Biography And Career Of Kosta Koufos – An NBA Star

Kosta Koufos can be described as a journeyman in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Greek-American who has found a way to stay relevant in the league despite having to line up for a different team almost every year had a rather challenging childhood. He lost his father, who was an oncologist to a rare form of cancer and had to grow up without a father-figure.

Currently, on the roster of the Sacramento Kings, the love life of the basketball player should be a subject of interest to anyone who what to learn about the star.

Kosta Koufos was born in the United States but he is of Greek origin. His full name is Konstantine Demetrios Koufos and he was born precisely in Canton, Ohio on the 24th of February 1989. As mentioned before, Koufos is a Greek American as his parents migrated from Greece to the US before he was born. His mother, Katerina Koufos, who worked in education, is his only surviving parent; his father, Dr. Alex Koufos, was a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and worked with hospitals where he helped children suffering from all forms of cancer until he was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) in November 1996. And after battling the disease for almost two years, he finally succumbed to it on April 26, 1998, when Kosta was only nine years old. As the youngest child, other members of the family include his two older siblings - a sister, Maria and a brother, Vasilios.

High school for Kosta Koufos was at GlenOak High School in Canton, Ohio. His father's death from cancer did spring up ideas of pursuing a career in medicine as a way of continuing his father legacy but seeing the number of times the work kept his dad away from home, made him reconsider. He clung to basketball and played as a center for the Golden Eagles - GlenOak High basketball team.

In his time with the team, he was named Second-Team All-State (in his junior season), First-Team All-State, Division I Player of the Year, First-Team Northeast Inland All-District, first runner-up for the Mr. Ohio Basketball gong among other recognitions. He also led the Golden Eagles to a winning streak of 9 victories on the trout one of which ended the 41-game winning record of the Canton McKinley Bulldogs in his senior year.

After high school, recruiting websites went agog with 5-star rankings for Kosta Koufos and despite several offers by top basketball programs in the country, he chose to stay home and continue his basketball career with Ohio State University.

Replacing Greg Oden (who was going pro) at the center position for the Ohio State Buckeyes, he led the team to the 2008 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title where he was named MVP of the tournament. He opted out for his remaining three years college eligibility to declare for the 2008 NBA Draft.

Consequent upon his declaration to participate in the 2008 NBA Draft, a lucrative offer came to him from his homeland in the form of a three-year deal with Olympiacos Piraeus, a basketball club which plays in the Greek Basket League. The contract was worth a tax-free €5 million, but he rejected the offer as he had his sights on the NBA.

In his NBA sojourn, Kosta has played in a number of top sides. He was first picked up in the draft by Utah Jazz as the 23rd overall pick. To get playing time, he was sent to their affiliate team in the NBA Development League, the Utah Flash in 2009. He earned a recall following an injury to Mehmet Okur, who was the starting center for Utah Jazz. And after two years with the side, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010 and then the Denver Nuggets the following year.

His career with the Denver Nuggets kicked off on a fine note as he recorded his first career double-double (10 points and 11 boards in 24 minutes) with the team in a game against the Sacramento Kings on January 4, 2012. He would go on to sign a three-year contract extension worth $9 million later that month. Overall, Kosta had an average of 6. 9 points and 6. 1 rebounds per game with the Nuggets.

In 2013, he moved again, this time to Memphis Grizzlies where he played for two seasons, averaging 5. 8 points and 5. 2 rebounds per game before docking with the Sacramento Kings on July 13, 2015. There have not been so many complaints about his game levels and even though Kosta Koufos is not a star name in the game, he gives stability to the side and fans know that they can always trust him to hold the fort anytime he steps on the court.