 Sefolosha with theHouston Rockets in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1984-05-02)2 May 1984 (age 41) Vevey, Switzerland |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2006: 1st round, 13th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Playing career | 2001–2023 |
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward |
| Number | 2, 25, 22, 18 |
| Career history | |
| 2001–2002 | Tege Riviera |
| 2002–2005 | Élan Chalon |
| 2005–2006 | Angelico Biella |
| 2006–2009 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2009–2014 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2011 | →Fenerbahçe Ülker |
| 2014–2017 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2017–2019 | Utah Jazz |
| 2019–2020 | Houston Rockets |
| 2023 | Vevey Riviera Basket |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 4,994 (5.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,252 (3.7 rpg) |
| Steals | 935 (1.1 spg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Thabo Patrick Sefolosha (/ˈtɑːboʊˌsɛfəˈloʊʃə/; born 2 May 1984) is a Swiss former professionalbasketball player. He played in theNational Basketball Association (NBA), theTurkish Basketball League,LNB Pro A, andLega Basket Serie A. In 2006, Sefolosha became the first player from Switzerland to play in the NBA, and in 2013, he was labelled the best Swiss basketball player of all time by Swiss newspaperFreiburger Nachrichten.[1]
Sefolosha was born inVevey, Switzerland to Patrick Sefolosha, a Black South African musician, andChristine Sefolosha (née Beck), a Swiss artist. Sefolosha speaks French, Italian, and English.[2]
Sefolosha was invited to join the junior Swiss national basketball team, and at age 17, he began a professional career withVevey Riviera Basket, in Switzerland's top domestic league.[2] On a team trip to France, Sefolosha was approached by a French talent scout to play withÉlan Chalon in the premier pro league in France.[2]
Sefolosha spent his first year inChalon-sur-Saône playing with the junior under-21 squad, which traveled alongside the senior club. The following year (2002–03), he earned a rotation spot on the senior club, where he played 30 games and averaged 4.0points, 3.5rebounds and 1.0assists per game.[2]
The following season, Sefolosha earned a starting spot on the senior team, which he helped lead to a third-place finish in the French league, where his team advanced to theplayoffs semifinals. During the season, Sefolosha averaged 9.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0steal in 30.7 minutes per game.[2]
Before the start of his fourth season with Élan Chalon, a contract dispute between Sefolosha and the team arose. Sefolosha's agent and the team president could not reach an agreement on a new contract, so Sefolosha signed with Italian teamAngelico Biella. "Last summer, I had the chance to re-negotiate my contract with the club. We were supposed to reach an agreement, but when my agent and the president started talking, they couldn't agree on a contract. They wanted to keep me, but at the same time I had this offer from Italy. That's when I decided that the best thing for my career was to play in Biella. Yes, there was a little bit of trouble, but in the end it was OK."[3]
Sefolosha was taken with the 13th pick of the2006 NBA draft by thePhiladelphia 76ers and promptly traded to theChicago Bulls for the 16th pick (Rodney Carney), and cash considerations.[4] In an article on Bulls.com, Sefolosha was quoted saying "I was certainly surprised (at the draft) when someone came up and said that I was the next to be picked. I thought maybe he had made a mistake or something. But a few minutes later he came back and told me that not only was I going to be picked, but that I was going to be traded to Chicago, which really got me excited."[2]
Bulls head coachScott Skiles cited Sefolosha's wingspan and past pro basketball experience as reasons why the Bulls were interested in him. "Thabo's got great physical gifts that, frankly, a lot of guys in the league just don't have. He's got tremendous length and has really quick hands, he grabs your attention whenever you watch him play. It's easy to see that he knows what he's doing out there. You can tell he likes to play defense, too. He's eager to get after it."[2]
After the NBA summer leagues finished,ESPN asked several NBA talent scouts and executives to rank the summer league players, and Sefolosha scored high. "He excelled at just about everything," reported one of the professionals. "Thabo Sefolosha showed that he's going to be able to step in right away and contribute to the Bulls."[2]
On February 19, 2009, the trade deadline, Sefolosha was traded by the Bulls to theOklahoma City Thunder for Denver's2009 first-round draft pick, which Chicago used to draftTaj Gibson.[5] Sefolosha was selected to theAll-NBA Defensive Second Team for the2009–10 NBA season.[citation needed]
In October 2011, during the2011 NBA lockout, Sefolosha signed withFenerbahçe Ülker in Turkey, but only forEuroleague matches. His deal had an out-clause that allowed him to return to Oklahoma City at the end of the lockout.[6] He played seven games with Fenerbahçe Ülker during the2011–12 Euroleague season.
In 2012, Sefolosha and the Thunder reached the NBA Finals, but were defeated by theMiami Heat in five games.[citation needed]
Sefolosha was a permanent member of the starting five, including in the Thunder's run to the finals. Starting as shooting guard, beforeJames Harden (who came off the bench), Sefolosha received major playing time mainly due to his defensive abilities.[citation needed]
.jpg)
On July 15, 2014, Sefolosha was acquired by theAtlanta Hawks in a sign-and-trade deal, along with rights toGiorgos Printezis, in exchange for the rights toSofoklis Schortsanitis.[7] On January 31, 2015, he was ruled out for six to eight weeks with a strained right calf.[8] On April 9, Sefolosha was ruled out for the rest of the regular season due to a fractured tibia suffered while being arrested by members of theNew York City Police Department.[9]
On July 18, 2017, Sefolosha signed a multi-year deal with theUtah Jazz.[10] On January 12, 2018, in Utah's 99–88 loss to theCharlotte Hornets, Sefolosha suffered a rightMCL injury.[11] He underwent season-ending surgery five days later.[12] On April 3, 2018, Sefolosha was suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.[13]
On September 23, 2019, Sefolosha signed a one-year deal with theHouston Rockets.[14][15]
Sefolosha announced his retirement from professional basketball on March 31, 2021.[16][17]
Despite announcing his retirement two years prior, Sefolosha signed with the Swiss teamVevey Riviera Basket,[18] returning to the club where he first played professionally.
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance index rating |
| Bold | Career high | * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Chicago | 71 | 4 | 12.2 | .426 | .357 | .511 | 2.2 | .8 | .5 | .2 | 3.6 |
| 2007–08 | Chicago | 69 | 22 | 20.8 | .428 | .330 | .721 | 3.7 | 1.9 | .9 | .4 | 6.7 |
| 2008–09 | Chicago | 43 | 14 | 17.1 | .434 | .300 | .840 | 2.9 | 1.5 | .8 | .4 | 4.5 |
| 2008–09 | Oklahoma City | 23 | 22 | 31.1 | .417 | .243 | .833 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 8.5 |
| 2009–10 | Oklahoma City | 82* | 82* | 28.6 | .440 | .313 | .674 | 4.7 | 1.8 | 1.2 | .6 | 6.0 |
| 2010–11 | Oklahoma City | 79 | 79 | 25.9 | .471 | .275 | .747 | 4.4 | 1.4 | 1.2 | .5 | 5.1 |
| 2011–12 | Oklahoma City | 42 | 42 | 21.8 | .432 | .437 | .884 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .9 | .4 | 4.8 |
| 2012–13 | Oklahoma City | 81 | 81 | 27.5 | .481 | .419 | .826 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | .5 | 7.6 |
| 2013–14 | Oklahoma City | 61 | 61 | 26.0 | .415 | .316 | .768 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | .3 | 6.3 |
| 2014–15 | Atlanta | 52 | 7 | 18.8 | .418 | .321 | .776 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | .4 | 5.3 |
| 2015–16 | Atlanta | 75 | 11 | 23.4 | .505 | .339 | .626 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 1.1 | .5 | 6.4 |
| 2016–17 | Atlanta | 62 | 42 | 25.7 | .441 | .342 | .733 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | .5 | 7.2 |
| 2017–18 | Utah | 38 | 6 | 21.2 | .492 | .381 | .815 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 1.4 | .3 | 8.2 |
| 2018–19 | Utah | 50 | 2 | 12.2 | .477 | .436 | .636 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.9 | .1 | 3.8 |
| 2019–20 | Houston | 41 | 0 | 10.6 | .407 | .278 | .375 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | .3 | 2.2 |
| Career | 869 | 475 | 21.9 | .449 | .349 | .732 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 1.1 | .4 | 5.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Chicago | 9 | 0 | 11.0 | .385 | .375 | .583 | 1.9 | .8 | .2 | .0 | 3.3 |
| 2010 | Oklahoma City | 6 | 6 | 21.2 | .296 | .231 | .889 | 3.0 | 1.2 | .8 | 1.0 | 4.5 |
| 2011 | Oklahoma City | 17 | 17 | 20.2 | .463 | .154 | 1.000 | 3.1 | .7 | .9 | .3 | 4.6 |
| 2012 | Oklahoma City | 20 | 20 | 22.3 | .402 | .327 | .889 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 1.5 | .5 | 5.3 |
| 2013 | Oklahoma City | 11 | 11 | 27.3 | .344 | .316 | .818 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .5 | 5.7 |
| 2014 | Oklahoma City | 13 | 13 | 17.5 | .415 | .261 | .800 | 2.1 | .7 | .8 | .0 | 4.2 |
| 2016 | Atlanta | 10 | 2 | 20.3 | .478 | .368 | .533 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .6 | 5.9 |
| 2017 | Atlanta | 4 | 0 | 2.3 | .000 | - | .250 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .3 |
| 2019 | Utah | 4 | 0 | 10.5 | .143 | .125 | - | 2.0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 |
| Career | 96 | 69 | 18.8 | .396 | .283 | .744 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .9 | .3 | 4.4 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Fenerbahçe | 7 | 6 | 26.9 | .529 | .500 | .633 | 6.0 | .9 | 2.1 | .4 | 11.4 | 14.3 |
| Career | 7 | 6 | 26.9 | .529 | .500 | .633 | 6.0 | .9 | 2.1 | .4 | 11.4 | 14.3 | |
On April 8, 2015, Sefolosha and teammatePero Antić were arrested outside a nightclub in New York City for allegedly interfering with police afterChris Copeland of theIndiana Pacers was stabbed in the abdomen following an argument.[19] During the altercation, the NYPD officers broke Sefolosha's right leg, shutting him down for the rest of the season.[20] He underwent surgery on April 16, to repair a fractured tibia and ligament damage.[21]
The prosecution offered Sefolosha aplea bargain, which would have involved a dismissal of the charges after six months, but Sefolosha refused it on September 9, 2015, even though his attorney,Alex Spiro, urged him to take it.[22] Sefolosha said that he wanted to let the case proceed to trial instead; at the same time, charges against Antić were dropped.[23] Sefolosha's court hearing was set on October 5.[24] Four days later, aManhattan jury found him not guilty of all three misdemeanor charges:obstructing government administration,disorderly conduct andresisting arrest.[25] On October 21, Sefolosha announced that he would be suing the city of New York as well as eight police officers for up to $50 million in damages.[26] On April 9, 2017, it was announced Sefolosha had settled with the NYPD for $4 million, a "substantial portion" of which he donated toGideon's Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educatingpublic defenders.[27]
In October 2017, Sefolosha revealed that he saved a woman the previous month from drowning while he and his family were on a rafting trip down theProvo River.[28]
