Goga Bitadze

Bitadze is from Gori, Georgia — a city best known internationally as the birthplace of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, a biographical footnote the 7-foot center handles with Georgian good humor in NBA media obligations.

He never played college basketball in the United States, developing entirely through European professional leagues — a pathway that produced one of the most skilled European centers of his draft class.

Bitadze managed a cardiac arrhythmia diagnosis during his early NBA career while continuing to play at the highest professional level — a testament to the medical support available to NBA players and his own resilience.

He is the highest-drafted Georgian basketball player in NBA history, and his success has increased basketball's visibility in the Republic of Georgia, where the sport is growing alongside football as a primary athletic culture.