Axel Arnar Nikulásson (2 June 1962 – 21 January 2022) was an Icelandic

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. He won the Icelandic championship twice, with Keflavík in 1989 and with KR in 1990.

Early life

Axel was born in Akranes in 1962 but grew up in Keflavík.

Playing career

Axel started playing basketball with Keflavík's youth teams around the age of 11. He broke into the first-team in 1979 and helped the team with the second-tier

1. deild 1. deild is the second tier league of football in the Faroe Islands. It was founded in 1943. The league is organised by the Faroe Islands Football Association. It was originally the top level of Faroe Islands football but was replaced by the Faro ...

in 1982 and achieve promotion to the first-tier Úrvalsdeild karla. During his first Úrvalsdeild season, Axel averaged 18.6 and helped Keflavík finish as the runner-up to the national championship. The following season, Axel moved to the United States to attend East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania where he also played for the school's basketball team, the East Stroudsburg Warriors. He appeared in one Icelandic Cup game for Grindavík in December January 1987 while home on Christmas vacation. During the summer of 1987, Axel rejoined Keflavík. The following season he quit the team after the controversial firing of head coach Lee Nober. He eventually rejoined the team and helped it win the 1989 national championship. After the championship, he left Keflavík and signed with KR with whom he won the 1990 national championship. Axel retired from playing after appearing in three games for

Reynir Sandgerði Reynir Sandgerði, sometimes known as Reynir S., is an Icelandic sports club based in Sandgerði on the Reykjanes peninsular. The club has active departments in football, basketball and swimming. Basketball Reynir Sandgerði's basketball departme ...

in 1993.

National team career

Between 1980 and 1992, Axel played 63 games for the

Icelandic national basketball team The Iceland men's national basketball team ( is, Íslenska karlalandsliðið í körfubolta) represents Iceland in international basketball tournaments. The team is controlled by the Icelandic Basketball Association. Iceland has qualified for t ...

Coaching career

Axel was hired as the head coach of KR prior to the 1994–1995 season. He led the team to a 16–16 record and a trip to the playoffs. The following season, he stepped down as head coach in November 1995 after a 6–3 start.

Post basketball career

In 1995, Axel started working for the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Axel died on 21 January 2022, at the age of 59.

References

External links

Úrvalsdeild statistics
at

Icelandic Basketball Association The Icelandic Basketball Association (''Icelandic:Körfuknattleikssamband Íslands - KKÍ'') is the national governing body of basketball in Iceland and is a member of the continental association FIBA Europe and the global International Basketbal ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikulasson, Axel 1962 births 2022 deaths East Stroudsburg Warriors men's basketball players Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson