1. Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis is a Georgian-born Greek former professional basketball player.
10 Facts About Jake Tsakalidis
1. 2.
Jake Tsakalidis began his professional career in 1996, at the age of 17, with the Greek League club AEK Athens.
3.
In those years with AEK, Jake Tsakalidis played at a great level, especially in the painted zone area, where he complemented his teammates, Michalis Kakiouzis and Dimos Dikoudis, in that area.
4.
The matter ultimately had to be resolved in the international Court of Arbitration for Sport and Jake Tsakalidis began his NBA career that year with the Suns.
5.
Jake Tsakalidis would spend the next 7 seasons playing with various NBA teams.
6.
Jake Tsakalidis was selected by the Phoenix Suns, in the 1st round of the 2000 NBA draft.
7.
On 30 September 2003 Jake Tsakalidis was traded by the Suns, along with teammate Bo Outlaw, to the Memphis Grizzlies, in exchange for Brevin Knight, Robert Archibald, and Cezary Trybanski.
8.
Jake Tsakalidis was eventually traded by the Grizzlies to the Houston Rockets, on 13 February 2007, for small forward Scott Padgett.
9.
Jake Tsakalidis played with the senior men's Greek national basketball team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, where his team finished in 4th place, at the EuroBasket 1999, where his team finished in 16th place, and at the EuroBasket 2003, where his team finished in 5th place.
10.
In 2000, Jake Tsakalidis announced that his real name is Alexey Ledkov and he is not of Caucasus Greek descent as previously believed.