Nick Calathes

Nicholas William Calathes (Greek: Νικόλαος Γουίλιαμ "Νικ" Καλάθης, born February 7, 1989) is a Greek-American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the EuroLeague.

He played college basketball for the Florida Gators.

He teamed with future Florida Gator Chandler Parsons, future VCU Ram Joey Rodriguez, to help Lake Howell to a 31–3 record, and a state championship in 2007.

At Lake Howell, Calathes twice won the Florida Mr. Basketball award, placing him on a long list of NBA players who have won that award, including Vince Carter, Amar'e Stoudemire, Brandon Knight, and Austin Rivers.

Calathes accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 2007 to 2009.

Calathes was considered one of the top play-making guards in college basketball.

At 6ft 6in, he could play the positions of point guard, shooting guard, and small forward.

He was the SEC Newcomer of the Year and the SEC co-Freshman of the Year in 2008, as he led Florida in scoring and assists.

College season averages

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He was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 2009, and he was the only player in the nation to average better than 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game.

Calathes broke the Florida school records for assists and assists per game in each of his first two years, totaling 221 as a freshman (6.1 assists per game), and 231 (6.4 assists per game) as a sophomore.

He ranked third in Florida school history in career assists after just two years.

On May 23, 2009, Calathes announced that he would bypass the NBA to play in the Greek Basket League.

He agreed to terms with the elite EuroLeague club Panathinaikos Athens.

The three-year deal paid Calathes around €2.4 million net income, in addition to providing him with a home, car, and endorsements, making for a total package commensurate with what the NBA rookie salary scale provided an early lottery selection.

Despite his commitment to play in Greece, he was still selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks for a 2010 second-round draft pick and cash.

In his first year with Panathinaikos, he won the Greek League championship, averaging 5.4 points, 2.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds in 15 minutes per game.

He also participated in the Greek Youth All-Star Game (for players age 22 and under), in which he scored six points and dished six assists.

In 2010, Calathes was also voted the third best young player (age 22 and under) in the Greek League, after Nikos Pappas and Vangelis Mantzaris.

In the 2010–11 season, Calathes had an average of 7.8 points, 3.2 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in the Greek League.

In the EuroLeague 2010–11 playoffs, Calathes scored a career-high 12 points against Barcelona in game 4 of the playoff series.

Barcelona head coach Xavi Pascual said, "Diamantidis was the MVP of the series, but Calathes was the key player."

His teammate, Ian Vougioukas, stated about him, "Calathes played four outstanding games, especially on defense, and was a key for us."

In the four-game playoff series against Barcelona, Calathes averaged 7.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and a steal in 26 minutes per game.

In the 2010–11 EuroLeague semifinal against Montepaschi Siena, Calathes had another good performance, which helped send Panathinaikos to the 2011 EuroLeague Final.

He scored 17 points, dished two assists to his teammates, and grabbed six rebounds.

In the 2010–11 Greek League playoffs, Calathes had an average of 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, in 23 minutes per game.

He helped Panathinaikos to reach the Greek League Finals.

He played especially good in the fourth game of the Greek League Finals, in which he had 16 points, 11 assists, and five rebounds, in 42 minutes.

He won his second Greek League championship with Panathinaikos, and he was named to the Eurobasket.com website's All-Greek A1 League First Team and All-Defensive Team.

At the 2011 EuroLeague Final against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Calathes helped Panathinaikos, by scoring four points, recording six assists, and making two steals.

Finally, Calathes won his first EuroLeague title.

He also participated in the senior men's HEBA Greek All-Star Game, replacing Theo Papaloukas (who was out with an injury), because he was 16th in the fan voting with 1,200 votes.

Calathes scored 11 points and dished six assists in the All-Star Game.

An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2018 and 2019, Calathes has also played in the NBA, the Greek Basket League and the VTB United League.

He represents the Hellenic national basketball team internationally.

His father started the Orlando Raptors, where he won several AAU Championships.

He attended Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Florida, and graduated as the leading high school basketball scorer in Seminole County history.