Petteri Johannes Koponen (born 13 April 1988) is a Finnish 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. Standing at , he plays both

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

positions. He was drafted as the 30th pick by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

in the 2007 NBA draft, and his NBA rights are currently held by the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

Professional career

Tapiolan Honka (2004–2008)

His first club was Malmi Super-Koris ("Malmi super-basketball"), from where he joined one of Finland's top clubs, Espoo Honka in 2004–05 season. Under the guidance of coach Mihailo Pavićević he quickly developed into a key component of Honka's 2006–07 Finnish League championship-winning side. During the 2006–07 campaign Koponen averaged 12.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. The number of assists may sound small, but in Finland assists are harder to come by than in the NBA because of the difference in

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

rules, and the league leader had an average of only 5 assists. Koponen played in the World All-Star team at the

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

in 2007. He recorded 7 points and 6 assists with only one turnover, playing against future

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 ...

super star, MVP

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted ...

. Koponen began his mandatory military service in the Lahti Military Academy in October 2007, participating in a special military service built for professional athletes such as Finnish tennis player

Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his caree ...

. The Finnish League 2007–08 season began slowly, with Koponen trying to adapt to the military recruit training. Koponen struggled a lot in the opening month of the season, but found his rhythm in November, recording 21.4 points, 4.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game while draining 55.6% of his 2-point attempts, 45.8% of his 3-point attempts and 81.0% of his free throws. In the first game of December, Koponen played through a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

and led the Honka Playboys to an overtime victory over Team Componenta, scoring 32 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists. After the game, the concussion forced Koponen to be sidelined for a week. On 14 July 2008, in the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

game against the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

, Koponen scored 19 points, shooting 4-for-6 on three-point attempts.

Virtus Bologna (2008–2012)

In August 2008 he signed a four-year deal with the Italian team

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

Khimki (2012–2016)

On 31 May 2012, he signed a three-year contract with the Russian team

Khimki Khimki ( rus, Химки, p=ˈxʲimkʲɪ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, 18.25 kilometres northwest of central Moscow, and immediately beyond the Moscow city boundary. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station tha ...

. On 27 March 2015, he re-signed with Khimki for two more years. With Khimki he won the 2014–15 EuroCup season, and was also named to the All-EuroCup First Team.

Barcelona (2016–2018)

On 16 August 2016, Koponen signed a three-year contract with Spanish powerhouse

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. One month later, he would suffer a traffic accident that caused him a head injury. On 29 June 2018

part ways with him.

Bayern Munich (2018–2020)

On 24 July 2018, Koponen signed a three-year contract with

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

of the German

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

(BBL).

Pallacanestro Reggiana (2021)

On 12 January 2021 he signed with

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as of the 2022-23 season. History 1970s Pallacanestr ...

of the Italian

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier le ...

(LBA).

Helsinki Seagulls (2021–present)

On 13 August 2021 Koponen returned to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in the

Korisliiga The Korisliiga is the top-tier professional basketball league in Finland, comprising the top 12 teams of the country. In its current format, each team plays all other teams two times in the regular season, once at home and once away, for a total o ...

, signing for Helsinki Seagulls.

NBA draft rights

On 28 June 2007, Koponen was taken 30th overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the

. He was the final first-round pick in the draft. Philadelphia then traded Koponen to the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

in exchange for their number 42 pick,

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forwa ...

Derrick Byars Derrick JaVaughn Byars (born April 25, 1984) is an American professional basketball player and entrepreneur. Collegiately, he played for Virginia, and later for Vanderbilt. He was drafted 42nd overall in the 2007 NBA draft. High school career B ...

, and cash considerations. On 23 June 2011, Koponen's rights were traded to the

for the Mavericks' second round pick in the 2011 draft (57).

National team career

The summer of 2006 was Koponen's coming-out party. First, he played very well in the

FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The FIBA U20 European Championship, previously known as the European Championship for Men '22 and Under', is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1992 edition. Through the 2004 edition, it was held biennially, but ...

B-level competition, leading the Finnish team to third place by losing just one game. After that he was promoted to the senior men's Finnish national team. He showed no fear as he played like a veteran and got to play quite a lot. His best game was against the small country

Luxembourg national basketball team The Luxembourg men's national basketball team ( lb, Lëtzebuergesch Basketballnationalequipe, french: Équipe du Luxembourg de basketball, ger, Luxemburgische Basketballnationalmannschaft) represents Luxembourg in international basketball tour ...

; he scored 19 points and handed out 7 assists. Koponen was a main contributor in the Finnish men's national team in the summer of 2007. Finland earned a spot in European Division A after crushing the

Romanian national basketball team The Romania men's national basketball team ( ro, Echipa națională de baschet a României) represents Romania in international basketball competition. The team is administered by the Romanian Basketball Federation (FRB). Romania has qualified ...

in a deciding game by a score of 111–61. Koponen averaged 10.6 points, 2.7 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 21.3 minutes a game with the national team. Just days before the national team campaign tipped off, Koponen announced he would return to the Honka Playboys for one more season.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

, 21 , , 5 , , 16.2 , , .465 , , .429 , , .957 , , 1.0 , , 2.1 , , .1 , , .1 , , 6.5 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , 24 , , 7 , , 19.5 , , .426 , , .381 , , .879 , , 1.6 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .0 , , 8.5 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

, 27 , , 3 , , 22.6 , , .429 , , .462 , , .915 , , 1.7 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .0 , , 10.1 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 29 , , 9 , , 20.2 , , .491 , , .511 , , .938 , , 1.6 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .0 , , 7.9 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

Bayern Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, 30 , , 3 , , 18.3 , , .516 , , .468 , , .923 , , 1.6 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .0 , , 9.0 , , 8.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 131 , , 27 , , 19.5 , , .465 , , .455 , , .917 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .0 , , 7.6 , , 8.2