Defender by Eurohoops: Kostas Papanikolaou . 2023-03-01 . Eurohoops . en.
  30. Web site: 2017-02-15 . Παπανικολάου και Μπιρτς στους κορυφαίους αμυντικούς της Ευρωλίγκας! . 2022-03-19 . Eurohoops . el.
  31. Web site: newsroom . sport-fm . Υποψήφιοι για κορυφαίοι αμυντικοί Παπανικολάου, Σίνγκλετον . 2022-03-18 . sport-fm.gr . el.
  32. Web site: 2019-09-28 . Ευρωλίγκα: Καλάθης και Παπανικολάου στα φαβορί για τον κορυφαίο αμυντικό . 2022-03-18 . Eurohoops . el.
  33. Web site: Walter Tavares is the 2022-23 EuroLeague Best Defender EuroLeague . 2023-05-13 . Euroleague Basketball . 13 May 2023 . en-GB.
  34. Web site: 2020-03-27 . The 5 starters of All-Euroleague defensive team of the season . 2023-02-26 . Brainbasketball . en-US.
  35. Web site: Ivana . 2012-05-25 . Haralampos Giannopoulos- Co-most Improved Player of the Year . 2023-02-27 . BDA Sports International . en-US.
  36. Web site: Stathakopoulos . Christos . Οι 7 πρώτοι όλων των εποχών στην Ευρώπη . 2022-03-18 . Olympiacos BC . el-gr.
  37. Web site: 2020-08-12 . Ολυμπιακός: Με Πρίντεζη, Σπανούλη, Σλούκα και Παπαλουκά η ομάδα της δεκαετίας . 2022-03-19 . Eurohoops . el.