 Koufos with theNuggets in 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Free agent | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1989-02-24)February 24, 1989 (age 36) Canton, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Greek / American | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 275 lb (125 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | GlenOak (Canton, Ohio) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Ohio State (2007–2008) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2008: 1st round, 23rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Utah Jazz | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2008–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Utah Jazz | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | →Utah Flash | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Minnesota Timberwolves | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Denver Nuggets | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Memphis Grizzlies | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Sacramento Kings | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | CSKA Moscow | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Olympiacos | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | NBA G League Ignite | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | London Lions | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Stats at NBA.com  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Konstantine Demetrios "Kostas"Koufos (Greek:Κωνσταντίνος Δημήτριος "Κώστας" Κουφός; born February 24, 1989) is aGreek-American professionalbasketball player who is a free agent. He played one season atOhio State before being selected by theUtah Jazz with the 23rd overall pick in the2008 NBA draft.
Koufos attendedGlenOak High School inCanton, Ohio, where he played center for the GlenOak Golden Eagles high school basketball team. As a junior, Koufos averaged 24 points per game, 11.1 rebounds per game, and four blocked shots per game and he was named Second-Team All-State.
As a senior, Koufos averaged 25.9 points per game, 15.4 rebounds per game and 5.2 blocked shots per game. He was instrumental in GlenOak snappingCanton McKinley's 41-game win streak in January 2007, when he posted 32 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks to help the Golden Eagles edge the Bulldogs, 56–55, in overtime. The next day, Koufos recorded 32 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks againstDetroit Country Day, to lead GlenOak to its ninth consecutive victory.
Koufos finished second to future Buckeye teammateJon Diebler in the Mr. Ohio Basketball voting. After his senior season with GlenOak, Koufos was named the Division I player of the year and was also named First-Team All-State. He also earned First-Team Northeast Inland All-District and third-teamParade All-American honors and participated in the2007 McDonald's All-American Game and2007 Jordan Brand Classic.
Considered a five-star recruit byRivals.com, Koufos was listed as the No. 3 center and the No. 16 player in the nation in 2007.[1]
Koufos played one season ofcollege basketball for theOhio State Buckeyes. For the2007–08 season,[2] he was named third-team All-Big Ten and was named to the league's All-Freshman Team. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg), and ranked second in blocked shots (1.8 bpg) and seventh in field goal percentage (.508). He helped the Buckeyes reach the final of theNational Invitation Tournament, where they won 92–85 overUMass behind Koufos' 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.[3] He was subsequently named NIT Most Valuable Player.[4] He declared for the2008 NBA draft following his freshman season.
Koufos was selected by theUtah Jazz with the 23rd overall pick in the2008 NBA draft.[5] During his rookie season, he spent time in theNBA D-League on assignment with theUtah Flash.[6][7] He went on to receive two assignments to the Flash during the 2009–10 season.[8] In two seasons with the Jazz, Koufos played in 84 games and averaged 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds.[9]
On July 13, 2010, Koufos was traded, alongside two future first-round draft picks, to theMinnesota Timberwolves in exchange forAl Jefferson.[10]
On February 22, 2011, Koufos was acquired by theDenver Nuggets in a three-way trade involving the Timberwolves and theNew York Knicks.[11] On January 25, 2012, he signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension with the Nuggets.[12][13] He averaged career-best figures in Denver, with 6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.[9]
On June 27, 2013, Koufos was traded to theMemphis Grizzlies in exchange forDarrell Arthur and the draft rights toJoffrey Lauvergne.[14] In two seasons with Memphis, he averaged 5.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[9]
On July 13, 2015, Koufos signed with theSacramento Kings.[15] On June 30, 2019, Koufos became an unrestricted free agent.
On July 19, 2019, Koufos signed a two-year deal withCSKA Moscow of theVTB United League and theEuroLeague.[16] He averaged 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. On May 27, 2020, the team opted out of the contract.[17]
On February 20, 2021, Koufos signed withOlympiacos of theGreek Basket League and theEuroLeague until the end of the 2020–21 season.[18]
On November 5, 2021, Koufos signed with theNBA G League Ignite of theNBA G League.[19]
On July 13, 2022, Koufos signed with theLondon Lions for the2022–23 BBL season.[20] On April 20, 2023, Koufos and the Lions parted ways.[21]
Koufos was a member of the juniorGreek national under-18 team at the2007 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Spain. He led his team to the tournament's final game, and although Greece lost in the finals toSerbia's under-18 team, Koufos won thetournament's MVP award, after leading the competition in points, rebounds and blocked shots, with averages of 26.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game.[22]
In 2009, Koufos debuted with the seniorGreek national basketball team, and he competed at theEuroBasket 2009, where he won a bronze medal. During the EuroBasket 2009 tournament, he averaged 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He also played at theEuroBasket 2011, where he averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Koufos also competed at theEuroBasket 2015, where he had his best tournament with the senior Greek national basketball team, as he averaged 10 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, in 8 games played.
He also played with Greece at the2016 Turin FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, where he averaged 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.[23]
From 2009 to 2016, Koufos has appeared in a total of 57 games, scoring 503 points (an average of 8.8 points per game).[24]
Koufos is the son of Greek immigrants Katerina and Alex Koufos, a pediatric doctor in Canton who died when Kostas was nine years old. Koufos holdsdual citizenship of both the United States and Greece, thus making him eligible to represent Greece internationally. He can speakGreek.[25]
Silver
Bronze| 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 | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Utah | 48 | 7 | 11.8 | .508 | .000 | .706 | 2.9 | .4 | .3 | .6 | 4.7 |
| 2009–10 | Utah | 36 | 0 | 4.8 | .468 | .000 | .600 | 1.3 | .2 | .1 | .1 | 1.5 |
| 2010–11 | Minnesota | 39 | 1 | 8.6 | .435 | .000 | .500 | 2.5 | .2 | .2 | .5 | 2.7 |
| 2010–11 | Denver | 11 | 1 | 8.9 | .500 | .000 | .632 | 3.0 | .0 | .2 | .5 | 4.9 |
| 2011–12 | Denver | 48 | 24 | 16.5 | .599 | .000 | .600 | 5.4 | .3 | .5 | .9 | 5.5 |
| 2012–13 | Denver | 81 | 81 | 22.4 | .581 | .000 | .558 | 6.9 | .4 | .5 | 1.3 | 8.0 |
| 2013–14 | Memphis | 80 | 22 | 16.9 | .495 | .000 | .645 | 5.2 | .5 | .4 | .9 | 6.4 |
| 2014–15 | Memphis | 81 | 3 | 16.6 | .508 | .000 | .647 | 5.3 | .5 | .4 | .8 | 5.2 |
| 2015–16 | Sacramento | 78 | 14 | 19.0 | .532 | .000 | .548 | 5.4 | .4 | .5 | .9 | 6.8 |
| 2016–17 | Sacramento | 71 | 62 | 20.0 | .551 | .000 | .613 | 5.7 | .7 | .5 | .7 | 6.6 |
| 2017–18 | Sacramento | 71 | 12 | 19.6 | .571 | .000 | .446 | 6.6 | 1.2 | .7 | .5 | 6.7 |
| 2018–19 | Sacramento | 42 | 1 | 12.0 | .477 | .000 | .417 | 4.2 | .9 | .4 | .4 | 3.7 |
| Career | 686 | 228 | 16.4 | .534 | .000 | .582 | 5.0 | .5 | .7 | .4 | 5.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Utah | 9 | 0 | 3.4 | .400 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .1 | .9 |
| 2011 | Denver | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2012 | Denver | 3 | 2 | 8.7 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 3.7 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .7 |
| 2013 | Denver | 6 | 2 | 16.7 | .368 | 1.000 | .833 | 3.5 | .5 | .5 | .7 | 3.3 |
| 2014 | Memphis | 7 | 0 | 6.4 | .438 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.1 | .3 | .3 | .4 | 2.6 |
| 2015 | Memphis | 11 | 0 | 11.5 | .540 | .000 | .600 | 3.5 | .4 | .4 | .5 | 3.4 |
| Career | 37 | 4 | 8.9 | .460 | 1.000 | .800 | 2.6 | .2 | .2 | .4 | 2.4 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | CSKA Moscow | 17 | 1 | 9.3 | .547 | – | .556 | 2.8 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 3.7 | 4.7 |
| 2020–21 | Olympiacos | 8 | 5 | 10.1 | .529 | – | .200 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 4.6 | – |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Ohio State | 37 | 35 | 27.1 | .508 | .349 | .680 | 6.7 | .5 | .4 | 1.8 | 14.4 |
Koufos has had the biggest impact on him due to the fact that he is also Greek. "It's easy for us to communicate better because we speak the same language," Papagiannis said.
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