Entering his 13th season in the competition, the American-born Greece international now takes his talents to the principality
Monaco tabs EuroLeague assists king Nick Calathes
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One of the best point guards in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague history, Nick Calathes signed with AS Monaco, the team he helped eliminate in the 2024 EuroLeague Playoffs. The contract is for two seasons. Calathes (1.96 meters, 35 years old), arrives from Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, where he spent the past two seasons. Last season he helped the club win the Turkish League and Cup double.
He is coming off a campaign in which he posted 7.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 38 EuroLeague appearances, helping his team reach the Final Four for the first time in five years. Fenerbahce did so by ousting Monaco in a five-game playoff series, becoming the first team ever to win a deciding Game 5 on the road. In that series-clinching 79-80 overtime win, Calathes scored the final basket, a game-winning three-pointer, with 19 seconds to go. He also averaged 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals in the series.
Assists and steals king
Calathes is the EuroLeague's all-time assists leader with 2,085 dimes to his name. He became the first man to reach the 2,000-assist mark last season and is the only player in competition history to record over 1,000 rebounds and assists. Also during the 2023-24 season, Calathes became the EuroLeague's all-time leader in steals with 449 and the all-time leader in games stated with 311.
In 358 EuroLeague career games played with Panathinaikos, Barca and Fenerbahce, Calathes has amassed 3,236 points and 1,332 rebounds. Calathes also ranks sixth in total PIR (4,240). What's more, the American-born point guard holds the playoff assists record with the 16 helpers he dished in Game 1 of the 2018 EuroLeague Playoffs, as Panathinaikos defeated Real Madrid 95-67.
EuroLeague and EuroCup champ
Calathes, a former star at the University of Florida, started his professional basketball career with Panathinaikos Athens in 2009 and helped Panathinaikos win the EuroLeague title in 2011, scoring a team-high 17 points in the semifinal against Montepaschi Siena. He also won back-to-back Greek League titles in 2010 and 2011, while he also lifted the Greek Cup in 2012.
Calathes went on to play for Russian side Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, earning 2012-13 BKT EuroCup MVP honors. He led Lokomotiv to the EuroCup title, averaging 12.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists. After a two-year stint with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA, Calathes returned to Panathinaikos, winning three Greek League and three Greek Cup titles in his five-year stint. He has also played for FC Barcelona, helping it reach back-to-back EuroLeague Final Fours in 2021 and 2022. Calathes also led Barca to the Spanish League crown in 2021, in addition to winning consecutive Spanish Cup titles in 2021 and 2022.
Calathes has been a member of the Greek national team, helping it win a bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket.