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15 With The 48th Pick In The Draft, The Knicks Choose Kostas Papanikolaou
With the 48th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks chose small forward Kostas Papanikolaou of Trikala, Greece. Papanikolaou has spent the last two years playing for Olympiacos in the Euroleague where he averaged 6.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG.

However, don’t expect to see him in the Garden anytime soon as he isn’t expected to head to the U.S. for a couple of years. Kostas will also not be able to participate in the Vegas Summer League because he’s under contract with Olympiacos. The Knicks now own rights to two players in Olympiakos- Kostas Papanikolaou, and Giorgos Printezi obtained in the Tyson Chandle trade. 

Strengths:

  • good 3-point shot 
  • agressive defender–good shot blocker 
  • shoots with range and consistency 
  • true competitor- great leadership
  • deceptive athlete

Weaknesses:

  • lacks fluidity
  • slow footed- will be hard to guard wing players in the NBA
  • would likely be a tough transition from Europe to the NBA