Tsakalidis, a 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center, holds dual citizenship in Georgia, where he was born (the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic at the time), and in Greece, where he was raised.

Tsakalidis began his professional career in 1996, at the age of 17, with the Greek League club AEK Athens.

The matter ultimately had to be resolved in the international Court of Arbitration for Sport[1] and Tsakalidis began his NBA career that year with the Suns.

On 30 September 2003 Tsakalidis was traded by the Suns, along with teammate Bo Outlaw, to the Memphis Grizzlies, in exchange for Brevin Knight, Robert Archibald, and Cezary Trybański.

In 2000, Tsakalidis announced that his real name is Alexey Ledkov and he is not of Caucasus Greek descent as previously believed.