David Nelson Stergakos (Greek: Ντέιβιντ Στεργάκος; born 24 October 1956[a]) is a Greek-American former professional basketball player. At a height of 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he played at both the power forward and center positions.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
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| Born | 24 October 1956[a] United States[b] | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Greek / American | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| College | Bloomfield (1974–1978) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1978: 4th round, 72nd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1978–1991 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Power forward / center | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 1978–1991 | Panathinaikos | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Early life and name
Stergakos was born in the United States.[b] Hailing from Montclair, New Jersey, he was known as Nelson in the U.S. and Stergakos in Greece.[7]
College career
Stergakos played four years of college basketball with Bloomfield College in New Jersey between 1974 and 1978.[4][8] He averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds per game in 104 career games.[4]
Professional career
Stergakos was selected by the Boston Celtics in the fourth round of the 1978 NBA draft[8] with the 72nd overall draft pick.[9]
Between 1978 and 1991, Stergakos played for Panathinaikos in Greece.[6] He won four Greek League championships (1980, 1981, 1982, 1984) and four Greek Cups (1979, 1982, 1983, 1986).[6] He was the Greek Cup Finals Top Scorer in 1986[10][11][12] and he was the top rebounder in the Greek League in the 1987–88 season with an average of 12.2 rebounds per game.[6] His final season came in 1990–91.[6]
National team career
Stergakos played for the Greek national team and won a silver medal at the 1989 FIBA EuroBasket.[6] The following year, he helped Greece finish sixth at the 1990 FIBA World Championship.[6] He scored 585 points in 65 games with the national team.[6]
Post-playing career
As of January 2007, Stergakos had been team manager of Maroussi for four years.[13]