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Luis Scola

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisScolaand the second or maternal family name isBalvoa.

Luis Scola
Scola with theOlimpia Milanoin 2019
Personal information
Born(1980-04-30)30 April 1980(age 44)
Buenos Aires,Argentina
NationalityArgentine / Spanish[1]
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2002:2nd round, 56th overall pick
Selected by theSan Antonio Spurs
Playing career1995–2021
PositionPower forward
Number4, 14, 40
Career history
1995–1998Ferro Carril Oeste
1998–2007Tau Ceramica
1998–2000→Gijón
2007–2012Houston Rockets
2012–2013Phoenix Suns
2013–2015Indiana Pacers
2015–2016Toronto Raptors
2016–2017Brooklyn Nets
2017–2018Shanxi Brave Dragons
2018–2019Shanghai Sharks
2019–2020Olimpia Milano
2020–2021Varese
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points8,882 (12.0 ppg)
Rebounds4,941 (6.7 rpg)
Assists1,194 (1.6 apg)
StatsEdit this at Wikidataat NBA.com
Statsat Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 1
FIBA World Cup 0 2 0
FIBA Diamond Ball 1 0 1
FIBA AmeriCup 2 4 3
Pan American Games 1 0 0
Total 5 6 5
Men'sbasketball
RepresentingArgentina
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2002 Indianapolis
Silver medal – second place 2019 China
FIBA Diamond Ball
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Belgrade
Gold medal – first place 2008 Nanjing
FIBA AmeriCup
Gold medal – first place 2001 Neuquén
Gold medal – first place 2011 Mar del Plata
Silver medal – second place 2003 San Juan
Silver medal – second place 2007 Las Vegas
Silver medal – second place 2015 Mexico City
Silver medal – second place 2017 Argentina
Bronze medal – third place 1999 San Juan
Bronze medal – third place 2009 San Juan
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Caracas
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima

Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa(born 30 April 1980) is an Argentine former professionalbasketballplayer and current executive who currently serves as thechief executive officerfor the ItalianLega Basket Serie A(LBA) teamPallacanestro Varese.A three-timeAll-EuroLeagueselection withTau Ceramica,he signed with theHouston Rocketsin 2007 and was voted to theNBA All-Rookie First Team.He also played for thePhoenix Suns,Indiana Pacers,Toronto Raptors,andBrooklyn Nets.

Scola has been a regular member of theArgentina national basketball teamsince 1999, winning an Olympic gold medal in2004and a bronze medal in2008.

In 2010, Scola won theKonex AwardMerit Diploma as one of the five best basketball players from the last decade in Argentina. He was honored as thenational flag bearerat the2016 Summer Olympics.

Professional career[edit]

Ferro Carril Oeste (1995–1998)[edit]

Scola started his career with the Buenos Aires youth teams ofFerro Carril Oeste.He made his professional debut with the same club's pro team in theArgentine leagueduring the 1995–96 season at age 15.

Gijón (1998–2000)[edit]

After the 1997–98 basketball season in the Argentine League, Scola moved to Spain and signed withSaski Baskonia.He wasloanedtoGijón Baloncesto,where he helped the thenSpanish League Second Divisionclub achievepromotionto theSpanish League First Division.He then was loaned back to Gijón through the1999–2000 seasonbefore arriving at Baskonia, where he played for seven seasons.

Baskonia (2000–2007)[edit]

WithSaski Baskonia,Scola reached theEuroLeagueFinalsin the2000–01season, and three consecutiveEuroLeague Final Fours,between 2005 and 2007. His outstanding performances earned him anAll-EuroLeagueSecond Team selection in2005,as well as two All-EuroLeague First Team selections in2006and2007.

Although Scola did not win the EuroLeague championship with Baskonia, he did win with them every major Spanish League title, winning aSpanish ACB Leaguechampionship in 2002, threeSpanish King's Cupsin 2002, 2004, 2006, and threeSpanish Supercupsin 2005, 2006, 2007.

Houston Rockets (2007–2012)[edit]

In the summer of 2005, theSan Antonio Spursof theNBA(who drafted Scola in2002) attempted to negotiate with Baskonia to buy out his contract. The teams settled on a number of over $3 million for the buyout of the contract. This made it difficult for Scola to join fellow Argentina national team memberManu Ginóbiliin San Antonio because of the NBA's rule, which limits teams to paying no more than $500,000 of a player's buyout.[2]Scola would have been responsible for paying Baskonia the remaining $2.5 million amount of the buyout. When the deal to buy out Scola's contract fell through, the Spurs instead signed anArgentine national teamteammate and friend of Scola's,Fabricio Oberto.

On July 12, 2007, the Spurs traded the rights to Scola, along withcenter-forwardJackie Butler,to theHouston Rockets,in return forVassilis Spanoulis,a future second-round draft pick, and cash considerations. He signed with the Rockets soon after[3]and his US$3.2 million buyout was completed a few days later.[4][5]Scola signed a three-year contract with the Rockets at a salary of $9.5 million. Scola placed third in the NBA 2007–08Rookie of the Year Awardvoting[6]and he was also named to theNBA All-Rookie First Team.On March 13, 2010, he scored a career-high 44 points against theNew Jersey Nets.

On the afternoon of December 8, 2011, the day before the2011 NBA lockoutended, and players could move between teams, the Rockets, theLos Angeles Lakersand theNew Orleans Hornetsagreed to a trade that would have sent Scola, along withGoran Dragić,Kevin Martin,andLamar Odomto the Hornets. In exchange, the Rockets would have receivedPau Gasol,and the Lakers would have received star point guardChris Paul.After other team owners voiced their opposition that night, league commissionerDavid Sternnullified the trade.[7]

On July 13, 2012, he was waived by the Rockets using the league'samnesty clauseto providesalary caprelief.[8]It was widely noted,[9]however, that Scola was not cut due to a lack of performance; rather, the deal was an attempt to clear cap space for the Rockets to trade for formerOrlando MagicAll-StarcenterDwight Howard.Howard was instead traded to theLos Angeles Lakers,but the Rockets used their cap space to gain formerOklahoma City ThunderSixth Man of the Yearshooting guard and Olympic gold medalistJames Harden.

Phoenix Suns (2012–2013)[edit]

Scola with theSunsin December 2012

On July 15, 2012, Scola was claimed off amnesty waivers by thePhoenix Suns.[10]Reportedly, theDallas Mavericksand theCleveland Cavalierswere also interested in acquiring him during the amnesty process.[11][12]On November 21, 2012, he was relegated to playing off the bench for the first time in his NBA career since the start of his rookie season. He regained his starting spot less than a month later, and on December 29, he scored a season-high 33 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.[13]While Scola did become a leader for the Suns, he finished the season with declining averages, as his 12.8 points per game were his lowest since the 2008–09 season.

Indiana Pacers (2013–2015)[edit]

On July 27, 2013, the Suns traded Scola to theIndiana Pacersin exchange forGerald Green,Miles Plumlee,and a future first-round draft pick.[14]In his two seasons for the Pacers, he played a back-up power forward role toDavid Westas he started just 18 games over his two-year stint, while helping the team reach theEastern Conference Finalsin2014.

Toronto Raptors (2015–2016)[edit]

On July 15, 2015, Scola signed with theToronto Raptors.[15]He made his debut for the Raptors in their season opener on October 28, recording eight rebounds while taking no field goal attempts in a 106–99 win over the Indiana Pacers.[16]He helped the Raptors make theEastern Conference Finalsin2016for the first time in franchise history.

Brooklyn Nets (2016–2017)[edit]

On July 13, 2016, Scola signed with theBrooklyn Nets.[17]He made his debut for the Nets in their season opener on October 26, scoring eight points in a 122–117 loss to theBoston Celtics.[18]

Scola's final NBA game was played on February 13, 2017, in a 103 - 112 loss to theMemphis Grizzlies,where he recorded four assists and four rebounds but no points in 15 minutes of playing time. On February 27, 2017, he was waived by the Nets.[19]

Shanxi Brave Dragons (2017–2018)[edit]

On July 9, 2017, Scola signed with theShanxi Brave Dragonsof theChinese Basketball Association.[20]

Shanghai Sharks (2018–2019)[edit]

On August 10, 2018, Scola signed with theShanghai Sharksof theChinese Basketball Association.[21]

Olimpia Milano (2019–2020)[edit]

On September 29, 2019,Olimpia Milanohead coach,Ettore Messina,during the press conference of the 2nd round match of the2019–20 LBA seasonlost againstGermani Basket Brescia,announced that Scola had signed with the team for the rest of season.[22]On June 11, 2020, Scola leftOlimpia Milano.[23]

Varese (2020–2021)[edit]

On July 1, 2020, Scola announced that he would play at least one year more before retirement and signed withPallacanestro Vareseof theLBAfor the2020–21 seasonwith an option to extend for the following year.[24]

Retirement[edit]

On November 3, 2023, Scola's jersey number 4 was retired bySaski Baskonia.[25]

Post-playing career[edit]

On September 20, 2021,Pallacanestro Vareseannounced that Scola would re-join them asChief executive officer.[26]

National team career[edit]

Junior national team[edit]

Scola (left) with theArgentine national team,2010

With Argentina's junior national teams, Scola won the gold medal at the 1995 South American Cadet Championship, the gold medal at the 1996 South American Junior Championship, the gold medal at the 2000FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship,and the bronze medal at the 2001FIBA Under-21 World Cup.

Senior national team[edit]

As a member of the seniorArgentina national team,Scola has won multiple medals: the silver medal at the 1999South American Championship,the bronze medal at the1999 FIBA Americas Championship,the gold medal at the2001 FIBA Americas Championship,the silver medal at the2002 FIBA World Championship,the silver medal at the2003 FIBA Americas Championship,the gold medal at the2004 Summer Olympics,the silver medal at the2007 FIBA Americas Championship,the bronze medal at the2008 Summer Olympics,the bronze medal at the2009 FIBA Americas Championship,the gold medal at the2011 FIBA Americas Championshipand the bronze medal at the2013 FIBA Americas Championshipamong other titles. At the2015 FIBA Americas Championshiptournament, Scola becamethe all-time leading scorerinFIBA AmeriCuphistory and won his4th tournament MVP.

Scola broke two records of the Argentina national team at theFIBA World Cup,during the2010 edition:top overall scorer for Argentina at a World Cup (beatingErnesto Gehrmann's 331 points)[27]and most points scored for Argentina in one game at a World Cup (scoring 37 againstBrazilin the round of 16, therefore beatingAlberto Desimone's 35 points scored againstMexicoin1963).[28]

In 2019, at 39 years old, he was part of the team that won the gold medal at thePan American Games.

At the2019 FIBA World Cup,he scored 135 points and 57 rebounds in the seven matches en route to the final. Scola scored 23 points againstNigeriain a preliminary round of the 2019 World Cup game at Wuhan, giving him a total of 611 points in his World Cup career. With this, Scola passedAndrew Gaze's total of 594 and is now second only to Brazilian scoring great Oscar Schmidt's 906 points in the tournament.[29]

Scola scored a team-high 23 points in a loss toSloveniain the preliminary round of the2020 Olympicsin Tokyo.

Play was paused during Scola's final game at the 2020 Summer Olympics when his Argentinian team was playing Australia. With less than a minute left in the game, Scola was checked out, and players from both teams, coaches, and those in the stadium gave him a standing ovation out of respect. The referees allowed this pause in the game as they understood the importance of the occasion.[30]

Titles and medals[edit]

Club level[edit]

Argentina national team[edit]

Awards[edit]

Club level[edit]

Argentina junior national team[edit]

Argentina senior national team[edit]

Career statistics[edit]

Legend
GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
FG% Field-goalpercentage 3P% 3-point field-goalpercentage FT% Free-throwpercentage
RPG Reboundsper game APG Assistsper game SPG Stealsper game
BPG Blocksper game PPG Points per game PIR Performance Index Rating
Bold Career high

NBA[edit]

* Led the league

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Houston 82* 39 24.7 .515 .000 .668 6.4 1.3 .7 .2 10.3
2008–09 Houston 82* 82* 30.3 .531 .000 .760 8.8 1.5 .8 .1 12.7
2009–10 Houston 82* 82* 32.6 .514 .200 .779 8.6 2.1 .8 .3 16.2
2010–11 Houston 74 74 32.6 .504 .000 .738 8.2 2.5 .6 .6 18.3
2011–12 Houston 66* 66* 31.3 .491 .000 .773 6.5 2.1 .5 .4 15.5
2012–13 Phoenix 82* 67 26.6 .473 .188 .787 6.6 2.2 .8 .4 12.8
2013–14 Indiana 82 2 17.1 .470 .143 .728 4.8 1.0 .3 .2 7.6
2014–15 Indiana 81 16 20.5 .467 .250 .699 6.5 1.3 .6 .2 9.4
2015–16 Toronto 76 76 21.5 .450 .404 .726 4.7 .9 .6 .4 8.7
2016–17 Brooklyn 36 1 12.8 .470 .340 .676 3.9 1.0 .4 .1 5.1
Career 743 505 25.6 .493 .339 .740 6.7 1.6 .6 .3 12.0

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 Houston 6 6 36.7 .448 .000 .686 9.3 1.3 .7 .2 14.0
2009 Houston 13 13 32.6 .494 .000 .673 8.4 1.8 .5 .2 14.4
2014 Indiana 17 0 13.9 .465 .333 .591 2.5 .5 .4 .2 6.1
2016 Toronto 11 9 12.7 .258 .190 .727 1.6 .6 .3 .0 2.5
Career 48 28 21.4 .454 .200 .667 4.7 1.0 .4 .1 8.5

EuroLeague[edit]

* Led the league
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2000–01 Baskonia 22 5 18.3 .547 .000 .538 4.4 .7 1.0 .1 8.7 7.0
2001–02 20 3 23.7 .689 .333 .670 4.6 1.1 1.3 .3 15.9 16.8
2002–03 16 9 24.7 .546 — .677 5.0 1.3 .9 .3 15.1 13.0
2003–04 14 6 28.8 .604 — .765 6.1 2.4 1.4 .4 15.2 16.8
2004–05 24 21 24.7 .564 .000 .676 6.5 1.9 1.3 .7 15.1 16.9
2005–06 25 24 28.6 .536 .000 .679 6.7 2.2 1.6 .8 14.8 18.8
2006–07 23 18 26.5 .573 .000 .708 5.9 2.2 .9 .3 15.5 17.9
2019–20 Milano 28* 24 19.2 .454 .353 .655 4.4 1.1 .5 .1 9.2 8.5
Career 172 110 24.5 .560 .316 .670 5.4 1.6 1.1 .4 13.4 14.3

Personal life[edit]

Scola and his wife, fellow Argentine Pamela, have four children together.[31][32]He also holds a Spanish passport.[33]

On July 18, 2017, Scola was named as an ambassador for the2018 Summer Youth OlympicsinBuenos Aires.[34]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"BOE.es - BOE-A-2001-3181 Resolución de 16 de enero de 2001, de la Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado, por la que, en cumplimiento de lo dispuesto en el artículo 223 del Reglamento del Registro Civil, se acuerda publicar la relación de concesiones y aprobaciones de nacionalidad durante el segundo semestre de 2000".
  2. ^Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ.ArchivedJuly 22, 2010, at theWayback MachineJuly 11, 2007
  3. ^San Antonio's 2002 draft pick Scola signs with Rockets.July 17, 2007
  4. ^Scola's NBA dream realized with trade to Rockets- Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle, July 14, 2007,
  5. ^Scola buyout issue is resolved.July 17, 2007
  6. ^Kevin Durant Named T-Mobile Rookie of the Year.Nba.com (May 1, 2008).
  7. ^Wojnarowski, Adrian(December 9, 2011)."Teams still pushing for Paul trade".Yahoo! Sports.
  8. ^"Suns claim Luis Scola off waiver wire, amnesty Josh Childress".SI.com.Associated Press. July 16, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on July 19, 2012.
  9. ^Bill Simmons (August 10, 2012)."The London Chronicles, Vol. 6: The Mailbag That Wasn't".Grantland.com.
  10. ^Young, Royce. (July 15, 2012)Suns claim Luis Scola off waiver wire, amnesty Josh Childress.CBSSports.com.
  11. ^Suns make winning bid for Luis Scola – Dallas Mavericks Blog – ESPN Dallas.Espn.go.com.
  12. ^Holler, Doug (July 15, 2012)."Phoenix Suns acquire Luis Scola in auction".The Arizona Republic.AZCentral.com.
  13. ^Luis Scola 2012-13 Game Log
  14. ^"Pacers Acquire Luis Scola; Send Green, Plumlee, Future No. 1 Pick to Suns".NBA.com.July 27, 2013.
  15. ^"Raptors Sign Luis Scola".NBA.com.July 15, 2015.RetrievedJuly 15,2015.
  16. ^"DeRozan scores 25, Lowry has 23, Raptors beat Pacers 106-99".NBA.com.October 28, 2015.RetrievedOctober 28,2015.
  17. ^"Brooklyn Nets Sign Luis Scola and Greivis Vasquez".NBA.com.July 13, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon July 19, 2016.RetrievedJuly 14,2016.
  18. ^"Thomas scores 25, Celtics fight off Nets 122-117".ESPN.com.October 26, 2016.RetrievedOctober 27,2016.
  19. ^"BROOKLYN NETS WAIVE LUIS SCOLA".NBA.com.February 27, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 27,2017.
  20. ^"Luis Scola signs in China with Shanxi".Sportando.com.July 9, 2017.RetrievedJuly 9,2017.
  21. ^"Luis Scola signs at Sharks".asia-basket.com.August 10, 2018.RetrievedAugust 10,2018.
  22. ^"L'Olimpia annuncia l'arrivo di Luis Scola"(in Italian). olimpiamilano.com. September 29, 2019.
  23. ^"GIORGIO ARMANI THANKS LUIS SCOLA:" IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO HAVE HIM ON OUR TEAM, I HOPE TO SEE HIM AT THE OLYMPICS "".olimpiamilano.com.June 11, 2020.RetrievedJune 11,2020.
  24. ^"LUIS SCOLA È UN NUOVO GIOCATORE BIANCOROSSO"(in Italian). pallacanestrovarese.it. July 1, 2020.
  25. ^"Baskonia to honor Luis Scola with jersey retirement ceremony".basketnews.com.RetrievedMay 7,2024.
  26. ^"LUIS SCOLA NUOVO AMMINISTRATORE DELEGATO DEL CLUB BIANCOROSSO".pallacanestrovarese.it(in Italian). September 20, 2021.
  27. ^Hernán Sartori (September 3, 2010)."Scola, el goleador que lidera la esperanza".Clarín(in Spanish).RetrievedSeptember 8,2010.
  28. ^Pablo Cormick (September 7, 2010)."Argentina, con inteligencia y carácter".ESPNDeportes(in Spanish).RetrievedSeptember 8,2010.
  29. ^Reynolds, Tim (September 3, 2019)."Gaze surpassed on all-time scoring list as Boomers prepare to face Senegal".The Sydney Morning Herald.RetrievedAugust 5,2021.
  30. ^Australia, Basketball (August 4, 2021)."Spontaneous applause for defeated veteran an unexpected highlight of the Tokyo Olympics".ABC News.RetrievedAugust 5,2021.
  31. ^"Five Things to Know About Luis Scola".NBA.com.July 30, 2013.RetrievedMay 26,2014.
  32. ^"Luis Scola's wife Pamela Scola".PlayerWives.com.May 24, 2014.RetrievedMay 26,2014.
  33. ^"Luis Scola".ABC.com(in Spanish). Archived fromthe originalon July 19, 2016.RetrievedJuly 26,2017.
  34. ^"Olympic basketball champion Scola named Buenos Aires 2018 ambassador".

External links[edit]

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