Now that the Sacramento Kings’ summer league has officially come to an end, A Royal Pain will be evaluating the play of multiple Kings’ summer league participants. Today we look at Sacramento big man, Georgios Papagiannis.
Player Profile
The Sacramento Kings shocked the entire world on June 23 of 2016 by selecting a projected second round pick with the 13th pick. That pick was no other than the Greek giant, Georgios Papagiannis. Papagiannis spent most of his time in the NBA developmental league, but ultimately was called up to the main roster and proved to many analysts why he was worth the pick.
Summer League Statistics
In the span of all six summer league games played by Papagiannis, he produced decent stats with 5.67 points along with 7.33 rebounds in just over 22 minutes per game. Papagiannis was worrying many fans during summer league. He did seem very uncomfortable and unpolished, but would soon turn it around and have a fantastic double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Papagiannis must limit his turnovers and become more efficient while scoring. He averaged over two turnovers a game and shot a hair over 41 percent from the field. These skills will come with time, but Big George must continue to put in the work.
Intangibles
Georgios Papagiannis produces a lot more than just box score numbers. He brings a competitive fire to the court that Kings fans love. He sets fantastic screens to get his teammate’s wide open looks which can kill an entire defensive game plan. Papagiannis is also a powerful presence in the paint that opposing players dread facing.
Next: Sacramento Kings projected 2017-2018 depth chart
Although Papagiannis had a rough summer league, his future NBA career looks very promising and can earn himself a lot of money.