Kostas Papanikolaou


Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou is a Greek professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the EuroLeague. Standing at 2.04 m tall, he plays at the small forward position. He has previously played in the NBA for the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets, and is also a member of the senior Greek national team.

Professional career

Aris (2008–2009)

Papanikolaou began playing basketball with the youth teams of Proteas Grevenon and Aris, and he made his pro debut in the Greek League, with Aris, during the 2008–09 season. He was named the MVP of the Greek Youth All-Star Game in 2009. He was also named the Greek League's Best Young Player in 2009.

Olympiacos (2009–2013)

On September 14, 2009, Papanikolaou signed a five-year, €1.3 million net income deal with Olympiacos, after Olympiacos paid a €950,000 buyout fee to Aris, to secure his player rights. Papanikolaou's contract with Olympiacos had an NBA buyout clause worth €1 million.
With Olympiacos, he won the EuroLeague and Greek League championships in 2012. Papanikolaou was voted the EuroLeague Rising Star for the EuroLeague 2012–13 season. With Olympiacos, he also won the 2012–13 season EuroLeague championship.

FC Barcelona (2013–2014)

On July 20, 2013, Papanikolaou signed a four-year deal with Spanish League club FC Barcelona, after Barcelona bought Papanikolaou out of his contract with Olympiacos, paying a transfer buyout fee of €1.5 million to Olympiacos, and giving Papanikolaou a contract worth €5.5 million net income, during the contract's first three years. The contract included NBA buyout clauses in the amounts of €1.1 million for 2014, and €750,000 for 2015.
Barcelona went on to win the 2013–14 Spanish Liga ACB championship.

Houston Rockets (2014–2015)

On June 28, 2012, Papanikolaou was selected with the 48th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. On July 16, 2012, his draft rights were acquired by the Portland Trail Blazers, via a trade that sent Raymond Felton to the Knicks.
On July 10, 2013, Papanikolaou's rights were acquired by the Houston Rockets, via a trade that sent Thomas Robinson to the Trail Blazers.
On September 23, 2014, Papanikolaou signed with the Houston Rockets. On February 13, 2015, he took part in the Rising Stars Challenge of the NBA All-Star Game; in spite of an injury-plagued rookie season, during which he averaged 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, while coming off the bench, the Rockets decided to pick up his team option for the 2015–16 season.

Denver Nuggets (2015–2016)

On July 20, 2015, the Rockets traded Papanikolaou, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Pablo Prigioni, a 2016 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations to the Denver Nuggets, in exchange for Ty Lawson and a 2017 second-round draft pick. On September 25, 2015, he was waived by the Nuggets. He later re-signed with Denver on November 5, 2015, and made his debut for the team that night. He was waived again by the Nuggets on January 7, 2016, before his salary became fully guaranteed.

Return to the Olympiacos (2016–present)

On January 20, 2016, Papanikolaou signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Olympiacos, returning to the club for a second stint. On July 5, 2018, Papanikolaou and Olympiacos officially agreed on a new three-year contract extension.

National team career

Greek junior national

As a member of the junior national basketball teams of Greece, Papanikolaou won the silver medal at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and the gold medal at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He also won the silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. Papanikolaou also won the gold medal at the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where he was also named to the All-Tournament Team and won the MVP award. He then won the silver medal at the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship with Greece's junior national team, where he was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

Greek senior national team

In August 2009, Papanikolaou made his debut with the senior men's Greek national basketball team, in a friendly game. With Greece's senior national team, he then played at EuroBasket 2011, the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the EuroBasket 2013, the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the EuroBasket 2015, and the EuroBasket 2017. He also played at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification.

Player profile

A player who with his energy and athletic ability fills every corner of the parquet. It is a modern guard-forward with the ability to fight at least three positions with great success. He loves to run in surprise and often finish the stages with striking nails. It has a prestigious winning mindset and thanks to this it has already celebrated many national and collective titles. Excellent defender, thanks to his long legs and elusive abilities, while helping him play left-handed.

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career

†Denotes seasons in which Papanikolaou won the EuroLeague
Led the league

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

EuroLeague