Kostas Papanikolaou

Konstantinos "Kostas" Papanikolaou (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Παπανικολάου; born July 31, 1990) is a Greek professional basketball player who plays for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League. Standing at 204 cm, he plays the small forward position. He has previously played in the NBA for the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets, and is also a member of the Greek national team.

Aris (2008–2009)

Papanikolaou began playing basketball with the youth teams of Proteas Grevenon and Aris, and he made his pro debut in the Greek League, with Aris, during the 2008–09 season. He was named the MVP of the Greek Youth All-Star Game in 2009. He was also named the Greek League's Best Young Player in 2009.

Olympiacos (2009–2013)

On September 14, 2009, Papanikolaou signed a five-year, €1.3 million deal with Olympiacos after Olympiacos paid a €950,000 buyout fee to Aris to secure his player rights. Papanikolaou's contract with Olympiacos had an NBA buyout clause worth €1 million.

With Olympiacos, he won the EuroLeague and Greek League championships in 2012. Papanikolaou was voted the EuroLeague Rising Star for the Euroleague 2012–13 season. With Olympiacos, he also won the 2012–13 season EuroLeague championship.

FC Barcelona (2013–2014)

On July 20, 2013, Papanikolaou signed a four-year deal with Spanish League club FC Barcelona after Barcelona bought Papanikolaou out of his contract with Olympiacos, paying a transfer buyout fee of €1.5 million to Olympiacos, and giving Papanikolaou a contract worth €5.5 million during the contract's first three years (the 4th optional year would be at an additional salary). The contract included NBA buyout clauses in the amounts of €1.1 million for 2014, and €750,000 for 2015.

Barcelona went on to win the 2013–14 Spanish Liga ACB championship.

Houston Rockets (2014–2015)

On June 28, 2012, Papanikolaou was selected with the 48th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. On July 16, 2012, his rights were acquired by the Portland Trail Blazers via a trade that sent Raymond Felton to the Knicks.

On July 10, 2013, Papanikolaou's rights were acquired by the Houston Rockets, via a trade that sent Thomas Robinson to the Trail Blazers.

On September 23, 2014, Papanikolaou signed with the Houston Rockets. On February 13, 2015, he took part in the Rising Stars Challenge of the NBA All-Star Game and, in spite of an injury-plagued rookie season during which he averaged 4.2 points and 2.7 rebounds coming off the bench, the Rockets decided to pick up his team option for the 2015–16 season.

Denver Nuggets (2015–2016)

On July 20, 2015, the Rockets traded Papanikolaou, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Pablo Prigioni, a 2016 first-round draft pick, and cash considerations to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Ty Lawson and a 2017 second-round draft pick. On September 25, 2015, he was waived by the Nuggets. He later re-signed with Denver on November 5, 2015 and made his debut for the team that night. He was waived again by the Nuggets on January 7, 2016 before his salary became fully guaranteed.

Olympiacos (2016–present)

On January 20, 2016, Papanikolaou signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Olympiacos, returning to the club for a second stint.

As a member of the junior national basketball teams of Greece, Papanikolaou won the silver medal at the 2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and the gold medal at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He also won the silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. Papanikolaou also won the gold medal at the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where he was also named to the All-Tournament Team and won the MVP award.

In August 2009, he made his debut with the senior men's Greek national basketball team in a friendly game. He then won the silver medal at the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship with Greece's junior national team, where he was also named to the All-Tournament Team. With Greece's senior national team, he then played at EuroBasket 2011, the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, EuroBasket 2013, the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and the EuroBasket 2015.

Pro career

• Greek Youth All-Star Game: MVP: (2009)
• 2x Greek League Best Young Player: (2009, 2012)
• 2x Greek Cup Winner: (2010, 2011)
• 2x EuroLeague Champion: (2012, 2013)
• 2x Greek League Champion: (2012, 2016)
• 2x Greek League Best Five Team: (2012, 2013)
• Greek League All-Star: (2013)
• EuroLeague Rising Star: (2013)
• Spanish League Champion: (2014)

Greek national team

• 2007: FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship: 02 ! Silver
• 2008 Albert Schweitzer Tournament: 01 ! Gold
• 2008: FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship: 01 ! Gold
• 2009: FIBA Under-19 World Championship: 02 ! Silver
• 2009: FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: 01 ! Gold
• 2009: FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: All-Tournament Team
• 2009: FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: MVP
• 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: 02 ! Silver
• 2010: FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: All-Tournament Team

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

EuroLeague