Kostas Papanikolaou was announced as the 48th overall pick by the NY Knicks at Thursday’s NBA Draft. The draft of the Greek player was announced by general manager Glen Grunwald; however, Papanikolaou may not come to the NBA for another two years.
The news was celebrated in the Greek community of Astoria,especially by the Greek Olympiakos fans that hope to see the player soon in New York.
The 6’8′, 230-pound Greek forward isn’t a household name in America, but he became famous in European basketball circles by making all eight of his field goal attempts between the Euroleague semifinal and Final.
Papanikolaou’s Olympiakos won the crown, and the 21-year-old made a name for himself internationally.
Papanikolaou made 51 percent of his field goals over 28 Greek League games, a good record, but he only shot the ball 5.3 times per game in 20.3 minutes of action per night. That’s why he averaged just 7.7 points per game last season.
Knicks fans that were not familiar with the Greek player’s successful career and basketball talent did not like the decision, as you can see in the video below. We believe Papanikolaou can prove them wrong when he comes to the NBA!
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