Raül López

For the Spanish footballer, see Raúl López González.
Raül López

No. 31 – Bilbao Basket
Position Point guard
League Liga ACB
Eurocup
Personal information
Born (1980-04-15) April 15, 1980
Vic, Spain
Nationality Spanish
Listed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2001 / Round: 1 / Pick: 24th overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career 1998–present
Career history
1998–2000 DKV Joventut
2000–2002 Real Madrid
2002–2005 Utah Jazz
2005–2006 Akasvayu Girona
2006–2009 Real Madrid
2009–2011 Khimki Moscow Region
2011–present Bilbao Basket
Medals
Competitor for  Spain
Men's Basketball
Summer Olympics
2008 Beijing National Team
FIBA European Championship
2001 Turkey National Team
2009 Spain National Team

Raül López i Molist (born April 15, 1980) is a Spanish professional basketball player. He has previously played for the NBA's Utah Jazz. López is a native of Vic, Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. At 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall, he plays the point guard position. López is featured on the Spanish version of the NBA Live 2004 video game.

Player profile

Although López has been said to be the Spanish version of John Stockton, his game has often been described as more similar to that of Steve Nash and Tony Parker. He is known for his quickness, court vision, unselfishness, and passing ability. Also, he has the ability to create his own shot, a key skill in the modern NBA and Euroleague.

Pro career

Europe

In 1998, at 18 years old, López began his professional career with Joventut Badalona in the Spanish ACB League. In 2000, he was signed by Real Madrid where he played for two seasons. Later, during the summer of 2005, he signed with the Spanish local team Akasvayu Girona, which finished 7th at the end of the 2005-2006 ACB season.

NBA

In 2001, López was selected in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft, 24th overall, by the Utah Jazz. In September 2002, he signed his NBA rookie contract with the Utah Jazz and underwent surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, missing the entire 2002–03 NBA season. Finally, in the 2003–04 season, totally recovered from his knee injury, he played in all of the 82 regular season games as the backup to starting point guard Carlos Arroyo, while averaging 7.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game.

On August 3, 2005, López was traded from the Jazz to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the largest trade in NBA history, involving five teams, 13 players, and two draft picks. He was subsequently cut from the Memphis Grizzlies 2005–06 roster.

Return to Europe

López returned to Real Madrid after signing a contract in July 2006. In 2009, he moved to the VTB United League club Khimki Moscow Region.[1] In July 2011 he returned to Spain by singning a two-year contract with Bilbao Basket.[2]

On 3 March 2016, López announced he would to retire from basketball at the end of the 2015–16 ACB season.[3]

Spanish national team

Junior national team

López was a member of the Spanish junior national teams that won gold medals at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship and the 1999 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.

Senior national team

López was named, along with Juan Carlos Navarro, to the senior Spanish national team that participated at the 2000 Olympics Basketball Tournament in Sydney, Australia. He also won the bronze medal at the EuroBasket 2001. However, before playing for Spain at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, he suffered an injury to his right knee, the same one that occurred during the 2001-02 season while playing for Real Madrid.

He also won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics Basketball Tournament, and the gold medal at the EuroBasket 2009.

Career statistics

Domestic leagues

Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1997-98 DKV Joventut Liga ACB 1 18.0 .000 1.000 .500 2.0 4.0 1.0 .0 10.0
1998-99 34 14.7 .386 .400 .754 1.2 1.6 .8 .0 4.4
1999-00 32 23.7 .515 .380 .836 1.6 2.8 1.2 .0 10.1
2000-01 Real Madrid 43 21.1 .545 .412 .784 1.7 2.4 .9 .0 7.7
2001-02 14 21.1 .517 .227 .788 3.1 3.1 1.5 .0 8.3
2005-06 Akasvayu Girona 37 24.2 .555 .442 .786 1.6 2.8 1.2 .0 10.2
2006-07 Real Madrid 43 22.4 .437 .319 .863 2.0 3.7 1.0 .0 5.8
2007-08 34 21.0 .575 .435 .942 1.4 2.5 1.1 .0 8.1
2008-09 32 22.8 .469 .430 .860 1.6 3.5 1.0 .0 7.0
2009-10 BC Khimki Superleague A 31 18.4 .377 .403 .875 2.1 3.0 .7 .0 5.2
VTB United League 8 17.9 .444 .409 1.000 1.9 2.6 .9 .0 4.6
2010-11 Russian PBL 39 17.1 .556 .346 .881 1.9 2.1 .8 .0 5.1
VTB United League 11 17.2 .500 .619 .538 1.9 1.8 .6 .1 5.6
2011-12 Bilbao Basket Liga ACB 35 15.1 .500 .453 .844 1.3 1.5 1.0 .0 6.3
2012-13 29 20.9 .479 .256 1.000 1.5 2.7 1.1 .0 5.8
2013-14 27 25.0 .549 .350 .935 2.2 3.3 1.1 .0 8.4
2014-15 36 18.9 .521 .310 .889 1.3 2.7 .7 .0 8.0

References

  1. ↑ Talkbasket.net Khimki adds Lopez.
  2. ↑ BILBAO lands Raul Lopez
  3. ↑ "Raül López se retirará al final de temporada" (in Spanish). ACB.com. 3 March 2016.

External links

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