Jake Tsakalidis

Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis (Greek: Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης, Georgian: იაკოვოს წაკალიდას, born June 10, 1979) is a Georgian-born Greek former professional basketball player.

Jake Tsakalidis
Tsakalidis, playing with the Memphis Grizzlies, in 2003.
Personal information
Born (1979-06-10) June 10, 1979
Rustavi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
NationalityGeorgian / Greek
Listed height7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight290 lb (132 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 25th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career1996–2008
PositionCenter
Number25,12
Career history
1996–2000AEK Athens
20002003Phoenix Suns
20032007Memphis Grizzlies
2007Houston Rockets
2007–2008Olympiacos
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Tsakalidis, a 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center, holds dual citizenship in Georgia, where he was born (he was born in what was at the time, the Soviet Union's Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic), and in Greece, where he was raised.

Professional career

Greece

Tsakalidis began his professional career in 1996, at the age of 17, with the Greek League club AEK Athens. With AEK, he was a 2-time Greek Cup finalist (1998, 1999), a FIBA Saporta Cup winner (2000), and a Greek Cup winner (2000). In those years with AEK, Tsakalidis played at a great level, especially in the painted zone area, where he complemented his teammates, Michalis Kakiouzis and Dimos Dikoudis, in that area.

In 2000, Tsakalidis left Greece, and moved to the United States. He began his NBA career that year, when he signed with the Phoenix Suns. He would spend the next 7 seasons playing with various NBA teams. In 2007, he returned to Greece, after leaving the Houston Rockets. He joined the Greek EuroLeague club Olympiacos.

NBA

Tsakalidis was selected by the Phoenix Suns, in the 1st round (25th overall) of the 2000 NBA draft. On September 30, 2003, Tsakalidis was traded by the Suns, along with teammate Bo Outlaw, to the Memphis Grizzlies, in exchange for Brevin Knight, Robert Archibald, and Cezary Trybański.

He was eventually traded by the Grizzlies to the Houston Rockets, on February 13, 2007, for small forward Scott Padgett.[1] In his NBA career, he averaged 4.8 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game.[2]

National team career

Tsakalidis played with the senior men's Greek national basketball team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place, at the EuroBasket 1999, where his team finished in 16th place, and at the EuroBasket 2003, where his team finished in 5th place.

Personal life

In 2000, Tsakalidis announced that his real name is Alexey Lentkov and he is not of Caucasus Greek descent as previously believed. Moreover, after research by a Greek journalist, it was found that Lentkov was actually born in Novosibirsk and changed his name in Rustavi sometime in the 1990s.[3][4]

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.

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000–01 Phoenix 573916.6.470.000.5934.2.3.21.04.5
2001–02 Phoenix 674723.6.475.000.6985.6.3.31.07.3
2002–03 Phoenix 332716.5.452.000.6723.7.4.2.54.9
2003–04 Memphis 402813.3.504.000.5903.2.5.2.64.3
2004–05 Memphis 3119.0.500.000.7781.8.3.1.52.5
2005–06 Memphis 511914.4.606.000.6554.2.3.3.65.0
2006–07 Memphis 23711.2.400.000.5832.8.1.3.52.3
2006–07 Houston 13010.2.409.000.8003.1.1.3.52.3
Career 31516815.9.490.000.6573.9.3.2.74.8

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001 Phoenix 4418.8.375.000.0007.0.0.01.83.0
2004 Memphis 103.0.000.0001.000.0.0.0.02.0
2006 Memphis 4314.9.600.000.5002.8.5.3.33.3
2007 Houston 102.8.000.0001.0004.0.0.0.02.0
Career 10714.0.462.000.8334.3.2.1.82.9

EuroLeague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2007–08 Olympiacos 13411.1.808.000.5882.50.20.20.24.05.7
Career 13411.1.808.000.5882.50.20.20.24.05.7

References

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