By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
In late April 2003, the EuroCup finished its inaugural season and crowned Valencia as its first champion. Roughly 10 weeks later, a baby was born in Ioannina, Greece. This child would grow to become a basketball sensation, stir up the waters of the competition, and remind scouts the world over why the Old Continent is the place to look for natural talents ready to rock the world.
Lefteris Mantzoukas was a revelation of all sorts last Wednesday when he took Gran Canaria by storm with Promitheas. The visitors fell short in the end, though the 17-year-old forward was simply unstoppable. He tallied 24 points on 6-for-6 shooting from behind the arc plus 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. While for some, his sensational game was a surprise, it’s been long enough in the making.
At just 17, Mantzoukas is a EuroCup sophomore already. Coach Makis Giatras’s team made its competition debut in the 2019-20 season and this young prospect, who is not yet eligible to vote or drive, has been playing professionally for years. Mantzoukas made history in the Greek Basket League as the youngest-ever player to start a game in the league at age 14, which quickly popped up on the radars of basketball scouts as well as schools in the United States. The record alone is interesting enough, though it gains a whole different meaning that his first pro game was against Olympiacos and he played 31 minutes in said game. The level of trust between the versatile forward and Coach Giatras runs deep and the bond grows stronger season by season.
Despite the fact that Europe is well-known by now for nurturing many prospects, it’s not often that we see players becoming a hot topic as early as in Mantzoukas’s case. Many would argue that we haven’t seen a prospect of his level since the incomparable Luka Doncic and although this is a comparison that comes with great responsibility, his growth and dedication to the game resemble the former Real Madrid prospect. Mantzoukas has been a Promitheas loyal for many years now, starting from the youth department of the club all the way to the senior team while turning heads all the way.
Between the senior team’s domestic and continental duties, he was among the protagonists at the 2020 EuroLeague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Qualifier in Munich last January, where he set the single-game scoring record with 49 points against ALBA Berlin. Mantzoukas’s 65 PIR in the game ranked third all-time behind Dragan Bender’s 66 and Nikola Mirotic’s 84. Quite an elite list.
The attributes of a professional athlete with dreams to succeed are more than obvious. In between his first years of basketball training, the Greek youngster took up track and field, shaping his body and his mentality. The work he’s done over the years shows. Of course, there’s plenty of room for improvement, though he seems to be passing the test season by season. Standing 2.09 meters, he is naturally a forward, though he can easily transition to the guard positions, which is a huge plus in modern basketball and helps his coach to work with him in many ways on the court.
So, what’s next for the 17-year-old sensation who turned heads last Wednesday? If anything, what we can expect is to see him used on the court more and more by Giatras. The Promitheas project resembles much Mantzoukas himself; young and ambitious. Prior to the abrupt ending of the previous season, Promitheas had qualified for the 7DAYS EuroCup Quarterfinals in their first-ever experience. Without a doubt, they set the bar high and with such a natural talent on board, there are plenty of glory days ahead.
Cover photo: Eurokinissi / Andreas Alexopoulos