Many players in the history of the NBA were chosen in the draft and passionate fans who understand the game didn’t understand the reason for that decision. Those signings turned out to be mistakes which the coaching staff was not aware of at the moment of picking them. How the name of the country Georgia sounds to you?
The hero of today’s story is Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Georgian power forward and center. His participation in NBA was not so impressive, but the second part of his existence on basketball courts is much more significant. Let’s see what Nikoloz has done in his career.
What were his first experiences as a basketball player?
Joining Italian team Benetton in the middle of the 2001/2002 season was a big move for a young Georgian player who was promising talent in his native country. American coach Mike D’ Antoni brought him to the roster despite already having high–quality players like Marcelo Nikola, Bostjan Nachbar, and Jorge Garbajosa.
Nikoloz Tskitishvili went on to score 15 points in 17 minutes spent on the court versus Trieste in the playoff opener. Sweet crossover and shooting the ball were praised in his play by the coach and experts with high credibility.
What was his first experience in NBA?
In the 2002 summer draft, Nikoloz Tskitishvili was surprisingly picked as 5th overall pick by Denver.
After winning the Italian league with Benetton, a Georgian player decided to see what his boundaries are in the most popular national basketball leagues in the world. Promising talent had excellent performances during the first three games for the Nuggets averaging 7.1 per fixture, so coaching staff from Colorado’s team contentedly rubbed their hands together.
Nikoloz ended his debut 2002/2003 season scoring 3.9 points and grabbing 2.2 rebounds per fixture. Overall, it was evaluated as a solid performance for Tsikitishvili’s rookie campaign.
What happened with Nikoloz in the 2003/2004 season?
Following the debut season in the most prestigious national basketball competition in the world, Tskitishvili’s form regressed in Denver’s shirt. Despite hype in his debut appearance in NBA, NBA experts were figuring out more and more that euphoria was caused by his performance in the Italian league which had less quality.
Compared to the previous season, the average number of points and rebounds dropped to 2.7 and 1.6 respectively. Nugget’s coach started to give him less chance to show talent as minutes spent on the court decreased to 7.9. However, Colorado’s team made it to the playoff before being eliminated against Minnesota in the first round.
What occurred with Nikoloz in 2004/2005?
Nikoloz’s form continued to follow a downward trajectory in the 2004/2005 season. Coach and his teammates were getting more and more disappointed in the performances of Georgian player as time passed.
Consequentially, Tskitishvili averaged 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game throughout 23 games representing Denver.
“Skita” didn’t manage to play more than 39 fixtures per season since his rookie campaign which was a devastating fact for him. Only 30 % shooting from the field was a crucial reason for the Nuggets sending him to Golden State in the middle of the season.
What was the next stop on Tskitishvili’s road?
The former 5th pick on the draft was signed by the Warriors on along with Rodney White, while Eduardo Najera, Luis Flores, and a 2007 future first-round draft pick went in the opposite direction.
After three seasons in Denver, Nikoloz was looking new environment hoping that he would perform better. Unfortunately, only 12 games in Golden State’s shirt and scoring 1.3 points per fixture was a complete impression Tskitishvili left.
Eventually, the hero of our paragraphs was taken by Minnesota followed by his playing for the NBA Summer league team.
What did Nikoloz do after the Golden State experience?
Timberwolves made deal with a former Denver player ahead of the beginning of the 2005/2006 season. Minnesota believed in the possible progress of the Georgian star despite his poor performances in previous campaigns. His miserable 0.6 points per fixture didn’t keep him long in Minnesota’s shirt, so he was transferred to the Phoenix.
Suns reached the final of the Western Conference in a playoff that season, but Nikoloz’s role in that achievement was small. His participation in the Final in game 4 against Dallas lasted 1.5 minutes after he was replaced by Brazilian star Leandro Barbosa. Tsiktishvili ended the collaboration with the club at the end of the campaign scoring 2.8 points per fixture.
Where did Nikoloz Tskitishvili play in the next period?
Following Phoenix’s departure, Nikolaos decided to give it a try in the European leagues. His performances in Italy and Slovenia put him on the basketball map. Caja San Fernando, the team from Seville, made deal with the ex-Minnesota center in 2007.
Eventually, the deal didn’t last for long as the player didn’t adapt well to the requirements of the Spanish League. His next stations on the European odyssey were Spanish Fuenlabrada, Lagun, Italian Teramo Basket, and Greece club Panionios.
What was the next destination for the Georgian star?
After failing to make a bigger impact in the biggest European basketball leagues, Tskitishvili headed to the continent with the biggest population – Asia.
Nikoloz signed with Mahram, an Iranian club, in an attempt to resurrect his fallen career. One of his best performances came in the first fixture of the West Asian Basketball League where the Georgian center scored 21 points in Mahram’s loss against Al Riyadh.
Despite this personal result, the Iranian team sent to their compatriots – Fooled Mahan Eshafan. A short stint with this club in the 2012/2013 campaign followed the departure from Mahram.
Eventually, Nikoloz Tskitishvili agreed with Lebanese player Champville producing 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per fixture throughout 27 games.
What did the remaining of Nikoloz’s career look like?
Following an unsuccessful tenure with LA Clippers in the fall of 2015, Nikoloz returned to the Asian continent signing a contract with the Chinese team Fujian Sturgeons.
Fujian parted ways with him before the new season started and the player was forced to look for a new collaboration. After his release from the Chinese team, Tskitishvili made deal with the Japanese team Link Tochigi Brex.
Two months after, the Georgian power forward left the Japanese club averaging eight points and four rebounds per fixture.
What was his club in Big3?
Fulfilling his potential in NBA days and odyssey across other continents stayed the only dream for this point guard.
Poor low post skills and strength for a player of his position were his biggest flaws, according to relevant persons in American basketball circles. Nonetheless, successful women’s coach Nancy Liebermann wanted to strengthen the roster of team Power with him in 2022.
Joining Fireball was a brave decision by Nikoloz since it was different surrounding compared to 5×5 basketball. Playing along with Cuttino Mobley helped him a lot mentally to adapt to new rules and the pace of the game. Eventually, the team ended the competition in the Final game losing to the undefeatable Trilogy.
Is Nikoloz going to be able to win the Fireball in near future? Is he going to win the silverware which was not won in his NBA career? Tsikitishvili went through a hard road and obstacles during his career so logically the answer to that question is “yes”.
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