Kosta Koufos

Kosta Koufos

Koufos with the Nuggets in 2013
No. 41 – Sacramento Kings
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1989-02-24) February 24, 1989
Canton, Ohio
Nationality Greek / American
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school GlenOak (Canton, Ohio)
College Ohio State (2007–2008)
NBA draft 2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career 2008–present
Career history
2008–2010 Utah Jazz
2009–2010 →Utah Flash
2010–2011 Minnesota Timberwolves
2011–2013 Denver Nuggets
2013–2015 Memphis Grizzlies
2015–present Sacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing Greece Greece
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
2007 Spain
EuroBasket
2009 Poland

Konstantine Demetrios "Kosta" Koufos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Δημήτριος "Κώστας" Κουφός; born February 24, 1989) is a Greek-American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Koufos played one season at Ohio State before being selected by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft.

High school career

Koufos attended GlenOak High School in Canton, Ohio, where he played center for the GlenOak Golden Eagles high school basketball team. As a junior, Koufos averaged 24 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game, and four blocked shots per game and he was named Second-Team All-State.

As a senior, Koufos averaged 25.9 points per game, 15.4 rebounds per game and 5.2 blocked shots per game. He was instrumental in GlenOak snapping Canton McKinley's 41-game win streak in January 2007, when he posted 32 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks to help the Golden Eagles edge the Bulldogs, 56–55, in overtime. The next day, Koufos recorded 32 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks against Detroit Country Day, to lead GlenOak to its ninth consecutive victory.

Koufos finished second to future Buckeye teammate Jon Diebler in the Mr. Ohio Basketball voting. After his senior season with GlenOak, Koufos was named the Division I player of the year and was also named First-Team All-State. He also earned First-Team Northeast Inland All-District and third-team Parade All-American honors and participated in the 2007 McDonald's All-American Game and 2007 Jordan Brand Classic.

Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Koufos was listed as the No. 3 center and the No. 16 player in the nation in 2007.[1]

College career

In 2007, Koufos joined the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he replaced Greg Oden at center.[2] He was named the MVP of the 2008 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) after leading the Buckeyes to the championship by defeating the UMass Minutemen by a score of 92–85.

Over the course of his year at Ohio State, Koufos averaged 14.4 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, and 1.8 blocked shots per game.

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Ohio State 37 37 27.1 .508 .349 .680 6.7 0.5 0.4 1.8 14.4

Professional career

Pre-NBA draft

On April 21, 2008, Koufos declared himself eligible for the 2008 NBA draft, but initially chose not to hire an agent; this would have allowed him to return to Ohio State if he withdrew from the draft on or before the June 16 withdrawal deadline. However, at the same time, it was speculated that he would leave the Buckeyes anyway to sign a professional contract in Greece.[3] He turned down a 3-year €5 million euros net income contract offer from Olympiacos Piraeus,[4] a Greek Basket League basketball club.[5] On May 8, the Canton Repository reported that Koufos signed with Cleveland-based agent Mark Termini, thereby ending his college eligibility.[6]

Utah Jazz (2008–2010)

Koufos with the Utah Jazz

Koufos was selected by the NBA team Utah Jazz with the 23rd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. In March 2009, the Jazz assigned him to the NBA D-League club the Utah Flash.[7] However, after the Flash's first playoff game, the Jazz recalled him from the D-League in time for the playoffs due to an injury to Jazz starting center Mehmet Okur.[8]

Koufos was reassigned to the Flash on March 8, 2010,[9] and recalled on March 22, 2010.[10] On July 14, 2010, Koufos was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a deal involving Al Jefferson.[11] He averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in his two years in Utah. Koufos played two seasons with Utah before being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.[12]

Minnesota Timberwolves (2010–2011)

Koufos, after being traded by Utah to Minnesota for Al Jefferson, played 39 games with Minnesota before being traded again.

Denver Nuggets (2011–2013)

On February 22, 2011, Koufos was traded to the Denver Nuggets in a three-way blockbuster deal which also involved New York Knicks that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York.[13]

On January 25, 2012, Koufos signed a three-year, $9 million extension with the Nuggets.[14] He averaged 6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in three seasons for Denver.

Memphis Grizzlies (2013–2015)

On June 27, 2013, Koufos was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Darrell Arthur and rights to the 55th pick in the 2013 NBA draft, Joffrey Lauvergne.[15] In two seasons with Memphis, he averaged 5.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Sacramento Kings (2015–present)

On July 13, 2015, Koufos signed with the Sacramento Kings.[16] He averaged 6.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in his first season with Sacramento.

Greek national team

Koufos playing with Greece against Lithuania's Jonas Valančiūnas.

Koufos was a member of the junior Greek national under-18 team at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Spain. He led his team to the tournament's final game, and although Greece lost in the finals to Serbia's under-18 team, Koufos won the tournament's MVP award, after leading the competition in points, rebounds, and blocked shots, with averages of 26.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game.[17]

In 2009, he debuted with the senior Greek national basketball team, and he competed at the EuroBasket 2009, where he won a bronze medal. During the EuroBasket 2009 tournament, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He also played at the EuroBasket 2011, where he averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Koufos also competed at the EuroBasket 2015, where he had his best tournament with the senior Greek national basketball team, as he averaged 10 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, in 8 games played.

He also played with Greece at the 2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where he averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.[18]

Personal

Koufos is the son of Greek immigrants Katerina, and the late Alex Koufos. He has an older sister, Maria, and an older brother, Vasilios. Koufos holds dual citizenship of both the United States and Greece. He also speaks Greek.[19]

Awards and accomplishments

NBA 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  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Utah 48 7 11.8 .508 .000 .706 2.9 .4 .3 .6 4.7
2009–10 Utah 36 0 4.8 .468 .000 .600 1.3 .2 .1 .1 1.5
2010–11 Minnesota 39 1 8.6 .435 .000 .500 2.5 .2 .2 .5 2.7
2010–11 Denver 11 1 8.9 .500 .000 .632 3.0 .0 .2 .5 4.9
2011–12 Denver 48 24 16.5 .599 .000 .600 5.4 .3 .5 .9 5.5
2012–13 Denver 81 81 22.4 .581 .000 .558 6.9 .4 .5 1.3 8.0
2013–14 Memphis 80 22 16.9 .495 .000 .645 5.2 .5 .4 .9 6.4
2014–15 Memphis 81 3 16.6 .508 .000 .647 5.3 .5 .4 .8 5.2
2015–16 Sacramento 78 14 19.0 .532 .000 .548 5.4 .4 .5 .9 6.8
2016–17 Sacramento 71 62 20.0 .551 .000 .613 5.7 .7 .5 .7 6.6
Career 573 215 16.4 .532 .000 .605 4.9 .4 .4 .8 5.7

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010 Utah 9 0 3.4 .400 .000 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .1 .9
2011 Denver 1 0 2.0 1.000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 2.0
2012 Denver 3 2 8.7 .333 .000 .000 3.7 .0 .0 .3 .7
2013 Denver 6 2 16.7 .368 1.000 .833 3.5 .5 .5 .7 3.3
2014 Memphis 7 0 6.4 .438 .000 1.000 2.1 .3 .3 .4 2.6
2015 Memphis 11 0 11.5 .540 .000 .600 3.5 .4 .4 .5 3.4
Career 37 4 8.9 .460 1.000 .800 2.6 .2 .2 .4 2.4

See also

References

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