Nikoloz Tskitishvili
 Tskitishvili in 2010 | |
| No. 22 – Chemidor Tehran | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward / Center |
| League | Iranian Basketball Super League |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
April 14, 1983 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Georgian |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall |
| Selected by the Denver Nuggets | |
| Playing career | 1997–present |
| Career history | |
| 1997–1999 | Sukhumi (Georgia) |
| 1999–2001 | KD Slovan (Slovenia) |
| 2002 | Benetton Treviso (Italy) |
| 2002–2005 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2005 | Golden State Warriors |
| 2005–2006 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2006 | Phoenix Suns |
| 2007 | Caja San Fernando (Spain) |
| 2007–2008 | Siviglia Wear Teramo (Italy) |
| 2008–2009 | Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada (Spain) |
| 2009 | Panionios (Greece) |
| 2009–2010 | Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada (Spain) |
| 2010–2011 | Lagun Aro GBC (Spain) |
| 2011–2012 | Mahram Tehran (Iran) |
| 2012 | Foolad Mahan Isfahan (Iran) |
| 2012–2013 | Champville (Lebanon) |
| 2013–2014 | Al Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) |
| 2014–2015 | Champville (Lebanon) |
| 2015 | Link Tochigi Brex (Japan) |
| 2015–2016 | Champville (Lebanon) |
| 2016–present | Chemidor Tehran (Iran) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ცქიტიშვილი; born April 14, 1983) is a Georgian professional basketball player for Chemidor Tehran of the Iranian Basketball Super League. He is a 7'0", 245 lb. forward-center, who was selected fifth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2002 NBA draft. Tskitishvili has also played for the Georgian national basketball team.
Professional career
From January to July 2002 he played in Italy for Benetton Treviso, winning the Italian Championship under Mike D'Antoni. He played in 13 games, averaging 6.6 points per game (with a high of 15).
On February 25, 2005, Tskitishvili was traded by the Nuggets to the Golden State Warriors along with Rodney White, in exchange for Eduardo Nájera, Luis Flores, and a 2007 future first-round pick. In three seasons with the Nuggets, Tskitishvili averaged 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and shot 30 percent from the field while appearing in 143 total games.
After playing just 12 games for the Warriors, he signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves after playing on their summer league team. He was traded half way through the 2005-06 season to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a second-round draft pick. On June 30, 2006, Tskitishvili was claimed off of waivers by the Portland Trail Blazers. He was waived five days later, after the team announced they would re-sign center Joel Przybilla. On October 2, 2006, Tskitishvili was signed by the New York Knicks and was waived on October 25.
With career averages of 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game over his first four NBA seasons,[1] Tskitishvili is widely considered to be a major draft bust. ESPN writer Bill Simmons claimed that Tskitishvili is "the worst-case scenario for any foreign pick" in the NBA.[2] Columnist David Schoenfield of ESPN's Page 2 ranked Tskitishvili 30th on his "100 worst draft picks ever" in 2006,[3] and in 2008 ESPN's Adam Reisinger rated Tskitishvili the worst NBA draft lottery pick ever selected at 5th overall.[4]
Tskitishvili won a championship in 2012 with Mahram in Iran's Superleague after stints in the Italian and Spanish leagues. He started the 2012-13 season with Iran's Foolad Mahan Esfahan, but was released in November 2012. The next month, he signed with Champville from Lebanon’s Division A and posted 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game for 27 games.[5] On 27 October 2014 he signed for a second stint with Champville.[6]
On September 25, 2015, Tskitishvili signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, returning to the NBA after a nine-year absence.[7] However, he was later waived by the Clippers on October 3, 2015.[8] On October 11, he signed with the Fujian Sturgeons of the Chinese Basketball Association.[9] However, he left the team before the season began and signed with Link Tochigi Brex on November 2.[10] On December 24, he left Tochigi Brex after averaging eight points and four rebounds per game.[11] The next day, he returned to Champville.[12] On April 3, 2016, he left Champville and signed with Chemidor Tehran of the Iranian League.[13]
NBA 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 | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Denver | 81 | 16 | 16.3 | .293 | .243 | .738 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 3.9 |
| 2003–04 | Denver | 39 | 0 | 7.9 | .328 | .273 | .793 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| 2004–05 | Denver | 23 | 0 | 6.9 | .294 | .000 | .571 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| 2004–05 | Golden State | 12 | 0 | 5.2 | .304 | .200 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| 2005–06 | Minnesota | 5 | 0 | 2.6 | .250 | .000 | .500 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| 2005–06 | Phoenix | 12 | 0 | 7.2 | .364 | .333 | .667 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.8 |
| Career | 172 | 16 | 11.3 | .304 | .235 | .730 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 2.9 |
References
- ↑ "NBA.com player profile". NBA.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Welcome to the next decade of discontent". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
- ↑ "The 100 Worst Draft Picks Ever". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ "They didn't win the lottery with these picks". ESPN.com. June 26, 2008. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Nikoloz Tskitishvili joins Al Sharjah". Court-Side.com. September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Lebanese team Champville signing Nikoloz Tskitishvili". Sportando.com. October 27, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ "L.A. CLIPPERS SIGN MBAH A MOUTE AND TSKITISHVILI". NBA.com. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ↑ "L.A. CLIPPERS WAIVE TSKITISHVILI". NBA.com. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Fujian lands Nikoloz Tskitishvili". Asia-Basket.com. October 11, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Tochigi Brex signs Nikoloz Tskitishvili". Asia-Basket.com. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ↑ "Nikoloz Tskitishvili leaves Tochigi Brex". Sportando.com. December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Nikoloz Tskitishvili officially inks with Champville". Sportando.com. December 25, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2015.
- ↑ "Iran’s Chemidor signs Georgian Nikoloz Tskitishvili". New.TehranTimes.com. April 3, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
External links
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