Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis ( el, Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης, ka, იაკოვოს წაკალიდას, born June 10, 1979) is a Georgian-born Greek former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Tsakalidis, a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, holds dual citizenship in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where he was born (he was born in what was at the time, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

), and in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, 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 A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

. With AEK, he was a 2-time

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

finalist (1998, 1999), a

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

winner (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

), 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 Michalis "Mika" Kakiouzis (alternate spellings: Michail, Michailis, Mihalis) (Greek: Μιχάλης Κακιούζης; born November 29, 1976) is a Greek professional basketball coach and former player. He is currently working as head coach for K ...

and

Dimos Dikoudis Dimosthenis "Dimos" Dikoudis (alternate spellings include: Demosthenis, Demos, Ntikoudis) ( el, Δημοσθένης "Δήμος" Ντικούδης; born June 24, 1977 in Larissa, Greece), is a retired Greek professional basketball player. He is ...

, in that area. In 2000, Tsakalidis left Greece, and moved to the United States. He began his

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

career that year, when he signed with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

. He would spend the next 7 seasons playing with various NBA teams. In 2007, he returned to Greece, after leaving the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. He joined the Greek EuroLeague club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

NBA

Tsakalidis was selected by the

, 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 Charles "Bo" Outlaw (born April 13, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. Outlaw was known for his athleticism, tenacious defensive approach and sub-par free-throw shooting (.521 for his career). Career High school He was ...

, to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, in exchange for

Brevin Knight Brevin Adon Knight (born November 8, 1975) is an American former professional basketball point guard who played with nine teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2009. Knight played college basketball at Stanford University ...

Robert Archibald Robert Michael Archibald (29 March 1980 – 23 January 2020) was a Scottish professional basketball player. A power forward / center from the University of Illinois, he was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA draft with the thir ...

, and

Cezary Trybański Cezary Trybański (born September 22, 1979) is a Polish former professional basketball player. He is a 7'2" 235 lb center. He was the first Polish-born player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Warsaw, he is the brother of ...

. He was eventually traded by the Grizzlies to the

, on February 13, 2007, for

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

Scott Padgett Scott Anthony Padgett (born April 19, 1976) is a retired American professional basketball player and current assistant coach for Manhattan. He was formerly the head coach at Samford University. He played for the National Basketball Association's ...

. Tsakalidis' final NBA game was played on April 28th, 2007 in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round against the Utah Jazz. This series went to 7 games but Tsakaldis only played in Game 4 where Houston lost 85 - 98 and he recorded 2 points and 4 rebounds. In his

career, he averaged 4.8 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game.

National team career

Tsakalidis played with the senior men's

Greek national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for ...

at the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Greece from 29 July to 9 August 1998. The tournament was contested by 16 n ...

, where his team finished in 4th place, at the

EuroBasket 1999 The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

, where his team finished in 16th place, and at the

EuroBasket 2003 The 2003 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2003, was the 33rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as the Europe qualifier for the 2004 Summer Olympics, giving a berth ...

, 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 Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

and changed his name in

Rustavi Rustavi ( ka, რუსთავი ) is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the region of Kvemo Kartli and southeast of capital Tbilisi. It has a population of 130,100 (2021), making it the fourth most populous city in Georgia. Its economy is ...

sometime in the 1990s.contra.gr Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης: Ο άνθρωπος με τα δύο πρόσωπα!

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2000–01 , align="left" ,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, 57 , , 39 , , 16.6 , , .470 , , .000 , , .593 , , 4.2 , , .3 , , .2 , , 1.0 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" ,

, 67 , , 47 , , 23.6 , , .475 , , .000, , .698 , , 5.6 , , .3 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 7.3 , - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 27 , , 16.5 , , .452 , , .000 , , .672 , , 3.7 , , .4 , , .2 , , .5 , , 4.9 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" ,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, 40 , , 28 , , 13.3 , , .504 , , .000 , , .590 , , 3.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , .6 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" ,

, 31 , , 1 , , 9.0 , , .500 , , .000 , , .778 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .1 , , .5 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , align="left" ,

, 51 , , 19 , , 14.4 , , .606 , , .000 , , .655 , , 4.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , .6 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" ,

, 23 , , 7 , , 11.2 , , .400 , , .000 , , .583 , , 2.8 , , .1 , , .3 , , .5 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, 13 , , 0 , , 10.2 , , .409 , , .000 , , .800 , , 3.1 , , .1 , , .3 , , .5 , , 2.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 315 , , 168 , , 15.9 , , .490 , , .000 , , .657 , , 3.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , .7 , , 4.8

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 18.8 , , .375 , , .000 , , .000 , , 7.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.8 , , 3.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 3.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 3 , , 14.9 , , .600 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 2.8 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 4.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 10 , , 7 , , 14.0 , , .462 , , .000 , , .833 , , 4.3 , , .2 , , .1 , , .8 , , 2.9

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, 13 , , 4 , , 11.1 , , .808 , , .000 , , .588 , , 2.5 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 4.0 , , 5.7

References

External links

NBA.com ProfileEuroleague.net ProfileEuroleague Statistics
{{authority control 1979 births Living people AEK B.C. players Centers (basketball) Expatriate basketball people from Georgia (country) in the United States Georgian people of Greek descent Greek men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Greek expatriate basketball people in the United States Greek people of Georgian descent Houston Rockets players Memphis Grizzlies players Men's basketball players from Georgia (country) National Basketball Association players from Georgia (country) National Basketball Association players from Greece Olympiacos B.C. players People from Rustavi Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players 1998 FIBA World Championship players