Petteri Johannes Koponen (born 13 April 1988) is a Finnish professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). Standing at , he played both point guard and shooting guard positions. He was drafted as the 30th pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2007 NBA draft.
Professional career
Tapiolan Honka (2004–2008)
His first club was Malmi Super-Koris ("Malmi super-basketball"), from where he joined one of Finland's top clubs,
Tapiolan Honka in 2004–05 season. Under the guidance of coach Mihailo Pavićević, he quickly developed into a key component of Honka's
Korisliiga championship-winning side in 2006–07. During the 2006–07 campaign Koponen averaged 12.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
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 2007–08 Finnish League 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.
On 14 July 2008, in the NBA Summer League game against the Washington Wizards, Koponen scored 19 points, shooting 4-for-6 on three-point attempts.[ Bayless, Koponen lead Blazers to Summer League win]
Virtus Bologna (2008–2012)
In August 2008, Koponen signed a four-year deal with the Italian team
Virtus Bologna.
[ Petteri Koponen Signs with Virtus Bologna] At the end of his first season with Bologna, the team won the FIBA EuroChallenge championship in 2009.
Khimki (2012–2016)
On 31 May 2012, Koponen signed a three-year contract with the Russian team
BC Khimki in the
EuroLeague.
[ Petteri Koponen is a new BC Khimki player] On 27 March 2015, he re-signed with Khimki for two more years.
[ Petteri Koponen extends with Khimki for two more years] With Khimki he won the 2014–15 EuroCup season, and was also named to the All-EuroCup First Team.
[ Khimki Moscow Region pockets second Eurocup crown!][ 2014-15 All-Eurocup first, second teams announced]
Barcelona (2016–2018)
On 16 August 2016, Koponen signed a three-year contract with Spanish powerhouse Barcelona.
One month later, he would suffer a traffic accident that caused him a head injury.
He parted ways with Barcelona on 29 June 2018.
Bayern Munich (2018–2020)
On 24 July 2018, Koponen signed a three-year contract with Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).
Pallacanestro Reggiana (2021)
On 12 January 2021, Koponen signed with Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).
Helsinki Seagulls (2021–2022)
On 13 August 2021, Koponen returned to Finland in the
Korisliiga, signing for Helsinki Seagulls.
He retired from his professional club career after the 2021–22 season due to consecutive hip problems.
[ Petteri Koponen, 34, avautuu kivuliaasta sairaudestaan – tuntee heti sängystä noustessaan, jos edessä on vaikeampi päivä, Ilta-Sanomat, 4 September 2022][ ”Minulla on 70-vuotiaan lonkat” – Lääkäri lausui Petteri Koposelle lohduttomat sanat, ja pian kutsui leikkauspöytä, Helsingin Sanomat, 6 December 2023][ Uransa vuosi sitten lopettaneella Petteri Koposella on edessään tekonivelleikkaus – "Nyt ollaan siinä pisteessä", Turun Sanomat, 1 August 2023]
NBA draft rights
On 28 June 2007, Koponen was taken 30th overall in the 2007 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He was the final first-round pick in the draft. Philadelphia then traded Koponen to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for
Derrick Byars and cash considerations. On 23 June 2011, Koponen's rights were traded to the
Dallas Mavericks for the Mavericks' second round pick in the 2011 draft (57). On 27 June 2024, Koponen's rights were traded to the New York Knicks.
National team career
Koponen played for the Finnish national youth teams in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
He debuted for the Finnish senior men's team in 2007. He played for Finland at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He also represented his country at the EuroBasket 2011, EuroBasket 2013, EuroBasket 2015, EuroBasket 2017, and retired along with Shawn Huff after the EuroBasket 2022 tournament, where Finland historically advanced to the quarter-finals.[ Kahden legendan tarina suomalaisessa koripallossa päättyy – Shawn Huff ja Petteri Koponen poistuvat näyttämöltä: "Ei silloin edes tajunnut", mtvuutiset.fi, MTV Oy, 11 September 2022][ Jopa Espanjan tähdet kunnioittivat Susijengin legendoja tyylikkäällä eleellä – Petteri Koponen myönsi pelkäävänsä tulevaa, Yle, 13 September 2022]
Coaching career
Between 2022 and 2024, Koponen worked as a junior coach in the EuroLeague Next Generation invitational tournament and was with the coaching staff of Helsinki Basketball Academy team HBA-Märsky in Finland.
Koponen joined the coaching staff of the San Antonio Spurs for the 2024 NBA Summer League.
On 4 July 2024, Koponen was named the head coach of the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) on a two-year deal.[ Petteri Koposen valmennusura alkanut huikeasti – tuorein murskavoitto sai suomalaisen korisikonin sanattomaksi, Yle, 4 November 2024] The Breakers went on to finish in second-to-last place with a 10–19 record.
On 7 April 2025, Koponen was confirmed by the new ownership group as the Breakers' head coach for the 2025–26 NBL season.
Career statistics
EuroLeague
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2012–13
| style="text-align:left;"|
BC Khimki
| 21 || 5 || 16.2 || .465 || .429 ||
.957 || 1.0 || 2.1 || .1 ||
.1 || 6.5 || 6.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2015–16
| style="text-align:left;"|Khimki
| 24 || 7 || 19.5 || .426 || .381 || .879 || 1.6 ||
2.3 || .5 || .0 || 8.5 || 7.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2016–17
| style="text-align:left;" |Barcelona
| 27 || 3 ||
22.6 || .429 || .462 || .915 ||
1.7 || 1.9 ||
.7 || .0 ||
10.1 ||
8.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2017–18
| style="text-align:left;" |Barcelona
| 29 || 9 || 20.2 || .491 ||
.511 || .938 || 1.6 || 1.5 || .5 || .0 || 7.9 || 7.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2018–19
| style="text-align:left;"|Bayern München
|
30 || 3 || 18.3 ||
.516 || .468 || .923 || 1.6 || 1.9 || .3 || .0 || 9.0 || 8.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2019–20
| style="text-align:left;"|Bayern München
| 24 ||
10 || 17.1 || .450 || .500 || .765 || 1.2 || 1.5 || .2 || .0 || 6.8 || 4.9
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career
| 155 || 37|| 19.1 || .463 || .462 || .901 || 1.5 || 1.8 || .4 || .0 || 8.3 || 7.5
EuroCup
|
| † | Denotes season in which Koponen won the EuroCup |
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|2013–14
| style="text-align:left;"|BC Khimki
| 18 || 3 || 27.2 || .500 || .471 || .889 || 2.8 || 2.8 || 1.1 ||.0 || 11.3 || 12.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"|2014–15†
| style="text-align:left;" |Khimki
| 24 || 10 || 27.1 || .532 || .454 || .700 || 2.9 || 3.3 || .9 || .0 || 13.5 || 15.0
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2|Career
| 42 || 13 || 27.2 || .520 || .462 || .776 || 2.9 || 3.1 || 1.0 || .0 || 12.6 || 14.0
National team
Coaching record
|-
| align="left" |New Zealand Breakers
| align="left" |2024–25
[ Petteri Koposella opettavainen debyyttikausi päävalmentajana – ”Ehdottomasti positiivinen kokemus”, basket.fi, 26 February 2025]
|29||10||19|||| align="center" | 9th
|-
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="center" colspan=2|
Career||29||10||19||||
Personal life
Koponen and his wife have three sons.
External links
