Sacramento Kings Report Card: Georgios Papagiannis
By Tyler Watts
OFFENSE: Grade- C-
Georgios Papagiannis is a traditional big man with limited range to his offensive game. According to Basketball-Reference, he shot 98.0% of his shots from two-point territory. He only had 19.6% of his attempts as dunks, though, so this is not a player who can only shoot from the restricted area.
He shot 2 three-pointers all season and missed both attempts, but I could see him expanding that range. Check out the highlight video below from his 14 point outing in mid-March against the Oklahoma City Thunder to see the wide arrange of offensive skills possessed by Papagiannis.
Papagiannis played within himself this season. He shot 54.9% for the season from the field and 61.5% for the month of April. He knows his current limitations and plays to those strengths. That was a big factor in him earning the grade he did with the limited statistical production.
Will He Shoot Threes?
This is becoming an NBA where every player shoots threes, so it will be interesting to see if Papagiannis does try to expand his game in that way. Big George is young and if Brook Lopez can turn himself into a consistent three-point taker and maker after years of not attempting them, why can’t Papagiannis do it? This is something to monitor in the coming years.
Season Statistics
His season statistics were not eye-popping. He averaged 5.6 points, 0.9 assists, and 1.1 turnovers per game in his 22 games played this season. Remember, that was in just 16.1 minutes a game, so not a ton of playing time.
The advanced metric offensive win shares rated Papagiannis at positive 0.1 for the season. That means he was a net positive on offense and a good sign for a rookie who saw limited playing time. The tools appear to be there for Papagiannis now he has to put them all together to make himself into something great.