Eleftherios "Lefteris" Mantzoukas (alternate spelling: Madzoukas) (Greek: Ελευθέριος "Λευτέρης" Μαντζούκας; born July 8, 2003) is a Greek professional basketball player for Maroussi of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the FIBA Europe Cup (FEC), on loan from EuroLeague giants Panathinaikos.

Lefteris Mantzoukas
No. 72 – Maroussi
PositionPower forward / small forward
LeagueGBL
FEC
Personal information
Born (2003-07-08) July 8, 2003 (age 21)
Ioannina, Greece
Listed height6 ft 9.5 in (2.07 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2021Promitheas Patras
2021–presentPanathinaikos
2024Aris Thessaloniki
2024–presentMaroussi
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Greece
European U-20 Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Greece Under-20

Professional career

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On 14 February 2018, at the age of 14, Mantzoukas began his pro career with Promitheas Patras, in the Greek Basket League, during the 2017–18 season.[1] He made his Greek League debut in a game versus Panionios, in which he scored 2 points, in 1 minute of playing time.[2] Mantzoukas thus became the second youngest player to ever debut in the top-tier level Greek League, since it became fully professional in 1992. Georgios Papagiannis is the only other player to have previously debuted in the same competition, at a younger age.

Three months later, on 24 May 2017, while still at the age of 13, Mantzoukas became the youngest player to ever start a game in the top-tier level Greek League, since it became fully professional in 1992.[3] He accomplished that when he started a Greek League game against Olympiacos, in which he scored 12 points, in 31 minutes of playing time.[4] During the 2017–18 Greek League season, he averaged 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.6 assists per game, in 7 games played.[5]

On 10 October 2018, at the age of 15, Mantzoukas debuted in one of the two European-wide secondary level competitions, the FIBA Champions League, during the 2018–19 season. He made his FIBA Champions League debut in a game versus the Belgian League club Oostende, in which he went scoreless, in 1 minute of playing time.[6] During the 2018–19 FIBA Champions League season, he averaged 3.5 points and 0.5 rebounds per game, in 2 games played.[7] He also averaged 1.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game, in 4 games played, during the 2018–19 Greek League season.[8]

On 2 October 2019, at the age of 16, Mantzoukas debuted in the other European-wide secondary level competition, the EuroCup, during the 2019–20 season. He made his EuroCup debut in a game versus the Israeli Super League club Maccabi Rishon LeZion, in which he scored 2 points.[9]

On 18 December 2020, Promitheas announced that Mantzoukas would be moving to EuroLeague mainstays Panathinaikos on a five-year contract.

During the 2022–2023 campaign, in 29 domestic league matches, Mantzoukas averaged 5.5 points and 2.4 rebounds (shooting with 41% from the 3-point line) in 18 minutes per contest.

On June 28, 2024, Mantzoukas was loaned to Aris Thessaloniki for the 2024–2025 campaign. On October 14 of the same year, his loan agreement was terminated by request of his Aris head coach Ioannis Kastritis. On October 17, Mantzoukas was loaned to Maroussi by Panathinaikos.

National team career

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Mantzoukas has been a member of the junior national teams of Greece. He played at the 2018 FIBA Under-16 European Championship, where he averaged 9.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.[10] He also played at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 European Championship, where he averaged 15.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.[11]

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

EuroLeague

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Denotes seasons in which Mantzoukas won the EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2021–22 Panathinaikos 18 1 9.3 .481 .368 .333 1.0 .2 .1 .1 1.9 0.4
2022–23 21 0 12.6 .480 .419 .800 1.7 .4 .1 .1 3.1 1.6
2023–24 14 0 7.3 .563 .667 .333 1.0 .1 .1 1.9 1.6
Career 53 1 10.1 .495 .452 .545 1.3 .3 .1 .1 2.4 1.2

EuroCup

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2019–20 Promitheas Patras 6 1 10.7 .412 .200 .333 1.2 .5 .5 2.8 1.8
2020–21 7 1 15.3 .633 .600 2.0 .6 .3 .1 6.7 7.1
Career 13 2 13.2 .553 .440 .333 1.6 .5 .4 .1 4.9 4.7

Basketball Champions League

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Promitheas Patras 2 1 14.4 .600 .500 .5 3.5
Career 2 1 14.4 .600 .500 .5 3.5

Domestic leagues

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Year Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18   Promitheas Patras HEBA A1 7 11.6 .500 .444 1.000 1.3 .6 .1 2.9
2018–19   Promitheas Patras HEBA A1 4 10.8 .200 .333 .500 1.0 .7 .7 1.5
2019–20   Promitheas Patras HEBA A1 14 12.4 .436 .353 .667 1.5 .4 .2 3.1
2020–21   Promitheas Patras HEBA A1 2 9.7 .250 .250 1.5 .5 .5 1.5
  Panathinaikos HEBA A1 3 8.9 .250 .167 .7 1.7 .3 .3 1.7
2021–22   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 22 8.8 .460 .276 .571 1.3 .7 .1 .0 2.6
2022–23   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 29 17.8 .487 .410 .647 2.4 .6 .5 .1 5.5
2023–24   Panathinaikos HEBA A1 20 11.5 .453 .414 .625 1.9 .5 .3 .1 3.7

References

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