Iakovos "Jake"Tsakalidis (Greek:Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης,Georgian:იაკოვოს წაკალიდას, born 10 June 1979) is a Georgian-born Greek former professionalbasketball player.

Jake Tsakalidis

Tsakalidis with theMemphis Grizzlies in 2003
Personal information
Born	(1979-06-10)10 June 1979 (age 45) Rustavi,Georgian SSR,Soviet Union
Nationality	Georgian / Greek
Listed height	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight	290 lb (132 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2000: 1st round, 25th overall pick
Drafted by	Phoenix Suns
Playing career	1996–2008
Position	Center
Number	25, 12
Career history
1996–2000	AEK Athens
2000–2003	Phoenix Suns
2003–2007	Memphis Grizzlies
2007	Houston Rockets
2007–2008	Olympiacos
Career highlights and awards
FIBA Saporta Cup champion (2000) Greek Cup winner (2000)
Career NBA statistics
Points	1,497 (4.8 ppg)
Rebounds	1,238 (3.9 rpg)
Blocks	223 (0.7 bpg)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats atBasketball Reference

Tsakalidis, a 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)center, holds dual citizenship inGeorgia, where he was born (theGeorgian Soviet Socialist Republic at the time), and inGreece, where he was raised.

Tsakalidis began his professional career in 1996, at the age of 17, with theGreek League clubAEK Athens. With AEK, he was a 2-timeGreek Cup finalist (1998, 1999), aFIBA Saporta Cup winner (2000), 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 andDimos Dikoudis, in that area.

In 2000, thePhoenix Suns selected Tsakalidis in the2000 NBA draft despite a warning faxed from AEK toNBA teams that they would not be letting him out of the four years remaining on his contract. The matter ultimately had to be resolved in the internationalCourt of Arbitration for Sport^[1] and Tsakalidis began his NBA career that year with the Suns. He would spend the next 7 seasons playing with various NBA teams. In 2007, he returned to Greece, after leaving theHouston Rockets. He joined the GreekEuroLeague clubOlympiacos.

Tsakalidis was selected by thePhoenix Suns, in the 1st round (25th overall) of the2000 NBA draft. On 30 September 2003 Tsakalidis was traded by the Suns, along with teammateBo Outlaw, to theMemphis Grizzlies, in exchange forBrevin Knight,Robert Archibald, andCezary Trybański.

He was eventually traded by the Grizzlies to theHouston Rockets, on 13 February 2007, forsmall forwardScott Padgett.^[2] Tsakalidis' final NBA game was played on 28 April 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 hisNBA career, he averaged 4.8 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game.^[3]

Tsakalidis played with the senior men'sGreek national basketball team at the1998 FIBA World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place, at theEuroBasket 1999, where his team finished in 16th place, and at theEuroBasket 2003, where his team finished in 5th place.

In 2000, Tsakalidis announced that his real name is Alexey Ledkov and he is not ofCaucasus Greek descent as previously believed.^[4]

• Career statistics fromNBA.com and Basketball Reference
• Euroleague.net Profile
• Euroleague Statistics
• Hellenic Federation Profile(in Greek)