The center was an All-EuroLeague selection in 2021-22
Monaco signs Georgios Papagiannis away from Fenerbahce
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AS Monaco reinforced its frontcourt by signing Georgios Papagiannis for the 2024-25 season.
Papagiannis (2.20 meters, 27 years old) arrives from Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, with which he reached the EuroLeague Final Four and won the Turkish League and Cup double last season, his only with the club.
After playing a major role for the club in the first half of the season, Papagianni’s minutes declined after a mid-season coaching change. For the season, he averaged 5.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in less than 16 minutes per game.
Before signing with Fenerbahce last season, Papagiannis had spent five seasons with Panathinaikos Athens, during which time he made 147 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague appearances and helped the club to three Greek championships and four Greek Cups.
His best season came in the 2021-22 campaign, when he earned All-EuroLeague Second Team honors. That year, Papagiannis became only the fourth player in competition history to lead the EuroLeague in both rebounds (8.2 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.7 bpg.), joining the likes of Arvydas Sabonis, Ekpe Udoh and Andrei Kirilenko.
"Monaco has been one of the best teams in the EuroLeague in recent years," Papagiannis said in an interview on the club's website. "The project is always to aim for first place in every competition in which the team participates, so I am really happy to be part of this. I think together we can achieve great things. This is an experience that I look forward to starting."
Papagiannis first joined the Greens in 2014 and spent two seasons there before heading to the NBA. He was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings and would play a season and a half there as well as briefly for the Portland Trail Blazers. He also played 33 games with the Reno Bighorns in the G-League. At Monaco, Papagiannis reunites with Nick Calathes, whom he played alongside at both Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce. Papagiannis and Calathes recently helped the Greek national team qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.