Lazaros Papadopoulos

Not to be confused with Lazaros Papadopoulos (footballer).

Lazaros Papadopoulos

Papadopoulos in 2011
Personal information
Born	(1980-06-03) 3 June 1980 Krasnodar, USSR
Nationality	Greek / Russian
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2002: undrafted
Playing career	1996–2014
Position	Center
Number	6, 12, 14, 8
Career history
1996–2001	Iraklis
2001–2003	Panathinaikos
2003–2004	Iraklis
2004–2007	Dynamo Moscow
2007–2008	Real Madrid
2008–2009	Fortitudo Bologna
2009–2011	PAOK
2011	Khimki
2011–2012	Olympiacos
2012–2013	PAOK
2014	Canarias
Career highlights and awards
2× EuroLeague champion (2002, 2012) All-EuroLeague Second Team (2007) FIBA EuroStar (2007) EuroCup Champion (2006) 2× Greek League champion (2003, 2012) Greek Cup Winner (2003) All-Greek League First Team (2004) 6× Greek League All-Star (2001–2004, 2010, 2013) VTB United League champion (2011) Greek Under-18 Championship champion (1998)
Medals Event 1st 2nd 3rd FIBA World Cup 0 1 0 FIBA Stanković World Cup 1 0 0 FIBA EuroBasket 1 0 0 FIBA Under-18 EuroBasket 0 0 1 Total 2 1 1 Men's Basketball Representing Greece FIBA World Cup 2006 Japan FIBA Stanković World Cup 2006 China FIBA EuroBasket 2005 Serbia & Montenegro FIBA Under-18 EuroBasket 1998 Bulgaria Under-18

Lazaros Papadopoulos (Greek: Λάζαρος Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 June 1980) is a Greek former professional basketball player. He was listed at 7 ft (2.13 m) 265 lbs (120 kg), and he played the center position. During his playing career, he was best known for his signature skyhook move.

Papadopoulos played with several teams in Europe throughout his professional club career, and he most notably won the EuroLeague twice, in 2002 with Panathinaikos Athens and in 2012 with Olympiacos Piraeus. He was an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2007. He represented the senior Greece national team and won the gold medal at the 2005 FIBA EuroBasket and the silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

Early years and youth career

As a youth, Papadopoulos took up the sports of judo and basketball. He played basketball in the youth system of the Greek club Iraklis Thessaloniki. With Iraklis' junior club, along with his teammate Charis Markopoulos, Papadopoulos won the Greek Under-18 Championship in 1998.

Professional career

Papadopoulos began his professional career playing with the Greek club Iraklis, in the 1996–97 season. After five years with Iraklis, he signed to play with the Greek League powerhouse Panathinaikos in 2001, and he stayed there until 2003. He then returned to Iraklis the following season, and stayed there for only one year, before next signing with the Russian club Dynamo Moscow, in the year 2004. In 2007, he joined the Spanish ACB League club Real Madrid. In 2008, he joined Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian League.

He won the EuroLeague championship during the EuroLeague 2001–02 season, while he was with Panathinaikos, and also the EuroCup championship, while he was with Dynamo Moscow, in the year 2006. In 2007, his performance with Dynamo Moscow during the EuroLeague 2006–07 season, earned him a selection to the All-EuroLeague Second Team. He joined the Greek club PAOK Thessaloniki for the 2009–10 season, and donated his salary to charity.

In February 2011, he joined the Russian club Khimky Moscow Region. In August 2011, he signed a one-year deal with Olympiacos. With Olympiacos, he won the EuroLeague championship in 2012. On 5 September 2012, he returned after few seasons to his former club PAOK. On 6 February 2014, Papadopoulos wnt back to Spain, after signing with 1939 Canarias. After only one game played, he parted ways with them.

National team career

Greek junior national team

As a member in the junior Greece national team, Papadopoulos won the bronze medal at the 1998 FIBA Under-18 EuroBasket. He also competed with the Greek junior team at the 1999 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.

Greek senior national team

With the senior Greece national team, Papadopoulos won the gold medal at the 2005 FIBA EuroBasket. With Greece, he also won the silver medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Papadopulos was also a member of the Greek teams that competed at the 2001 FIBA EuroBasket and the 2007 FIBA EuroBasket. He was also a part of Greece's 2004 Summer Olympic Games team. He played in a total of 103 games for Greece at the senior men's level, averaging 8.2 points per game. While playing with Greek the national team, Papadopoulos also won the Acropolis Tournament five times: in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

EuroLeague

†	Denotes seasons in which Papadopoulos won the EuroLeague

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2001–02	Panathinaikos	19	6	15.4	.638	—	.774	4.1	.9	.4	.5	6.6	8.3
2002–03		19	5	11.8	.636	—	.677	2.7	.4	.4	.2	4.1	5.2
2006–07	Dynamo Moscow	17	16	29.5	.531	—	.667	7.2	1.8	1.3	.9	14.8	20.3
2007–08	Real Madrid	18	13	21.3	.484	—	.571	3.2	1.5	.8	.3	6.9	7.8
2008–09		4	1	13.8	.412	.000	.500	2.3	—	.3	—	4.0	3.3
2011–12†	Olympiacos	13	8	13.8	.542	—	.176	2.8	2.0	.2	.4	4.2	5.0
Career		90	49	18.2	.547	.000	.621	3.9	1.2	.6	.4	7.2	9.1

Personal life

Papadopoulos was born in Krasnodar, then-USSR, on 3 June 1980, as Lazar Popandopulo (Russian: Лазарь Попандопуло) to a Greek father and a Russian mother. In 1990, he came to Thessaloniki, Greece with his parents, Theodore and Marina, and younger sister Agapi.

He was married in August 2002, and he has two daughters, Danaie and Nefeli.

External links

• Lazaros Papadopulos' Official Website (in Greek, English, Spanish, and Italian)
• NBA.com Profile
• Euroleague.net Profile
• Draftexpress.com Profile
• FIBA Archive Profile
• Greek Basket League Profile (in Greek)
• Hellenic Federation Profile (in Greek)