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Georgios Papagiannis 101

The Sacramento Kings frontcourt just got even bigger.

The Kings (via the Phoenix Suns), selected 7-foot-2 center Georgios Papagiannis with the No. 13 overall pick.

Papagiannis grew up in Marousi, Greece, debuting for the Greek club team Peristeri in 2012 when he was just 14 years-old. He is the youngest player to ever participate in the Greek Basket League.

After two seasons with Peristeri, Papagiannis attended Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania, where he played his junior season of high school. He then transferred to the American School in Athens, Greece for his senior year of high school.

The 18-year-old signed a multi-year deal with Greek club Panathinaikos in 2014, which included a player option after the first year if he chose to leave in order to attend college in the U.S. Despite receiving 17 scholarship offers from renowned programs, he decided to stay with the club for two more seasons.

Panathinaikos won the 2015 and 2016 Greek Basketball Cup while Papagiannis was a member of the squad. He averaged 6.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and in 11.2 minutes per game during the 2015-2016 season.

Kings fans can expect a tireless worker who is going to do his best to bring help improve the team.

“I’m going to work hard. I’m hungry for the game,” he told Kings.com after being selected. “I want to say that I’m going to do the best I can to bring a championship to town.”

The big man also played for the Greek Under-16 junior national team in 2012 as well as the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where he was voted to the All-Tournament Team.

As for playing alongside DeMarcus Cousins, Papagiannis is excited to learn from one of the best centers in the game.

“I've been watching him since last year. He has a lot of skill moves in the post," said Papagiannis. "Tough, tough guy to play against. I love his character. He's mean for the game. He's hungry.”

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