Jake Tsakalidis
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|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 10, 1979 Rustavi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR |
| Nationality | Georgian / Greek |
| Listed height | 7 ft 2.5 in (2.20 m) |
| Listed weight | 290 lb (132 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2000 / Round: 1 / Pick: 25th overall |
| Selected by the Phoenix Suns | |
| Playing career | 1996–2008 |
| Position | Center |
| Career history | |
| 1996–2000 | AEK Athens (Greece) |
| 2000–2003 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2003–2007 | Memphis Grizzlies |
| 2007 | Houston Rockets |
| 2007–2008 | Olympiacos (Greece) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis (Greek: Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης, Georgian: იაკოვოს წაკალიდას real name Alexey Ledkov, born June 10, 1979) is a Georgian-born professional basketball player of Caucasus Greek descent.
Tsakalidis, a Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value)., 290 lb (130 kg) center, holds dual citizenship in Georgia, where he was born, and in Greece, where he was raised and became famous.
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 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 Dimosthenis 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 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]
Greek national basketball team
Tsakalidis played for the Greek national basketball team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place, at the 1999 FIBA European Championship, where his team finished in 16th place, and at the 2003 FIBA European Championship, where his team finished in 5th place.
Notes
- ↑ Grizzlies swap C Tsakalidis to Houston for F Padgett, posted February 13th, 2007.
- ↑ Jake Tsakalidis. basketball-reference.com
External links
- Articles containing Greek-language text
- Articles containing Georgian-language text
- 1979 births
- Living people
- A.E.K. Athens B.C. players
- Centers (basketball)
- Expatriate basketball people from Georgia (country) in the United States
- Georgian people of Greek descent
- Georgian emigrants to Greece
- Greek Basket League players
- Greek expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Greek sportsmen
- Houston Rockets players
- Memphis Grizzlies players
- National Basketball Association players from Georgia (country)
- National Basketball Association players from Greece
- Olympiacos B.C. players
- People from Rustavi
- Phoenix Suns draft picks
- Phoenix Suns players
