Kosta Koufos can be described as a mate in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Greek-American who found a way to stay relevant in the league, despite having to line up for a different team almost every year, had a rather difficult childhood. He lost his father, an oncologist with a rare form of cancer who had to grow up without a father figure.
Currently on the Sacramento Kings roster, the basketball player’s personal life should be a topic of interest for anyone interested in learning more about the star. Find out all about it here.
The biography of Kosta Koufos
Kosta Koufos was born in the United States, but he is of Greek descent. His full name is Konstantine Demetrios Koufos and he was born precisely in Canton, Ohio on February 24, 1989. As previously stated, Koufos is an American of Greek descent, his parents having emigrated from Greece to the United States before his birth. .
His mother, Katerina Koufos, who worked in the education sector, is his only surviving relative; his father, Doctor Alex Koufos, was a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and worked in hospitals where he helped children with all types of cancer until he was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts) in November 1996.
After battling the disease for almost two years, he finally succumbed to it on April 26, 1998, when Kosta was just nine years old. As the youngest, other family members include his two older siblings – a sister, Maria and a brother, Vasilios.
Kosta Koufos’ high school was at GlenOak High School in Canton, Ohio. His father’s death from cancer sparked the idea of pursuing a career in medicine as a way to carry on his father’s legacy, but seeing how many times his job kept his father away from home, he had to reconsider his decision. He got into basketball and played center for the Golden Eagles’ Glen Eagle High basketball team.
In his time with the team, he was named All-State Second Team (in his junior season), All-State First Team, Division I of the Year, Northeast Inner District First Team, First Runner-up for the Mr. Ohio basketball gong, among other awards . He also led the Golden Eagles to a 9-game winning streak over Trout, one of which ended the Canton McKinley Bulldogs’ record 41 wins in his senior year.
After high school recruiting sites went downhill with a 5-star ranking for Kosta Koufos and despite multiple offers from top basketball programs in the country, he opted to stay home and pursue his basketball career at Ohio State University. .
Replacing Greg Oden (who was turning pro) at center position for the Ohio State Buckeyes, he led the team to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) title in 2008, where he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He opted out of college eligibility for the final three years to declare for the 2008 NBA draft.
Career
Following his declaration of participation in the 2008 NBA Draft, a lucrative offer came to him from his native country in the form of a three-year contract with Olympiacos Piraeus, a basketball club in the Greek Basketball League. The contract was worth 5 million euros tax-free, but he rejected the offer because he had his sights set on the NBA.
In his time in the NBA, Kosta has played in a number of top sides. He was first picked in the draft by Utah Jazz with the 23rd overall pick. To save time, he was sent to their NBA Development League affiliate team, the Utah Flash in 2009. He was recalled following an injury to Utah Jazz starting center Mehmet Okur. And after two years with the team, he was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010 and then to the Denver Nuggets the following year.
His career with the Denver Nuggets got off to a good start 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 then sign a three-year contract extension. worth $9 million later this month. Overall, Kosta averaged 6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game with the Nuggets.
In 2013 he moved again, this time to the Memphis Grizzlies where he played for two seasons, averaging 5.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game before joining the Sacramento Kings on July 13, 2015. match, he brings stability to the side and the fans know they can always trust him to hold the fort whenever he steps onto the pitch.
Who is Kosta Koufos’ wife or girlfriend?
Personal life of Kosta Koufos in regards to hisrelationships is a mystery. He’s only been linked to two women, but wait, that wouldn’t be a mystery, would it? The mystery is that he appears to have been married to both and yet there is no record of a divorce from either of them.
Let’s explain. Reportedly, Kosta Koufos married former Miss Utah contestant Leia Sergakis, who is also of Greek descent. They seem to have met in 2013 and had a relationship which led to marriage, except the detail of their marriage is nowhere to be found.
However, cbssports.com posted an interview with NBA star Kosta Koufos on March 17, 2015, in which he talked about his excitement about his upcoming marriage to Leia Sergakis. Whether or not the marriage took place cannot be proven beyond the fact that some websites refer to them as husband and wife.
The marriage that can be proven (because it got media coverage, especially when they donated all of their wedding gifts to Akron Children’s Hospital in honor of Kosta’s late father) is the one with the second wife to which he was linked – Eleni Bourlas. Again, there are no details on how they met other than the fact that they grew up in the same community in Canton, Ohio. They were married on September 1, 2018 in the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church community in Canton.
From the above, it can be assumed that his relationship with Leia Sergakis was never taken to the altar and they never got married despite some media’s suggestions to the contrary.
Body Stats – Height, Weight
Kosta Koufos will be among the greatest basketball players in the league. His height was measured at 7 feet 0 inches, or 2.13 in his metric estimate. To give him good balance and agility, his tall frame is supported by a weight measured at 265 lbs (120 kg).