Georgios Kalaitzakis (Greek: Γιώργος Καλαϊτζάκης [ʝeˈoɾʝi.os kala.iˈd͡zacis] ; born January 2, 1999) is a Greek professional basketball player for Lietkabelis Panevėžys of Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroCup. He is a 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) tall small forward. As a teenager, Kalaitzakis used to be regarded as one of the top young European prospects in his age range.
| No. 16 – Lietkabelis Panevėžys | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / shooting guard |
| League | LKL EuroCup |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 2, 1999 Heraklion, Crete, Greece |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 209 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2021: 2nd round, 60th overall pick |
| Selected by the Indiana Pacers | |
| Playing career | 2016–present |
| Career history | |
| 2016–2021 | Panathinaikos |
| 2019–2020 | →Nevėžis |
| 2021 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2021 | →Wisconsin Herd |
| 2021–2022 | Oklahoma City Blue |
| 2022 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2022–2023 | Panathinaikos |
| 2023–2024 | Tigers Tübingen |
| 2024–present | Lietkabelis |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Professional career
editPanathinaikos (2016–2021)
editAfter playing with the junior youth clubs of Aris, Kalaitzakis began his professional career in 2016, with the Greek club Panathinaikos. With Panathinaikos, he won the Greek Cup title in 2016, 2017, and 2019, and also the Greek League championship, in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
In March 2018, Kalaitzakis announced his intention to declare for the 2018 NBA draft.[1] He later withdrew from the draft before the draft's withdrawal deadline.
Nevėžis (2019–2020)
editOn August 28, 2019, Kalaitzakis signed with Nevėžis Kėdainiai of the Lithuanian Basketball League, on a loan deal from Panathinaikos.[2] In 23 games played in the Lithuanian league's 2019–20 season, he averaged 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1 steal in 28.7 minutes per game.[3]
In April 2020, Kalaitzakis declared for the 2020 NBA draft.[4] However, he withdrew before the draft took place.
Return to Panathinaikos (2020–2021)
editOn August 11, 2020, Kalaitzakis re-signed with Panathinaikos through the end of the 2021–2022 season.[5][6] With Panathinaikos, he went on to win both the 2020–21 Greek Cup title and the 2020–21 Greek Basket League championship.
Milwaukee Bucks (2021)
editKalaitzakis was selected by the NBA's Indiana Pacers, with the 60th overall pick of the 2021 NBA draft. His draft rights were then traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, along with the draft rights of the 54th pick, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and two second round draft picks, for Isaiah Todd.[7] Kalaitzakis' contract with Panathinaikos had a buyout amount of $300,000, which was paid by the Bucks.[8]
On August 11, 2021, the Milwaukee Bucks announced that they had signed Kalaitzakis.[9] Kalaitzakis made his debut in the NBA on October 19, 2021, coming-off from bench with two rebounds in a 127–104 win over the Brooklyn Nets.[10] On December 3, he was waived by the Bucks after nine appearances.[11]
Oklahoma City Thunder / Blue (2021–2022)
editOn December 30, 2021, Kalaitzakis was claimed off waivers by the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League[12] where he played in 31 regular season games and averaged 10.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.6 minutes per game.[13] On April 5, 2022, he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the rest of the season.[13] Kalaitzakis played four games for the Thunder, averaging 41.5 minutes and 17.5 points per game.[14]
Second stint with Panathinaikos (2022–2023)
editOn July 25, 2022, Kalaitzakis signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos, returning to Greece and reuniting with his twin brother Panos.[15] In 26 EuroLeague games (16 starts), he averaged 2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 10 minutes per contest. Additionally, in 29 domestic league matches, he averaged 6.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 13 minutes per contest.
On September 4, 2023, Kalaitzakis was released from the Greek powerhouse.
Tigers Tübingen (2023–2024)
editOn December 7, 2023, Kalaitzakis signed a one-year contract with Tigers Tübingen of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[16]
Lietkabelis Panevėžys (2024–present)
editOn July 5, 2024, Kalaitzakis signed a one-year deal with Lietkabelis Panevėžys of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the EuroCup.[17]
National team career
editKalaitzakis was a member of the junior national teams of Greece. With Greece's junior national teams, he played at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, and the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He also played at the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, and the 2019 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, which he led in scoring, with an average of 19.7 points per game.[18]
Career statistics
edit| 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 | Bold | Career high |
NBA
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Milwaukee | 9 | 0 | 5.3 | .455 | .500 | .444 | .9 | .0 | .1 | .1 | 1.8 |
| Oklahoma City | 4 | 4 | 41.4 | .464 | .364 | .476 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 2.5 | .3 | 17.5 | |
| Career | 13 | 4 | 16.4 | .463 | .385 | .467 | 1.6 | .9 | .8 | .2 | 6.6 | |
EuroLeague
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Panathinaikos | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2018–19 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | -3.0 | |
| 2020–21 | 14 | 3 | 4.4 | .462 | .500 | .909 | .6 | .1 | .2 | .1 | 1.6 | 1.1 | |
| 2022–23 | 26 | 16 | 9.8 | .347 | .211 | .636 | 1.1 | .3 | .6 | .1 | 2.0 | 1.5 | |
| Career | 42 | 19 | 7.6 | .359 | .227 | .727 | .9 | .3 | .4 | .1 | 1.8 | 1.2 | |
Personal life
editKalaitzakis' twin brother Panos[19] is a professional basketball player and had been Georgios' teammate in both the Lithuanian club Nevėžis Kėdainiai as well as Panathinaikos. Their younger sibling Alexandros (born 2003) also plays basketball professionally.[20]
References
edit- ^ Givony, Jonathan (March 26, 2018). "Greek guard Kalaitzakis to declare for NBA". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ "Prie komandos jungiasi talentingieji broliai Kalaitzakiai" (in Lithuanian). BC Nevėžis Official Website. August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ^ "Georgios Kalaitzakis - LKL.LT". en.lkl.lt.
- ^ "Greek guard Kalaitzakis declares for NBA draft". ESPN.com. April 11, 2020.
- ^ "Latest News | Euroleague". Euroleague Basketball. October 19, 2023.
- ^ "Panathinaikos re-signs Giorgos Kalaitzakis until 2022". Sportando. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
- ^ Tabbert, Nick (July 30, 2021). "Bucks acquire draft rights to 2 players in trade with Pacers". WQOW.
- ^ "Αποχωρεί από τον Παναθηναϊκό ο Καλαϊτζάκης για να διεκδικήσει θέση στο ρόστερ των Μιλγουόκι Μπακς". www.sport24.gr.
- ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Sign Georgios Kalaitzakis". NBA.com. August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ "Bucks begin title defense with 127-104 victory over Nets". ESPN.com. October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ "Milwaukee Bucks Sign Wesley Matthews". NBA.com. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "2021-22 NBA G League transactions". NBA.com. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
- ^ a b "Thunder Signs Georgios Kalaitzakis and Zavier Simpson to 10-Day Contracts". NBA.com. April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ Becker, Chris (May 3, 2022). "Thunder End of the Year Report Card: Georgios Kalaitzakis". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Panathinaikos officially signs Giorgos Kalaitzakis". Eurohoops. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
- ^ "Ein interessanter Name! Georgios Kalaitzakis kommt von Panathinaikos Athen nach Tübingen". Tigers Tübingen (in German). December 7, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
- ^ "Panevėžyje – NBA ir Eurolygos patirties turintis graikas". BC Lietkabelis (in Lithuanian). July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
- ^ "Players statistics of the FIBA U20 European Championship 2019". FIBA.basketball.
- ^ "Nevezis signs Georgios and Panagiotis Kalaitzakis". Sportando. August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
- ^ Στην Καρδίτσα ο Αλέξανδρος Καλαϊτζάκης ertsports.gr