Eduardo Nájera
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Forward |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Team | Denver Nuggets |
| Nationality |  Mexico |
| Born | June 11, 1976 (age 30) Ciudad Meoqui, Chihuahua |
| College | Oklahoma |
| Draft | 2nd round, 38th overall, 2000 Houston Rockets |
| Pro career | 2000–present |
| Former teams | Dallas Mavericks (2000–2004) Golden State Warriors (2004–2005) |
Eduardo Alonso Nájera Pérez (born July 11, 1976 in Ciudad Meoqui, Chihuahua, Mexico) is a Mexican professional basketball player in the NBA, currently playing reserve forward for the Denver Nuggets. He is known for his rebounding and his tenacity on defense.
[edit] Basketball career
Najera is only the third Mexican-born player to join the NBA, and is hugely popular among both Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.
Najera played college basketball at the University of Oklahoma from 1997-2000, becoming a major star there. He helped the team to four consecutive NCAA tournament appearances during his college career, as well as finishing in the school's all-time top ten in nine statistical categories.
Najera helped Mexico achieve fourth place finishes in the 1999 World Games and World University Games.
He saw significant action as a member of the Dallas Mavericks in 2000-01 and 2001-02, but recurrent knee injuries limited his action in his last two years in Dallas.
He was then traded to the Golden State Warriors, where he put in modest minutes and was a solid contributor.
He was then sent to the Nuggets, where he has flourished despite injuries.
On April 27, 2006, Najera started his first playoff game for the Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round series facing the Los Angeles Clippers. He replaced Kenyon Martin who was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team".
He was partly involved in the December 2006 Knicks-Nuggets brawl. While not involved in the actual fighting, he did try to separate the players. He was ejected from the game.
[edit] Off the court
In 2004, Najera established the Eduardo Najera Foundation for Latino Achievement, which provides college scholarships for outstanding Latino students facing barriers to their educations.
In 2001, Najera served as the United Nations Drug Control Programme Goodwill Ambassador for Sports Against Drugs.
In 2000, Najera received the Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame, an award given to a player who has demonstrated personal character both on and off the court.
[edit] External link
| 2000 NBA Draft | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Round Kenyon Martin | Stromile Swift | Darius Miles | Marcus Fizer | Mike Miller | DerMarr Johnson | Chris Mihm | Jamal Crawford | Joel Przybilla | Keyon Dooling | Jérome Moïso | Etan Thomas | Courtney Alexander | Mateen Cleaves | Jason Collier | Hidayet Türkoğlu | Desmond Mason | Quentin Richardson | Jamaal Magloire | Speedy Claxton | Morris Peterson | Donnell Harvey | DeShawn Stevenson | Dalibor Bagarić | Jake Tsakalidis | Mamadou N'diaye | Primož Brezec | Erick Barkley | Mark Madsen |
||
| Second Round Marko Jarić | Dan Langhi | A. J. Guyton | Jake Voskuhl | Khalid El-Amin | Mike Smith | Soumaila Samake | Eddie House | Eduardo Nájera | Lavor Postell | Hanno Möttölä | Chris Carrawell | Olumide Oyedeji | Michael Redd | Brian Cardinal | Jabari Smith | DeeAndre Hulett | Josip Sesar | Mark Karcher | Jason Hart | Kaniel Dickens | Igor Rakočević | Ernest Brown | Dan McClintock | Cory Hightower | Chris Porter | Jaquay Walls | Scoonie Penn | Pete Mickeal |
