Neuqua Valley grad John Poulakidas ready to establish himself in the NBA

The year John Poulakidas was born, there wasn’t a single NBA team that averaged 30 three-point attempts a game. The Boston Celtics led the league in attempts with 26 a game in the 2002-2003 season.

Fast-forward 23 years and this season every single NBA team — all 30 of them — averaged more than 30 three-point attempts a game. There is an NBA love affair with the three-pointer and it has transformed the sport.

The timing couldn’t be better for Poulakidas, the former star at Neuqua Valley whose three-point shooting is the centerpiece of his game.

Even as an undrafted free agent following a stellar college career at Yale, the 6-6 Poulakidas had the look of a special perimeter shot-maker with endless range. His shot pocket and hair-trigger release make him the ideal threat at the highest level, both as a catch-and-shoot specialist and even with off-the-dribble threes.

“The way the game is being played today, I knew that I would at least get a look,” Poulakidas said in regards to his three-point shooting and grabbing the attention of an NBA organization.

Poulakidas originally signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and played with them in last year’s NBA Summer League. He bided his time at the start of the season with the G League’s San Diego Clippers, where he shot 47 percent from three.

Eventually the Dallas Mavericks signed Poulakidas to a two-way contract in early March. He made his NBA debut March 3 and then was recalled multiple times from the G League over the final month of the season.

“After I went undrafted I knew what my route was going to look like,” Poulakidas said in an honest self-assessment. “I knew I was going to have to prove myself at summer league, prove myself some more at training camp, and prove myself in the G League. I knew that coming from the Ivy League that I didn’t have the body of work that people would respect, so it would take some time for people to respect what I can do on the court.”

So Poulakidas went about trying to earn the respect of anyone he could — from coaches to veteran star players and the organization. That priority was ingrained in Poulakidas’ head on his very first night in the NBA.

Poulakidas arrived for his first game, a home game in American Airlines Center, against defending NBA champion Oklahoma City. He knew he wasn’t going to be active or in uniform for that night’s game. But as he walked into the Mavs’ locker room for the first time, he admitted feeling his first rush of “I’m in the NBA.”

“You walk in and see your name at my locker, and I just look around,” Poulakidas said of that first true moment he knew he was in the NBA. “You see, of course, Klay Thompson getting dressed for the game. Kyrie Irving had just finished working out before the game. I thought to myself, I am teammates of Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving, and I immediately thought I gotta earn these dudes’ respect in any possible way that I can.”

It wasn’t long before Poulakidas made a splash, opening eyes while averaging 21 points a game over the final three games of the regular season. With eight three-pointers, he scored 28 points in the season-ending win over the Bulls. In total, he played 13 games and averaged 8.8 points a game while shooting 40 percent from three.

What Poulakidas showed in college, no matter the level, was always going to be the pathway for a NBA chance.

Poulakidas was an Ivy League standout, scoring 1,362 career points and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc in his career. He made a whopping 170 three-pointers over his final two seasons. Poulakidas became one of the NCAA Tournament darlings as a junior when 13th-seeded Yale upset Auburn in the opening round, thanks to Poulakidas’ 28 points with six three-pointers.

But in NBA circles, this was still a total longshot from a low-major Division I conference. The fact Poulakidas recognized this was both beneficial and a driving force, because he had felt and heard the “longshot” description before.

“If you look at my freshman year, after watching me play that first year in college, not many people would have thought I would turn out to be the player that I did by the time I was a senior,” Poulakidas pointed out.

Poulakidas played five minutes a game as a freshman at Yale, averaging 1.9 points a game. He put up 19.4 points a game as a senior.

As Poulakidas hit personal roadblocks out of college — not being drafted, not taking full advantage of opportunities in the NBA Summer League and feeling, as he describes, “at the bottom of the Clippers organization” — he thought back to the frame of mind he had at Yale.

“I went back into that mental space following my freshman year,” Poulakidas said of what drove him this past year in professional basketball. “After summer league and training camp, I told myself the same things that I did in college, that I’m back as the kid who isn’t good enough. Let’s get back to work and see how the doubters feel in a year, or two or three.”

So far so good in proving doubters wrong. He has a body of work now, even if it’s a very small sample size. He will be in Dallas with the Mavericks this summer, head to the NBA Summer League once again and training camp in the fall.

With some NBA experience in his back pocket, along with some familiarity with the coaches, players and system, he’s extremely eager to get back at it with a new confidence and comfort level. He says it will all look and feel a little different as he gets his second crack at making a roster this summer.

“The last two years I just wanted a two-way contract,” Poulakidas said of the NBA’s precarious-style contract. “It was more like, ‘How often does a kid from Yale get to play in the NBA?’ But then I get there [NBA], I get my feet wet, got my taste, and the goal posts continue to move.”

He knows the labor is just beginning and says the work he puts in needs to go up “two, three, four more notches.”

“It’s very cliche to say but everyone has their own journey,” Poulakidas said.

He recites different players' journeys in conversation, talking about those players who everyone knew was destined for the NBA when they were in high school to others who he says, “Just come out of the woodwork.”

“I knew that this was going to be my calling card, that my shooting would get me through the door,” Poulakidas said. “Now can the other things be worked on and developed? Can I get stronger? Can I improve my defense? Can I do the little things so that I can stay? I will continue fighting for a roster spot.”