Jake Tsakalidis
Jake Tsakalidis was born in Rustavi, Kvemo Kartli, Georgia on June 10th, 1979 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 44, Jake Tsakalidis biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 44 years old, Jake Tsakalidis has this physical status:
Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis (born June 10, 1979) is a Greek-born Greek professional basketball player. Tsakalidis, a 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center, holds dual citizenship in Georgia, where he was born in Georgia (the Soviet Union's Georgian Socialist Republic) and Greece, where he was born and became famous.
Personal life
Tsakalidis revealed in 2000 that his real name is Alexey Lentkov, and that he is not of Caucasus Greek descent as previously assumed. In addition, it was discovered that Lentkov was born in Novosibirsk and changed his name to Rustavi sometime in the 1990s after doing extensive research by a Greek journalist.
Professional career
Tsakalidis started his career in 1996, with the Greek League club AEK Athens, at the age of 17. He was a two-time Greek Cup champion (1998, 1999), a FIBA Saporta Cup winner (2000), and a Greek Cup champion (2000), with AEK. Tsakalidis played at a high level in his time with AEK, especially in the painted zone area, where he complemented his colleagues, Michalis Kakiouzis and Dimos Dikoudis.
Tsakalidis left Greece in 2000 and moved to the United States. He began his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns in 1995. He will spend the next seven seasons with various NBA clubs. After leaving the Houston Rockets in 2007, he returned to Greece. He played for Olympiacos in Greece's EuroLeague.
In the 1st round (25th overall) of the 2000 NBA draft, Tsakalidis was selected by the Phoenix Suns. Tsakalidis was traded by the Suns, as well as teammate Bo Outlaw, to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Brevin Knight, Robert Archibald, and Cezary Tryba.
Small forward Scott Padt was eventually traded by the Grizzlies to the Houston Rockets on February 13, 2007. In Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round, Tsakalidis' last NBA game was played on April 28th, 2007. This series was a seven-games-long, but Tsakaldis was only active in Game 4 where Houston lost 85-98 and 4 rebounds.
He averaged 4.8 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in his NBA career.
National team career
Tsakalidis competed for the senior national basketball team in 1998, where his team finished in 4th place at EuroBasket 1999, where his team finished in 16th place, and at EuroBasket 2003, where his team finished in 5th place.