Niels Giffey

Niels Giffey (born 8 June 1991) is a German basketball player who plays for Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the Euroleague. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he plays the shooting guard and small forward positions. He also represented German national basketball team in the international competitions.

Niels Giffey
Giffey with Alba Berlin in 2021
No. 55 – Žalgiris Kaunas
PositionShooting guard / Small forward
LeagueLKL
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born8 June 1991 (1991-06-08) (age 30)
Berlin, Germany
NationalityGerman
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolHeinrich Schliemann
(Berlin, Germany)
CollegeUConn (2010–2014)
NBA draft2014 / Undrafted
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2021Alba Berlin
2021–presentŽalgiris Kaunas
Career highlights and awards

He played collegiately for the University of Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team. In his freshman year, he was part of the team that won the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. He was again one of UConn's key players when they won the NCAA tournament for a second time in four years in 2014. Giffey and his UConn teammates Shabazz Napier and Tyler Olander are the only Division I men's basketball players in history to have won national championships as freshmen and seniors.[1]

Early life

Giffey was born on 9 June 1991 in Berlin.[2] He is the son of Frank and Christine Giffey. He attended Heinrich-Schliemann-Oberschule gymnasium and competed for the club team Alba Berlin.[3]

College career

Giffey committed to play basketball at the University of Connecticut under coach Jim Calhoun. As a freshman, he was a reserve on the squad which won the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. After winning the tournament, he said, “It was such an emotional time for me, that this university, this team, became such a big part of my heart and became so close to me that it never crossed my mind to leave this place. I always felt it was about being a student-athlete at UConn. This school gave me so much when I won my national championship with this team.”[4] Giffey scored four points and grabbed six rebounds in the championship game against Butler. On the season, he averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game.[3]

As a sophomore, Giffey averaged 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He missed the first game of the season after hyper extending his elbow in the preseason.[3]

As a junior, he averaged 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.[3] He injured his knee in a game against Cincinnati on 3 March 2013 and missed the remainder of the season.[5]

In the semifinal game of the 2014 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Giffey scored a career-high 24 points, including six three-pointers, to help Connecticut defeat Memphis 72–53 on 14 March 2014.[6]

Professional career

Following graduation, Giffey played on the 2014 Memphis Grizzlies summer league team and then the Utah Jazz summer league team.[7] On 15 July 2014, the German team Alba Berlin announced that they had signed him for three seasons.[8]

On 29 July 2019, Giffey extended his contract with Alba for two more seasons, until 2022.[9] Serving as the Berlin team captain, Giffey won the German national championship[10] as well as the German Cup competition in 2020.[11] During the 2020–21 season, he averaged 8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

On 18 June 2021, Giffey signed with Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).[12]

Honours and titles

Team
Alba Berlin
UCONN

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2014–15 Alba Berlin 241515.2.443.396.4002.3.2.5.14.92.6
Career 241515.2.443.396.4002.3.2.5.14.92.6

References
  1. Brennan, Eamonn (10 November 2014). "Welcome to 'The Year After'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
  2. "Germany 5 - Niels Giffey". FIBA. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  3. "5 Niels Giffey". Connecticut Huskies. University of Connecticut. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  4. Rhoden, William (22 March 2014). "Those Who Stayed With UConn Helped Save It". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. Wilson, Ryan (5 March 2013). "Napier, Giffey Injuries Loom". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  6. "No. 21 UConn routs No. 19 Memphis for season sweep". ESPN. Associated Press. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  7. "Sports".
  8. Buchholz, Jan (15 July 2014). "Berliner Junge Niels Giffey kehrt zurück an die Spree". AlbaBerlin.de (in German). Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  9. "ALBA, Giffey stay together 2 more years". Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  10. "Berlin feiert erste Meisterschaft seit zwölf Jahren. Ludwigsburg stellt mit Marcos den Turnier-MVP". www.easycredit-bbl.de (in German). Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  11. "Alba Berlin hat Durst – auf mehr". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). 18 February 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  12. "Niels Giffey signs with Zalgiris Kaunas". Sportando. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  13. https://www.easycredit-bbl.de/de/n/spielberichte/2019-2020/nachbericht/2020-02-16-ber-old/#specialnavi=9
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