 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1951-11-09)9 November 1951 |
| Died | 3 October 1978(1978-10-03) (aged 26) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Soviet / Russian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 232 lb (105 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 1975: 10th round, 161st overall pick |
| Drafted by | New Orleans Jazz |
| Playing career | 1967–1978 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 4,14 |
| Career history | |
| 1967–1978 | Spartak Leningrad |
| Career highlights | |
As player
| |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
| FIBA Hall of Fame | |
Alexander Alexandrovich Belov, commonly known asSasha Belov[1] (November 9, 1951 – October 3, 1978), was a Sovietbasketball player. During his playing career, he played at thecenter position. Belov is most remembered for scoring the game-winning basket of thegold medal game of the1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games, which gave thegold medal to the seniorSoviet national team. In 1978, when just 26 years old, Belov died of cardiac sarcoma, a type of cancer.
Belov was named one ofFIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. He was enshrined into theFIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.[2] In 2018, he was named one of the 101 Greats of European Basketball.
Born inLeningrad, Belov was the star player ofSpartak Leningrad (later known as Spartak St. Petersburg), as he led theclub to theSoviet Union League title in 1975, and also to threeEuropean-wide 2nd-tier levelFIBA European Cup Winners' Cup (Saporta Cup) Finals (1971,1973, and1975). Including winning the title in both 1973 and 1975. During his club career, Belov was a two-timeFIBA European Selection (1971 and 1972).
In 2016, the club that Belov played for was renamed toKondrashin Belov, for a short time. The club was renamed in honor of both Belov, and the club's former head coachVladimir Kondrashin.
In the tenth round of the1975 NBA draft, theNew Orleans Jazz selected Belov with the 161st pick of the draft; like the vast majority of Soviet players drafted into North American sports leagues, he would never end up playing for the team that drafted him. It would not be until 1989, that the first Soviet player, Lithuanian-bornŠarūnas Marčiulionis, would play in theNational Basketball Association (NBA).
Belov won fourgold medals with the seniorSoviet Union national team. While representing the USSR, Belov won gold medals at the1969 EuroBasket, and the bronze medal at the1970 FIBA World Championship. He also won the gold medal at the1971 EuroBasket.
The highlight of Belov's career occurred during the1972 Summer Olympic Games, when he scored the game-winning basket in theOlympic Basketball Final againstTeam USA, which gave the Soviet Union the gold medal. After that, he won the gold medal at the1974 FIBA World Championship, the silver medal at the1975 EuroBasket, and the bronze medal at the1976 Summer Olympics.
Belov was born inLeningrad,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union, on 9 November 1951. Belov died in Leningrad, on 3 October 1978, at the age of 26. His cause of death was a very rare disease,cardiac sarcoma.[3]
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