Jake Tsakalidis

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Jake Tsakalidis
Jake Tsakalidis Grizzlies.jpg
Tsakalidis, playing with the Memphis Grizzlies, in 2003.
Personal information
Born (1979-06-10) June 10, 1979 (age 42)
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
2000–2003Phoenix Suns
2003–2007Memphis Grizzlies
2007Houston Rockets
2007–2008Olympiacos
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points1,497 (4.8 ppg)
Rebounds1,238 (3.9 rpg)
Blocks223 (0.7 bpg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

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

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

NBA[]

Regular season[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000–01 Phoenix 57 39 16.6 .470 .000 .593 4.2 .3 .2 1.0 4.5
2001–02 Phoenix 67 47 23.6 .475 .000 .698 5.6 .3 .3 1.0 7.3
2002–03 Phoenix 33 27 16.5 .452 .000 .672 3.7 .4 .2 .5 4.9
2003–04 Memphis 40 28 13.3 .504 .000 .590 3.2 .5 .2 .6 4.3
2004–05 Memphis 31 1 9.0 .500 .000 .778 1.8 .3 .1 .5 2.5
2005–06 Memphis 51 19 14.4 .606 .000 .655 4.2 .3 .3 .6 5.0
2006–07 Memphis 23 7 11.2 .400 .000 .583 2.8 .1 .3 .5 2.3
2006–07 Houston 13 0 10.2 .409 .000 .800 3.1 .1 .3 .5 2.3
Career 315 168 15.9 .490 .000 .657 3.9 .3 .2 .7 4.8

Playoffs[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2001 Phoenix 4 4 18.8 .375 .000 .000 7.0 .0 .0 1.8 3.0
2004 Memphis 1 0 3.0 .000 .000 1.000 .0 .0 .0 .0 2.0
2006 Memphis 4 3 14.9 .600 .000 .500 2.8 .5 .3 .3 3.3
2007 Houston 1 0 2.8 .000 .000 1.000 4.0 .0 .0 .0 2.0
Career 10 7 14.0 .462 .000 .833 4.3 .2 .1 .8 2.9

EuroLeague[]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2007–08 Olympiacos 13 4 11.1 .808 .000 .588 2.5 0.2 0.2 0.2 4.0 5.7
Career 13 4 11.1 .808 .000 .588 2.5 0.2 0.2 0.2 4.0 5.7

References[]

  1. ^ Grizzlies swap C Tsakalidis to Houston for F Padgett., posted February 13, 2007.
  2. ^ Jake Tsakalidis. basketball-reference.com.
  3. ^ rizospastis.gr Την Παρασκευή ξεκαθαρίζει για Τσακαλίδη (in Greek)
  4. ^ contra.gr Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης: Ο άνθρωπος με τα δύο πρόσωπα! (in Greek)

External links[]

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