Opinion: What Georgios Papagiannis Brings To The Table?
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings surprised their fans Thursday night by taking Georgios Papagiannis with the 13th pick in the NBA Draft.
To an extent, the fans have reason to be shocked by the pick. Papagiannis was nowhere near ranked in the mock drafts as a prospect that can be chosen as a lottery pick and also little even have heard of him pre-draft.
Heck, the A Royal Website doesn’t even have an analysis article on him. But that changes now.
The Numbers
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Papagiannis has a huge frame standing at 7’2” while weighing 240 pounds (per DraftExpress).
In his most recent season playing for Panathinaikos, Papagiannis averaged 5.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game. He was also able to make 67.8% of his total shots attempted on the court as well.
The Strengths/Concerns
The addition of Papagiannis creates a logjam in the Kings frontcourt, but he does have a skill set that could potentially help his new team going forward.
Papagiannis, the biggest player on the Kings roster, will produce most of his offense in the paint. Throughout his recent season with Panathinaikos, Papagiannis developed a jump hook and floater shot which could be go-to options for the Greek player considering his lengthy frame.
Similar to former first-rounder Willie Cauley-Stein, Papagiannis also has a pretty solid shooting stroke whether it was him taking mid-range shots or shooting from the free-throw line. With some practice, Papagiannis could be consistent with a mid-range shot (like Cauley-Stein) and add it to his offensive arsenal in his future.
Papagiannis also has the potential to be an effective rebounder and post-defender. Again, he has a massive frame for the center position with a solid level of athleticism, but the concern is his strength. He is not as strong as you would consider for a man his size so he needs to improve his strength as his career progresses.
More concerns pertaining Papagiannis is his ability to defend, especially with the pick and roll and on the perimeter. His athleticism isn’t bad, but when teams force the 7’2” footer outside of the paint, he is not quick enough to cover opponents in space or guard quicker players when being switched.
Another part of Papagiannis’s game that he has to improve on is his conditioning. He showed last season with his club that he can run the floor well, but it only came in spurts. There were other times during games where he played tired and will need to shape up with the Kings in order to play more effective.
Rafe’s Thoughts
When looking at Papagiannis’s game, I see a player that has a good skill set for his position and rather it is the physical part of his game that needs to improve the most.
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If Papagiannis is able to add strength to his body and improve his conditioning, it will help him a lot in being more consistent as a player and improving the major holes that scouts believe he has in his game.
I will admit that I was whiplashed when I heard Adam Silver announcing Papagiannis’s name with the 13th pick of the draft, but only time can tell whether he will live up to where the Kings selected him.
He has the skills and potential to help the Kings franchise going forward, that cannot be denied. But whether he will live up to the potential he has? We’ll see…