.jpg) Koponen withFinland at theEuroBasket 2017 | |
| New Zealand Breakers | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| League | NBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1988-04-13)13 April 1988 (age 37) Helsinki, Finland |
| Listed height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Listed weight | 88 kg (194 lb) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2007: 1st round, 30th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Playing career | 2004–2022 |
| Position | Point guard /shooting guard |
| Coaching career | 2024–present |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 2004–2008 | Tapiolan Honka |
| 2008–2012 | Virtus Bologna |
| 2012–2016 | Khimki |
| 2016–2018 | Barcelona |
| 2018–2020 | Bayern Munich |
| 2021 | Pallacanestro Reggiana |
| 2021–2022 | Helsinki Seagulls |
Coaching | |
| 2024–present | New Zealand Breakers |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Petteri Johannes Koponen (born 13 April 1988) is a Finnish professionalbasketball coach and former player who is the head coach of theNew Zealand Breakers in the AustralianNational Basketball League (NBL). Standing at 1.94 m (6 ft4+1⁄2 in), he played bothpoint guard andshooting guard positions. He was drafted as the 30th pick by thePhiladelphia 76ers in the2007 NBA draft.
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 coachMihailo Pavićević, he quickly developed into a key component of Honka'sFinnish League championship-winning side in2006–07. During the 2006–07 campaign Koponen averaged 12.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.[citation needed]
Koponen played in the World All-Star team at theNike Hoop Summit in 2007. He recorded 7 points and 6 assists with only one turnover, playing against futureNBA super star, MVPDerrick Rose.[citation needed]
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 playerJarkko Nieminen. The2007–08 Finnish League 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 aconcussion 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.[citation needed]
On 14 July 2008, in theNBA Summer League game against theWashington Wizards, Koponen scored 19 points, shooting 4-for-6 on three-point attempts.[1]
In August 2008, Koponen signed a four-year deal with the Italian teamVirtus Bologna.[2] At the end of his first season with Bologna, the team won theFIBA EuroChallenge championship in 2009.
On 31 May 2012, Koponen signed a three-year contract with the Russian teamKhimki in theEuroLeague.[3] On 27 March 2015, he re-signed with Khimki for two more years.[4] With Khimki he won the2014–15 EuroCup season, and was also named to theAll-EuroCup First Team.[5][6]
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On 16 August 2016, Koponen signed a three-year contract with Spanish powerhouseBarcelona.[7] One month later, he would suffer a traffic accident that caused him a head injury.[8] He parted ways with Barcelona on 29 June 2018.[9]
On 24 July 2018, Koponen signed a three-year contract withBayern Munich of the GermanBasketball Bundesliga (BBL).[10]
On 12 January 2021, Koponen signed withPallacanestro Reggiana of the ItalianLega Basket Serie A (LBA).[11]
On 13 August 2021, Koponen returned to Finland in theKorisliiga, signing forHelsinki Seagulls.[12] He retired from his professional club career after the 2021–22 season due to consecutive hip problems.[13][14][15]
On 28 June 2007, Koponen was taken 30th overall in the2007 NBA draft by thePhiladelphia 76ers. He was the final first-round pick in the draft. Philadelphia then traded Koponen to thePortland Trail Blazers in exchange forDerrick Byars and cash considerations. On 23 June 2011, Koponen's rights were traded to theDallas Mavericks for the Mavericks' second round pick in the 2011 draft (57). On 27 June 2024, Koponen's rights were traded to theNew York Knicks.[16]
Koponen played for the Finnish national youth teams in 2004, 2005 and 2006.[17]
He debuted for theFinnish senior men's team in 2007. He played for Finland at the2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He also represented his country at theEuroBasket 2011,EuroBasket 2013,EuroBasket 2015,EuroBasket 2017, and retired along withShawn Huff after theEuroBasket 2022 tournament, where Finland historically advanced to thequarter-finals.[18][19][17]
Between 2022 and 2024, Koponen worked as a junior coach in theEuroLeague Next Generation invitational tournament and was with the coaching staff of Helsinki Basketball Academy teamHBA-Märsky in Finland.[20]
Koponen joined the coaching staff of theSan Antonio Spurs for the2024 NBA Summer League.[20]
On 4 July 2024, Koponen was named the head coach of theNew Zealand Breakers in the AustralianNational Basketball League (NBL) on a two-year deal.[21] Koponen led Breakers to a flying start in the league, and at the start of November after the 113–79 away win overMelbourne United, they were sitting in the top spot with a 6–2 record. The away win against Melbourne marked also the team's first away victory at theJohn Cain Arena since 2018.[22] The Breakers went on to finish in second-to-last place with a 10–19 record.[23]
On 7 April 2025, Koponen was confirmed by the new ownership group as the Breakers' head coach for the2025–26 NBL season.[24]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | Khimki | 21 | 5 | 16.2 | .465 | .429 | .957 | 1.0 | 2.1 | .1 | .1 | 6.5 | 6.6 |
| 2015–16 | Khimki | 24 | 7 | 19.5 | .426 | .381 | .879 | 1.6 | 2.3 | .5 | .0 | 8.5 | 7.8 |
| 2016–17 | Barcelona | 27 | 3 | 22.6 | .429 | .462 | .915 | 1.7 | 1.9 | .7 | .0 | 10.1 | 8.9 |
| 2017–18 | Barcelona | 29 | 9 | 20.2 | .491 | .511 | .938 | 1.6 | 1.5 | .5 | .0 | 7.9 | 7.3 |
| 2018–19 | Bayern München | 30 | 3 | 18.3 | .516 | .468 | .923 | 1.6 | 1.9 | .3 | .0 | 9.0 | 8.8 |
| 2019–20 | Bayern München | 24 | 10 | 17.1 | .450 | .500 | .765 | 1.2 | 1.5 | .2 | .0 | 6.8 | 4.9 |
| Career | 155 | 37 | 19.1 | .463 | .462 | .901 | 1.5 | 1.8 | .4 | .0 | 8.3 | 7.5 | |
| † | Denotes season in which Koponen won theEuroCup |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | Khimki | 18 | 3 | 27.2 | .500 | .471 | .889 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .0 | 11.3 | 12.8 |
| 2014–15† | Khimki | 24 | 10 | 27.1 | .532 | .454 | .700 | 2.9 | 3.3 | .9 | .0 | 13.5 | 15.0 |
| Career | 42 | 13 | 27.2 | .520 | .462 | .776 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 1.0 | .0 | 12.6 | 14.0 | |
| * | Led the tournament |
| Team | Tournament | Pos. | GP | PPG | RPG | APG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | EuroBasket 2011 | 9th | 8 | 13.3 | 1.9 | 3.1 |
| EuroBasket 2013 | 9th | 8 | 13.3 | 3.4 | 4.8 | |
| 2014 FIBA World Cup | 22nd | 5 | 15.8 | 3.0 | 5.8* | |
| EuroBasket 2015 | 16th | 6 | 11.5 | 2.0 | 6.0 | |
| EuroBasket 2017 | 11th | 6 | 13.2 | 2.5 | 6.3 | |
| EuroBasket 2022 | 7th | 7 | 5.4 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand Breakers | 2024–25[25] | 29 | 10 | 19 | .345 | 9th |
| Career | 29 | 10 | 19 | .345 | ||
Koponen and his wife have three sons.[26]
