By Kostas Giataganas/ info@eurohoops.net
Georgios Papagiannis’s destiny was to return to the Greens, which he did. Panathinaikos’s desire was to see him a Green again, and “Big George” badly wanted to play in green after the NBA as well, so the rest was easy.
After two years in the NBA, the 21-year-old center will put aside the dream of the magical world for now in order to make his Green dream come true and to achieve with Panathinaikos what he left unfinished in 2016, having already made his first steps at the highest level.
Eurohoops looks back on his course, which was marked by Panathinaikos from day one, the team he will now return to finish what he left unfinished two years ago.
Olympiacos, Peristeri and the record
Papagiannis’s case was a special one since for a kid who is already 2.12m tall by the age of 14 and who looks like he knows how to play basketball, the future is ahead of him to excel.
The young center’s father and veteran player, Kanellos Papagiannis took him to Olympiacos’s academy, however, the distance he had to cover and the team’s negative response in covering the kid’s transportation expenses made him change course, with Peristeri being the next stop in 2011.
Argyris Pedoulakis saw that he had an exceptional case in his hands and the opportunity at the level of the top division in Greece came soon enough, with Papagiannis making his debut in the championship on January 5, 2012, at the age of 14 years, 6 months and 2 days, breaking the record for the youngest player ever to play in the Greek league.
His destiny was that this debut was to be made against Panathinaikos at the Olympic Sports Center Athens, with the continuation of the history between the two sides being directly connected.
Recruited to the Greens
In 2014, Panathinaikos wanted to make a complete renewal of their manpower, with the aim of having more Greek players and, in this context, Papagiannis’s name was very high on the list.
The Greens convinced the rich in “raw material” center to leave the USA, where he had moved since 2013 in order to study at Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and return to Greece to make the big step in a championship team and at the top level of the EuroLeague.
With Dusko Ivanovic and Sasa Djordjevic, he only got a few opportunities in some domestic league games, but the short period of time he spent with Argyris Pedoulakis did him a lot of good. The experienced coach got him started in the playoffs of 2016 and the finals against Olympiacos, with “George” becoming “Big” for the first time, having already shown his credentials with the national team of Greece: In 2013 with the Under-16 team (bronze medal in the European championship) and in 2015 with the Under-18 team (gold medal in the European championship in Volos), where he was actually voted to the All-Tournament Team.
The American dream, the hard times and the return
The summer of 2016 was crucial since there was the NBA-out, with the player registering for the draft. Thanks to his performances at the end of his Greek season, but also the excellent job he did in the workouts, he climbed fast in the draft.
As a result, he was chosen with the 13th overall pick by the Kings, the highest pick ever for a Greek (Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected with the 15th pick) and now the door of the magical world of the NBA was wide open. He left Panathinaikos with two Greek cups in order to sign a four-year contract for a total of 10 million dollars in earnings.
The Kings seemed to have faith in him, appreciating his qualities, at a time, in fact, when they were completely rebuilding the team. However, as it usually happens in the NBA, the road is not paved with roses and, aside from the hard work, the right timing is also required.
“Big George,” though, was christened immediately in the USA, he got some opportunities, but in the year and a half he stayed in Sacramento he took the route of the G-League very often, where he put up some very good performances.
The G-League was certainly not the Greek center’s dream, who was waived last February and continued with the Blazers after Panathinaikos had asked him to return, as the player had revealed through Eurohoops, showing him clearly that “We are here” in case he decided to return.
This was going to happen sooner or later, with the lack of opportunities in Portland showing that the return was a one-way street at that point. And where else would “Papa” return? The Olympic Sports Center Athens, of course, with Panathinaikos giving him the opportunity for a big reboot and the Greens benefitting from the 21-year-old tower’s presence in more ways than one, as the player is now more experienced and with greater self-awareness, and can thus become a basic component of the Champions’ core.