Luis Scola
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| Position | Power Forward/Center |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| League | NBA |
| Team | Houston Rockets |
| Jersey | #4 |
| Born | April 30, 1980 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | Argentinian |
| College | None |
| Draft | 2nd round, 55th overall, 2002 San Antonio Spurs |
| Pro career | 1996–present |
| Former teams | Ferro Carril Oeste (Argentina) (1995–1998) Gijón Baloncesto (Spain) (1998–2000) TAU Cerámica (Spain) (2000–2007) |
| Awards | 2005 Spanish Supercopa MVP 2005 Spanish ACB Regular Season MVP 2007 Spanish ACB Regular Season MVP 2007 FIBA Americas Championship MVP |
| Official profile | Info Page |
2008 NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born April 30, 1980 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentinian professional basketball player. The 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) power forward for the Argentine National Basketball Team is currently signed with the NBA's Houston Rockets. He formerly was a Euroleague star with the ACB's TAU Cerámica. He has dual citizenship: Argentine and Spanish.
Contents |
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Argentina
Scola started his career with the Buenos Aires, Argentina youth teams of Ferro Carril Oeste. He made his professional debut with the same club's pro team in the Argentine League during the 1996-97 season.
[edit] Spain
[edit] Cabitel Gijón
After the 1997-98 basketball season in the Argentine League, Scola moved to Spain where he helped the then Spanish League Second Division club Cabitel Gijón achieve promotion to the Spanish League First Division. He then signed with TAU Cerámica, but stayed with Gijón through the 1999-2000 season, before moving to TAU, where he played for seven seasons.
[edit] TAU Cerámica
With TAU, Scola reached the Euroleague final in the 2000-01 season and three consecutive Euroleague Final Fours between 2005 and 2007. His outstanding performances earned him an All-Euroleague Second Team selection in 2005, as well as two All-Euroleague First Team selections in 2006 and 2007.
Although Scola did not manage to win the Euroleague championship with TAU, he did win with TAU every major Spanish League title, winning a Spanish ACB League championship in 2002, 3 Spanish Cups in 2002, 2004, 2006, and 3 Spanish Super Cups in 2005, 2006, 2007.
[edit] NBA career
In the summer of 2005, the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA (who drafted Scola in 2002) attempted to negotiate with TAU to buy out his contract, but after initially throwing around numbers as high as $1.5 million, TAU eventually settled on a still high number of over 3 million dollars for the contract, which made it difficult for Scola to join fellow Argentina national team member Manu Ginobili in San Antonio because of the NBA's rule which limits teams to paying $500,000 of a player's buyout.[1] Scola would have been responsible for paying TAU the remaining $2.5 million. When the deal to buy out Scola's contract fell through, the Spurs instead signed an Argentine National Team teammate and friend of Scola's Fabricio Oberto.
On July 12, 2007, the Spurs traded the rights for Scola along with center-forward Jackie Butler to the Houston Rockets in return for Vassilis Spanoulis, a future second-round pick, and cash considerations. He signed with the Rockets soon after[2] and his sticky buyout situation was resolved a few days later.[3] Scola signed a three-year contract with the Rockets, and will be paid $9.5 million over the duration of his contract.
Scola placed third in the NBA 2007-08 Rookie of the Year Award voting[4] and he was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
[edit] Titles
| Olympic medal record | |||
Competitor for  Argentina |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's basketball | |||
| Gold | 2004 Athens | Argentina | |
| World Championships | |||
| Silver | 2002 USA | Argentina | |
[edit] Club Level
- 1 Liga ACB – Spanish League Championship, with TAU Vitoria (2002)
- 3 Copas del Rey – Spanish Cup Championships (2002, 2004, 2006), with TAU Vitoria
- 3 Spanish Supercopas - Spanish Supercup Championships, with TAU Vitoria (2005, 2006, 2007)
[edit] Argentine National Team
- 2007 FIBA Americas Championship Silver Medal
- 2004 Olympics Basketball Gold Medal
- 2002 FIBA World Championship Silver Medal
[edit] Awards
[edit] Club Level
- Spanish League MVP ACB 2006-07
- Spanish League MVP ACB 2004-05
- Spanish Supercopa MVP 2005
- 2-time All-Euroleague First Team - Euroleague 2005-06, Euroleague 2006-07
- All-Euroleague Second Team - Euroleague 2004-05
- NBA All-Rookie First Team 2007-08
[edit] Argentine National Team
- 2007 FIBA Americas Championship MVP
- 2004 Olympics Basketball All-Tournament Team
[edit] Notes
- ^ Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ July 11, 2007
- ^ San Antonio's 2002 draft pick Scola signs with Rockets July 17, 2007
- ^ Scola buyout issue is resolved July 17, 2007
- ^ Kevin Durant Named T-Mobile Rookie of the Year
[edit] External links
- Euroleague.net Profile
- Scola at NBA.com
- (Spanish) ESPN Deportes interview
- ClutchFans.net Luis Scola Profile - Houston Rocket Fan Site
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