Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Nikoloz Tskitishvili
ნიკოლოზ ცქიტიშვილი

Nickname(s)	Skita
Position	Forward-Center
Height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Team	Free agent
Born	April 14, 1983 (1983-04-14) (age 28) Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	Georgian
Draft	5th overall, 2002 Denver Nuggets
Pro career	1999–present
Career history	KK Slovan (1999–2001) Benetton Treviso (2002) Denver Nuggets (2002–2005) Golden State Warriors (2005) Minnesota Timberwolves (2005–2006) Phoenix Suns (2006) Caja San Fernando (2006–2007) Siviglia Wear Teramo (2007–2008) Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada (2008–2009; 2009-2010) Panionios BC (2009) Lagun Aro GBC (2010-2011)

Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ცქიტიშვილი; born April 14, 1983 in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR) is a Georgian professional basketball player. He is a 7'0", 245 lb. forward-center, who was selected 5th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2002 NBA Draft.

Pro career

From January to July 2002 he played in Italy for Benetton Treviso, winning the Italian Championship under Mike D'Antoni. He played in 13 games, averaging 6.6 points per game (with a high of 15).

On February 25, 2005, Tskitishvili was traded by the Nuggets to the Golden State Warriors along with Rodney White, in exchange for Eduardo Nájera, Luis Flores, and a 2007 future first-round pick. After playing just 12 games for the Warriors, he signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves after playing on their summer league team. He was traded half way through the 2005-06 season to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a second-round draft pick.

On June 30, 2006, Tskitishvili was claimed off of waivers by the Portland Trail Blazers. He was waived five days later, after the team announced they would re-sign center Joel Przybilla. On October 2, 2006, Tskitishvili was signed by the New York Knicks and was waived on October 25.

With career averages of 2.9 points and 1.8 rebounds per game over his first four NBA seasons,^[1] Tskitishvili is widely considered to be a major draft bust. ESPN writer Bill Simmons claimed that Tskitishvili is "the worst-case scenario for any foreign pick" in the NBA.^[2] Columnist David Schoenfield of ESPN's Page 2 ranked Tskitishvili 30th on his "100 worst draft picks ever" in 2006,^[3] and in 2008 ESPN's Adam Reisinger rated Tskitishvili the worst NBA draft lottery pick ever selected at 5th overall.^[4]

Georgian national team

Nikoloz Tskitishvili has also played for the Georgian national basketball team.

References

1. ^ NBA.com player profile
2. ^ "Welcome to the next decade of discontent". http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070523. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 
3. ^ The 100 worst draft picks ever
4. ^ They didn't win the lottery with these picks

External links

• NBA Player File
• NBA Draft Busts
• Basketpedya.com Profile

Persondata
Name	Tskitishvili, Nikoloz
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	April 14, 1983
Place of birth	Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Date of death
Place of death