Petteri Koponen
Petteri Koponen playing for Honka in 2007
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| No. 25 – FC Barcelona Lassa | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / Shooting guard |
| League |
Liga ACB EuroLeague |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
13 April 1988 Helsinki, Finland |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Listed height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Listed weight | 88 kg (194 lb) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Mäkelänrinne (Helsinki) |
| NBA draft | 2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 30th overall |
| Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Playing career | 2004–present |
| Career history | |
| 2004–2008 | Tapiolan Honka |
| 2008–2012 | Virtus Bologna |
| 2012–2016 | Khimki |
| 2016–present | Barcelona |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Petteri Johannes Koponen (born 13 April 1988) is a Finnish professional basketball player for FC Barcelona Lassa of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Standing at 1.94 m (6 ft 4 1⁄2 in), he plays both point guard and shooting guard positions. He was drafted as the 30th pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2007 NBA Draft, and his NBA rights are currently held by the Dallas Mavericks.
His first club was Malmi Super-Koris ("Malmi super-basketball"), from where he joined one of Finland's top clubs, Espoo Honka in 2004–05 season. Under the guidance of coach Mihailo Pavićević he quickly developed into a key component of Honka's 2006–07 Finnish League championship-winning side. During the 2006–07 campaign Koponen averaged 12.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. The number of assists may sound small, but in Finland assists are harder to come by than in the NBA because of the difference in FIBA rules, and the league leader had an average of only 5 assists.
Koponen played in the World All-Star team at the Nike Hoop Summit in 2007. He recorded 7 points and 6 assists with only one turnover, playing against future NBA super star, MVP Derrick Rose.
Koponen began his mandatory military service in the Lahti Military Academy in October 2007, participating in a special military service built for professional athletes such as Finnish tennis player Jarkko Nieminen. The Finnish League 2007–08 season began slowly, with Koponen trying to adapt to the military recruit training. Koponen struggled a lot in the opening month of the season, but found his rhythm in November, recording 21.4 points, 4.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals a game while draining 55.6% of his 2-point attempts, 45.8% of his 3-point attempts and 81.0% of his free throws. In the first game of December, Koponen played through a concussion and led the Honka Playboys to an overtime victory over Team Componenta, scoring 32 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists. After the game, the concussion forced Koponen to be sidelined for a week.
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