When one scopes the world for great basketball players, they can be found all over. The NBA has seen great players hail from Africa like a Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam or a Bol Bol just to name a few or from Asia with players like Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin that really set the league on fire while now adays you have newer guys like Rui Hacimura or Yuki Kawamura to name just a few. Of course most NBA players outside USA come form Europe. Over the years Spain and France have produced many great players while Germany have had a massive influx in the last 5 years as well. But it isn´t always these bigger countries that make the great players of tomorrow, but even smaller countries like Armenia. One player that recently put his name on the basketball map in Europe was Daniel Kirakosyan (190-PG-2005) who scored an unbelievable 84 points in 30 minutes and 3 more than Kobe Bryant´s personal NBA record of 81. The young guard like so many players have big dreams, but at the same time also is thinking about what he can do for others if he makes it to the big time. “ I work hard to reach my goals, and my dream is to play in the best leagues in the world, like the NBA or EuroLeague. But beyond that, I want to give back and help people in my country have the opportunity to play basketball and chase their dreams”, warned Daniel Kirakosyan.

The 21 year old guard who lists current Duke player Caleb Foster as his toughest opponent on the court so far was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, but his nationality is Armenian. He didn´t have a ball in his hands at age 3, but rather started to play the game quite late at age 11 and joined a proper team at age 13. “I got into basketball because my older brother went to practice one day and said it was fun, so my mom made me go with him. At that time, I actually wanted to play football,,but I fell in love with basketball later on”, said Daniel Kirakosyan. His early NBA and Euroleague basketball player inspirations were Kyrie Irving, Steph Curry, Isaiah Thomas, and Milos Teodosic. He also had a very special mentor growing up that actually was someone very close to him. “Growing up, my mentor was always my dad. I’m not from a basketball family, but he was always the person I could go to for advice and someone who would tell me if I was doing something wrong”, remembered Daniel Kirakosyian. Before joining Urartu V-bet Yerevan (A-League), recently he began the season Temp-SUMZ-UMMC Revda (Russia-Superleague), but played sparsely playing 4 games, 14 minutes and netting 3 points. “ I wanted to play professionally in Russia, and it seemed like a good opportunity, so I decided to continue my career there. In the end, though, it didn’t turn out to be the most beneficial move for me. It was a good experience, and I definitely learned a lot of new things and improved in many areas. Even though I didn’t get as much playing time as I wanted, I still found a lot of positives that helped me grow as both a player and a person”, stated Daniel Kirakosyan. He came back and suited up with BKMA Yerevan (A-League) averaging 53/11/7 in 3 games and finished the season with Urartu V-bet Yerevan (A-League averaging 31/7/4.

The 190cm guard who lists Chris Jones, Egor Demin,Trent Lincoln,Andre Spight,and Yura Melikyan as his 5 best teammates of all-time compares his game as a mix to NBA player Payton Pritchard and EuroLeague player Thomas Walkup who is a player that prides his game on versatility something that helped Thomas Walkup carve out an incredible Euroleague career. However the Armenian prospect has so much more to offer than just versatility. “ I think my biggest offensive strengths besides versatility, are shooting, basketball IQ, and defense”, added Daniel Kirakosyan. He shot 35% from outside at the U-20 Euro. He still has a long way to go to find the sort of stability that he wants, but is becoming a 40% shooter from the parking lot realistic? “ I’m always working on my shot in the gym, putting up a lot of reps. I think I can definitely become a 40% shooter; I just need to be more selective with my shots, since I took a lot of last-second attempts”, commented Daniel Kirakosyan. He also has massive goals on the defensive end. He doesn´t only want to be that impact player on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end. I think I’m pretty good on defense, but there’s always room to grow and get better. I study a lot of film to become smarter on defense. My goal is to be a lockdown defender, someone who can guard the best player on the opposing team every night”, stressed Daniel Kirakosyan. He also understands that in order to climb the basketball ladder, he needs to do extra duty in the lab. “I work on every area of my game to become a complete player, but if I had to pick the three areas I focus on the most, I’d say shooting, basketball IQ, and athleticism”, expressed Daniel Kirakosyan who lists Steph Curry as his Goat.

The Armenian prospect who names Stephen Curry, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, Kyrie Irving and Kobe Bryant on his NBA Mount Rushmore, Mike James, Milos Teodosic, Facundo Campazzo, Kostas Sloukas and Chris Jones on Euroleague Mount Rushmore and Albert Tadevosyan, Andre Spight Mkrtchyan, Artem Tavakalyan, Arkadiy Mkrtchyan and Mikael Pogosyan on his Armenian Mount Rushmore was also very active with the Armenian youth national teams. He sees a bright future for Armenia in the next years. “I think basketball in Armenia is developing like never before. There are a lot of Armenian kids around the world playing basketball. At the same time, I believe the game can be developed even more in Armenia, and I hope I’ll be able to help the country with that in the future. I’d also like to mention some young players who deserve more attentionone of them is Yura Melikyan. I think he has a very bright future”, warned Daniel Kirakosyan. He recently played at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket Division B in Yerevan (Armenia) in 2025 averaging 15.7ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.1apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 45.3%, 3PT: 35.1%, FT: 33.3%. “It was a great experience. I love playing with my national team. It’s always good vibes and a great group of people. I’ve learned a lot through our coaching staff and game experiences, and I really enjoy representing my country. The only disappointing part was that we lost several games in clutch times. I still think about those games to this day, but I stay focused on the next national team games because we need to win them”, warned Daniel Kirakosyan. He also has had experience with the Armenian national team playing 4 games. He is fortunate being teammates with Euroleague player Chris Jones. “Chris Jones is an incredible person. Being around him pushes you to get better. He’s always challenging me and giving me advice, and I’ve learned a lot from him”, said Daniel Kirakosyan. It will be interesting to observe where hie basketball path will lead him in the next years. He may never hit for 84 points again, but we will surely see him in higher leagues in the next years.