Jake Tsakalidis

Jake Tsakalidis
	Tsakalidis, playing with the Memphis Grizzlies, in 2003.
Personal information
Born	June 10, 1979 (age 45); Rustavi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR
Nationality	Georgian / Greek
Listed height	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight	290 lb (132 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2000: 1st round, 25th overall pick
	Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career	1996–2008
Position	Center
Number	25,12
Career history
1996–2000	AEK Athens
2000–2003	Phoenix Suns
2003–2007	Memphis Grizzlies
2007	Houston Rockets
2007–2008	Olympiacos
Career highlights and awards
	FIBA Saporta Cup champion (2000); Greek Cup winner (2000);
	Stats at NBA.com
	Stats at Basketball Reference

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

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

External links

[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] tra.gr Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης: Ο άνθρωπος με τα δύο πρόσωπα! (in Greek)

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