Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa[a] (born 30 April 1980) is an Argentine formerbasketball player and thechief executive officer for the ItalianLega Basket Serie A (LBA) teamPallacanestro Varese. A three-timeAll-EuroLeague selection withTau Ceramica, he signed with theHouston Rockets in 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 team since 1999, winning an Olympic gold medal in2004 and a bronze medal in2008.
In 2010, Scola won theKonex Award Merit Diploma as one of the five best basketball players from the last decade in Argentina. He was honored as thenational flag bearer at the2016 Summer Olympics.
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 league during the 1995–96 season at age 15.
After the 1997–98 basketball season in the Argentine League, Scola moved to Spain and signed withSaski Baskonia. He wasloaned toGijón Baloncesto, where he helped the thenSpanish League Second Division club achievepromotion to theSpanish League First Division. He then was loaned back to Gijón through the1999–2000 season before arriving at Baskonia, where he played for seven seasons.
WithSaski Baskonia, Scola reached theEuroLeagueFinals in the2000–01 season, and three consecutiveEuroLeague Final Fours, between 2005 and 2007. His outstanding performances earned him anAll-EuroLeague Second Team selection in2005, as well as two All-EuroLeague First Team selections in2006 and2007.
Although Scola did not win the EuroLeague championship with Baskonia, he did win with them every major Spanish League title, winning aSpanish ACB League championship in 2002, threeSpanish King's Cups in 2002, 2004, 2006, and threeSpanish Supercups in 2005, 2006, 2007.
In the summer of 2005, theSan Antonio Spurs of 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 Ginóbili in 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 team teammate 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 Award voting[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 lockout ended, and players could move between teams, the Rockets, theLos Angeles Lakers and theNew Orleans Hornets agreed to a trade that would have sent Scola, along withGoran Dragić,Kevin Martin, andLamar Odom to 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 Stern nullified the trade.[7]
On July 13, 2012, he was waived by the Rockets using the league'samnesty clause to providesalary cap relief.[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-Star centerDwight Howard. Howard was instead traded to theLos Angeles Lakers, but the Rockets used their cap space to gain formerOklahoma City ThunderSixth Man of the Year shooting guard and Olympic gold medalistJames Harden.
On July 15, 2012, Scola was claimed off amnesty waivers by thePhoenix Suns.[10] Reportedly, theDallas Mavericks and theCleveland Cavaliers were 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.
On July 27, 2013, the Suns traded Scola to theIndiana Pacers in exchange forGerald Green,Miles Plumlee, and a 2014 first-round draft pick (Bogdan Bogdanović).[14] In his two seasons for the Pacers, he played a back-up power forward role toDavid West as he started just 18 games over his two-year stint, while helping the team reach theEastern Conference Finals in2014.
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 Finals in2016 for the first time in franchise history.
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]
On July 9, 2017, Scola signed with theShanxi Brave Dragons of theChinese Basketball Association.[20]
On August 10, 2018, Scola signed with theShanghai Sharks of theChinese Basketball Association.[21]
On September 29, 2019,Olimpia Milano head coach,Ettore Messina, during the press conference of the 2nd round match of the2019–20 LBA season lost 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]
On July 1, 2020, Scola announced that he would play at least one year more before retirement and signed withPallacanestro Varese of theLBA for the2020–21 season with an option to extend for the following year.[24]
On November 3, 2023, Scola's jersey number 4 was retired bySaski Baskonia.[25]
On September 20, 2021,Pallacanestro Varese announced that Scola would re-join them asChief executive officer.[26]
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.
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 Championship and the bronze medal at the2013 FIBA Americas Championship among other titles. At the2015 FIBA Americas Championship tournament, Scola becamethe all-time leading scorer inFIBA AmeriCup history 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 againstBrazil in the round of 16, therefore beatingAlberto Desimone's 35 points scored againstMexico in1963).[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 againstNigeria in 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 toSlovenia in the preliminary round of the2020 Olympics in 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]
Gold Gold
Silver
Bronze Gold Bronze Gold Silver Silver Gold Silver Gold Bronze Bronze Gold Bronze Silver Silver Gold Silver| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| * | 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 | |
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 Olympics inBuenos Aires.[34]
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flagbearer for ArgentinaRio de Janeiro 2016 | Succeeded by |
Argentina squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
