Anderson Varejão
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Forward-Center |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Team | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Nationality |  Brazil |
| Born | September 28, 1982 Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo |
| Draft | 2nd round, 30th overall, 2004 Orlando Magic |
| Pro career | 2004 – present |
Anderson França Varejão (/vareʒɐ̃ũ/; born September 28, 1982 in Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo) is a Brazilian professional basketball player, who plays in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Varejão was selected by the Orlando Magic in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft (30th overall) and traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Drew Gooden and Steven Hunter in exchange for Tony Battie and two future second-round picks on July 23, 2004. He became a regular contributor for the Cavs, exciting fans and earning the nickname Wild Thing because of his energetic and relentless style of play. He also goes by the nickname of "Sideshow Bob" due to his haircut, which resembles the haircut of the Simpsons character by the same name.
In his rookie season, he ranked first in the league in efficiency with a 1.58 steals-per-turnover ratio, though his average playing time was just over 14 minutes per game over the course of the season.
On February 21st, 2006, fans at Quicken Loans Arena broke the Guinness World Record for "most people wearing wigs in a single venue" when 20,562 fans wore curly wigs given away before the game in celebration of Varejão's unique hairstyle. All fans in attendance were instructed to put the wigs on during a timeout.
As a big contributor during the Cavaliers' 2006 playoff run, Varejão grabbed 11.7 rebounds per 48 minutes. During the Conference Semifinal series against the Detroit Pistons, he shot over 80% from the free throw line and helped the Cavaliers win game 4 [1] of the series by drawing a charge from Chauncey Billups with 29 seconds left to play and by preventing Richard Hamilton from making a potentially game-winning shot.
[edit] 2006 FIBA World Championship incident
On August 23, 2006, Varejão, playing for the Brazilian national basketball team, committed a controversial foul [1] [2] [3] during a preliminary game of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece. The foul involved Varejão's left elbow hitting Greek point guard Nikos Zisis' cheekbone. The incident resulted in a triple fracture of Zisis' face which required reconstructive surgery. Because of the injury, Zisis was unable to play with the Greek team in the remainder of the tournament. The Greek Basketball Federation sought formal FIBA disciplinary procedures against Varejão.[citation needed]
The Brazilian player, however, has dismissed Zisis' allegations that the foul was malicious. He stated to the press that Zisis was unlucky and the he "should have known basketball is a contact sport[4]." Varejão also mentioned that there were three referees and that all of them saw the foul as unintentional. "When I saw how severe the injury was, I tried to apologise to him, but he turned his back on me," he said.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/features/optimist_FIBA_060825.html
- ^ http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/sports/special_packages/lebron_james/15350594.htm
- ^ http://youtube.com/watch?v=rg_ktTJvxYY&mode=related&search=
- ^ http://wwwd.gazetaesportiva.net/ge_noticias/bin/noticia.php?chid=107&nwid=19834
[edit] External links
- NBA.com Profile - Anderson Varejao
- Anderson Varejao Player Profile (InterBasket)
- Pronunciation
- Anderson Varejao Pictures, Videos, & News Articles
| 2004 NBA Draft | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Round Dwight Howard | Emeka Okafor | Ben Gordon | Shaun Livingston | Devin Harris | Josh Childress | Luol Deng | Rafael Araújo | Andre Iguodala | Luke Jackson | Andris Biedriņš | Robert Swift | Sebastian Telfair | Kris Humphries | Al Jefferson | Kirk Snyder | Josh Smith | J.R. Smith | Dorell Wright | Jameer Nelson | Pavel Podkolzine | Viktor Khryapa | Sergei Monia | Delonte West | Tony Allen | Kevin Martin | Sasha Vujačić | Beno Udrih | David Harrison |
||
| Second Round Anderson Varejão | Jackson Vroman | Peter John Ramos | Lionel Chalmers | Donta Smith | Andre Emmett | Antonio Burks | Royal Ivey | Chris Duhon | Albert Miralles | Justin Reed | David Young | Viktor Sanikidze | Trevor Ariza | Tim Pickett | Bernard Robinson | Ha Seung-Jin | Pape Sow | Ricky Minard | Sergei Lishouk | Vassilis Spanoulis | Christian Drejer | Romain Sato | Matt Freije | Rickey Paulding | Luis Flores | Marcus Douthit | Sergei Karaulov | Blake Stepp | Rashad Wright |
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