Loukas Mavrokefalidis (alternate spelling: Mavrokefalides) (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Λουκάς Μαυροκεφαλίδης; born July 25, 1984) is a Greek 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 and the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

for

Ionikos Nikaias Ionikos Nikaias (full name Athlitikos Omilos Ionikos Nikaias, A.O. Ionikos Nikaias / el, Α.Ο. Ιωνικός Νικαίας) is a Greek multi-sports club that is based in Nikaia, Piraeus. It was founded in 1965, and it has teams in football, b ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

. He has also represented the senior Hellenic national team. Born in

Jeseník Jeseník (; until 1947 Frývaldov (); german: Freiwaldau, pl, Frywałdów) is a spa town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Bukovice and Dětřichov are administrative ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, he is a 2.10 m (6'10 "), 120 kg (265 lbs.)

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and

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 ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

in the 2nd round (57th overall) of the 2006 NBA draft.

Professional career

Europe

Mavrokefalidis started his professional career with PAOK, after moving to

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

from

Kilkis Kilkis ( el, Κιλκίς) is a city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2011 there were 22,914 people living in the city proper, 28,745 people living in the municipal unit, and 51,926 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city o ...

, where his parents come from. From the first days of his professional career, PAOK head coach Bane Prelević took advantage of his height and decided to play him at the

position, which, as it was proved later in his career, fit him very well. Mavrokefalidis played for PAOK in the

during the Greek League 2005–06 season, averaging 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He played in the Greek All-Star Game and he won the Greek League's Most Improved Player Award that year. After many months of hard work, Mavrokefalidis was almost always a member of the starting five in PAOK, creating havoc to the opposition's defense with his ability to get to the rim and make easy buckets or exciting dunks. He also became a defensive force, chasing down rebounds relentlessly, something that can be shown by the 8.4 rebounds per game that he averaged during the 2005–06 season. During the summer of 2006, Mavrokefalidis was signed by

Virtus Roma Pallacanestro Virtus Roma, commonly known as Virtus Roma, was an Italian professional basketball club based in Rome, Lazio. It competed in the first division of Italian basketball, the LBA, for the last time in the 2020–21 season. It was form ...

of the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

and EuroLeague, but he was not established as a key member of the team, averaging just 2 points and 1 rebound per game. In February 2007, he was transferred from Roma to

Pamesa Valencia Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...

of the

Spanish ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

, in exchange for

Roberto Chiacig Roberto Chiacig (born 1 December 1974 in Cividale del Friuli, Italy) is an Italian former professional basketball player. Playing as a Center (basketball), center, his most notable achievement was the silver medal obtained by the Italy national b ...

and Jon Stefánsson. On July 12, 2007, Mavrokefalidis joined

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 ...

. In 2008, Mavrokefalidis moved to

Maroussi Marousi or Maroussi ( el, Μαρούσι, also Αμαρούσιο ''Amarousio'') is a suburb in the northeastern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. Marousi dates back to the era of the ancient Athenian Republic; its ancient name was Athmon ...

. In 2009, he re-signed with Olympiacos through the 2010–11 season. In 2011, Mavrokefalidis was signed by the Russian League club

Spartak Saint Petersburg BC Spartak Saint Petersburg is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During the 2016–17 season, the club was named BC Kondrashin Belov (BCKB), after its former player Alexander Belov and its former head ...

to a 2-year contract worth

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

2.4 million euros

net income In business and accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest, a ...

. He was named to the All-EuroCup Second Team in 2013. He signed with the Spanish League club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

in May 2013. On 10 July 2013, even though the Greek media were saying that Mavrokefalidis was very close to signing with

, he was instead announced as a signing of

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

. In the 2015

playoffs, he was the best player for Panathinaikos, averaging 18.4 points, 8.1 rebounds (5.8 offensive rebounds), and 2.2 assists per game. On August 10, 2015, he signed a one-year deal with

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 ...

. Mavrokefalidis was the top scorer of AEK Athens in the

2015–16 Greek Basket League The 2015–16 Greek Basket League was the 76th season of the Greek Basket League, the top-tier professional basketball league in Greece. Teams Promotion and relegation *Panionios, Panelefsiniakos, and KAOD were relegated after the 2014–15 ...

season, averaging 14.5 points per game.

China

In December 2016, Mavrokefalidis joined the

Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier professional men's basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...

(CBA) club Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles for the 2016–17 CBA season. He became the first Greek player to ever play in China. He averaged 19.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Back to Europe

On February 20, 2017, Mavrokefalidis returned to the Greek club

, signing a contract with them for the rest of the season. On September 25, 2017, Mavrokefalidis signed with Lithuanian club Lietuvos rytas Vilnius, for the 2017–18 season. In 2018, he joined the Greek A2 League club

. On December 23, 2019, after a very productive and successful stint with Ionikos, Mavrokefalidis transferred to the Greek EuroCup club Promitheas Patras, in order to replace

Georgios Bogris Georgios Bogris (alternate spelling: Giorgos , Greek: Γιώργος Μπόγρης; born 19 February 1989) is a Greek professional basketball player and the team captain for Apollon Patras of the Greek Basket League. He is 2.10 m (6 ft 10 ...

on the club's roster. Mavrokefalidis signed with

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 139,981 inhabitants (2011 census), it is the seventh-largest municipali ...

on July 3, 2020. On December 8, 2020, he returned to Ionikos, after a fallout with newly appointed Peristeri coach (and his former Panathinaikos boss),

Argyris Pedoulakis Argyris Pedoulakis (alternate spellings: Argirios, Argiris, Argyrios) ( el, Αργύρης Πεδουλάκης; born May 26, 1964) is a former Greek professional basketball player and basketball coach, who is currently acting as the general manag ...

. Mavrokefalidis started the 2021-22 campaign with 2nd division club Tritonas Sepolion, bringing them to the brink of

promotion, before returning once again to Ionikos Nikaias and helping them avoid relegation. In 6 games with Ionikos, he averaged 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists, playing around 30 minutes per contest. On September 1, 2022, Mavrokefalidis renewed his contract with Ionikos.

National team career

Greek junior national team

Mavrokefalidis helped Greece win the bronze medal at the

2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup The 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: 2003 Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19) was the 7th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship. The men's U19 youth international basketball championship organized by FIBA. I ...

. He also played at the

2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2004 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the seventh edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Brno, in the Czech Republic, hosted the tournament. Slovenia won their second title. Teams * * * * * * * * * * * * Squads Q ...

. In 2005, Mavrokefalidis' contribution during the

FIBA Under-21 World Cup The FIBA Under-21 World Championship was a men's under-21-only basketball competition organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). It was known as the FIBA 22 & Under World Championship before FIBA lowered the age limit to 21 year ...

was very significant, as Mavrokefalidis greatly helped the

Greece men's national under-21 basketball team The Greece men's Under-21 national basketball team ( el, Εθνική ομάδα καλαθοσφαίρισης Νέων Ανδρών Ελλάδας) (Greek Young Men National Basketball Team), represents Greece in international Under-21 age bask ...

win the silver medal, after losing to

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

by just two points in the gold medal game.

Greek men's national team

A year later, in 2006, the

Greece men's 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 ...

head coach

Panagiotis Giannakis Panagiotis Giannakis ( el, Παναγιώτης Γιαννάκης, ; born January 1, 1959), alternatively spelled Panayiotis Yiannakis or Yannakis, is a retired Greek professional basketball player and coach. As a player, he was primarily a poin ...

was impressed by the Mavrokefalidis' abilities and called him to participate in the Greek men's basketball training camp, one month before the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

took place in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. However, as he was selected in the 2006 NBA draft by the

, Mavrokefalidis informed the coach shortly before the outset of the World Championship that he had decided to go back to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and participate in performance improvement training camps, and thus he lost the team's 12th man roster place to

Sofoklis Schortsanitis Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Greek: Σοφοκλής Σχορτσανίτης; born 22 June 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian. An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the EuroLeague title ...

. In 2011, Mavrokefalidis was given a 2-month suspension from all competitions by the

Hellenic Basketball Federation The Hellenic Basketball Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ομοσπονδία Καλαθοσφαίρισης, abbreviated as Ε.Ο.Κ.) is the main basketball governing body for the sport in Greece. It directs and oversees all of the national ba ...

, for refusing to play for Greece's national team for the second consecutive summer. However, two years later, he played with the Greek senior men's national team at the

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

Career statistics

Domestic leagues

Regular season

, - , 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 2 , , 3.4 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 6 , , 4.3 , , .636 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 3.0 , - , 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 19 , , 11.3 , , .535 , , .500 , , .861 , , 3.6 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 0.4 , , 4.9 , - , 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 14 , , 7.0 , , .423 , , .000 , , .562 , , 1.7 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 2.2 , - , 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 26 , , 31.5 , , .553 , , .276 , , .796 , , 8.1 , , 1.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 16.5 , - , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=left , , 17 , , 9.4 , , .534 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 3.1 , - , 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=left , , 26 , , 24.2 , , .485 , , .280 , , .811 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 0.5 , , 12.0 , - , 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos , align=left , , 20 , , 15.0 , , .644 , , .400 , , .851 , , 2.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 7.9 , - ,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos , align=left , , 24 , , 17.2 , , .548 , , 1.000 , , .790 , , 4.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 9.0 , - , 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=left , , 25 , , 13.3 , , .579 , , .400 , , .756 , , 3.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 6.8 , - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , align=left , , 19 , , 12.2 , , .441 , , .400 , , .678 , , 3.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 5.2 , - , 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=left , , 26 , , 25.3 , , .459 , , .431 , , .810 , , 6.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 14.5

Playoffs

, - , 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 2 , , 1.3 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 2 , , 5.1 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .500 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , - , 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;", PAOK , align=left , , 3 , , 28.1 , , .434 , , .000 , , .500 , , 4.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 7.0 , - , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=left , , 7 , , 13.1 , , .700 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 2.4 , , 0.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 3.1 , - , 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=left , , 10 , , 23.2 , , .476 , , .166 , , .862 , , 5.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 10.7 , - , 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos , align=left , , 9 , , 8.4 , , .551 , , 1.000 , , .888 , , 1.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 4.5 , - ,

, style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos , align=left , , 9 , , 21.3 , , .571 , , .000 , , .772 , , 3.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 0.2 , , 11.6 , - , 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=left , , 10 , , 15.2 , , .465 , , .500 , , .823 , , 3.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.7 , , 10.9 , - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Panathinaikos , align=left , , 9 , , 26.0 , , .548 , , .384 , , .678 , , 8.1 , , 2.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 18.4

FIBA Champions League

All Phases AVERAGE STATISTICS.
/ref> , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" ,

A.E.K. 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 ...

, 2 , , 21.3 , , .312 , , - , , .857 , , 9.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 0 , , 11.0

Awards and accomplishments

Greek junior national team

: * 2005 FIBA Under-21 World Cup:

Pro clubs

* 5× Greek League All-Star: 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2020 * Greek League Most Improved Player: 2006 * 4×

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 ...

winner: 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 * All-EuroCup Second Team: 2013 * Greek League champion: 2014 * Greek Cup MVP: 2015 * 2× Greek League Best Five: 2015, 2016 * 2× EuroCup MVP of the Round: 2015–16 (Regular Season Round 1 & 2) * 2015–16 EuroCup Highest Index Rating in a game: 55 * 2015–16 EuroCup Most points in a game: 42 * Greek League Regular Season Top Scorer: 2016 * Greek 2nd Division Champion: 2019

Professional career

Europe

China

Back to Europe

National team career

Greek junior national team

Greek men's national team

Career statistics

Domestic leagues

Regular season

Playoffs

FIBA Champions League

Awards and accomplishments

Greek junior national team

Pro clubs

References

External links