Fabricio Paulino de Melo (; June 20, 1990 – February 11, 2017) was a Brazilian professional
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. He played one season in the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) for the
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
before returning to his home country and playing for
Liga Sorocabana and
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
of the Brazilian
Novo Basquete Brasil
Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) (English language, English: New Basketball Brazil) is the Brazilian premier professional men's basketball league. It is organized by the Liga Nacional de Basquete (LNB) (National Basketball League), in a new format of B ...
(NBB). Prior to entering the NBA in 2012, he played two years of college basketball for
Syracuse, where he was named the
Big East Defensive Player of the Year
The Big East Conference gave five football awards at the conclusion of every season. The awards were first given in 1991 following the conference's first football season, and last given in 2012 before the conference was restructured as the American ...
as a sophomore.
High school and college career
Melo arrived in the United States in 2008 and enrolled at
Sagemont School
The Sagemont School is a private preparatory school in Weston, Florida, United States operated by the for-profit Spring Education Group.
Overview
The Sagemont School operates two campuses in Weston. The Sagemont Lower School Campus serves studen ...
in
Weston, Florida
Weston is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just west of Fort Lauderdale. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which is anchored by Miami. The population was 68,107 at the 2020 census. Weston is 30 miles northwest of Miam ...
. After graduating from Sagemont in 2010, Melo joined the
Syracuse Orange men's basketball team. He spent two seasons playing for head coach
Jim Boeheim
James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Syracuse Orange men's team of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Boeheim has guided the Orange to ten Big East Conference ...
at Syracuse and was part of the Orange team that went 34–3 overall and 17–1 in the Big East in 2012. Melo averaged 7.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in the 2011–12 campaign. He was suspended twice during the season, once for three games during the regular season and again for the
NCAA tournament due to academics. Melo's academic eligibility was also part of the NCAA investigation in which the Syracuse program self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2014–15 season. Melo claimed he was failing because he didn't understand English. Despite these issues, Melo was named the
Big East
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
Defensive Player of the Year.
In April 2012, Melo declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.
Professional career
NBA
On June 28, 2012, Melo was selected by the
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
with the 22nd overall pick in the first round of the
2012 NBA draft. On July 3, 2012, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Celtics. He played six games in the NBA for Boston during the 2012–13 campaign, but mostly spent the year in the
NBA Development League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...
with the
Maine Red Claws
The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...
. On December 22, 2012, in Maine's 85–78 loss to the
Erie BayHawks, Melo recorded a triple-double and set a new NBA Development League record for blocked shots in a game with 14; he also had 15 points and 16 rebounds to register just the third triple-double in team history. At the end of the season, he was named to the NBA D-League All-Defensive First Team and All-Rookie First Team.
On August 15, 2013, Melo was traded to the
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
in exchange for
Donté Greene
Donté Dominic Greene (born February 21, 1988) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange for one year before being selected with the 28th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 200 ...
. He was later waived by the Grizzlies on August 30, 2013. On September 10, 2013, Melo signed with the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
, but he was ultimately waived on October 22.
On January 22, 2014, Melo was acquired by the
Texas Legends
The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado ...
of the NBA Development League.
Brazil
On August 1, 2014, Melo signed with Brazilian team
Club Athletico Paulistano
Club Athletico Paulistano –generally known as just Paulistano– is a sports and social club from the Brazilian metropolis São Paulo located in the quarter of Jardim América, close to the city. The club was founded on 29 December 1900 for ...
of the
NBB. However, he never appeared in a game for Paulistano. On April 7, 2015, he signed with
Caciques de Humacao
Caciques de Humacao was a professional basketball team based in Humacao, Puerto Rico. The club competed in the National Superior Basketball (, BSN).
History
In 2010, Antonio "Tonin" Casillas, owner of the Grises de Humacao, decided to give the f ...
in Puerto Rico, but soon left before appearing in a game for the team.
In November 2015, Melo signed with
Liga Sorocabana for the remainder of the 2015–16 season. In June 2016, he signed with
Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
. He played in six games for Brasília during the
Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol
The Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol (LSB), or FIBA Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol (Portuguese: ''Liga Sul-Americana de Basquete'', English: ''South American Basketball League''), also commonly known as FIBA South American League, is the secon ...
and appeared in one regular season game on November 30, 2016.
Death
Melo died on February 11, 2017, at the age of 26. He was pronounced dead at home in
Juiz de Fora
Juiz de Fora (, '' Outsider Judge''), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro. According to 2020 estimates the current population is about 57 ...
,
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
, Brazil; sources state that he went to sleep and was discovered dead the following morning by his mother. It was later discovered after an autopsy report that he had suffered a heart attack.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
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Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
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See also
*
List of basketball players who died during their careers
This is a list of notable basketball players who died while still on a team roster or as a free agent. A majority died of accidents such as car or plane crashes. Some suffered sudden cardiac death, which has a higher incidence in basketball among y ...
References
External links
Fab Melo at nba.com
Fab Meloat
Syracuse University AthleticsGet To Know Fab Melo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melo, Fab
1990 births
2017 deaths
Boston Celtics draft picks
Boston Celtics players
Brazilian men's basketball players
Brazilian expatriate basketball people in the United States
Centers (basketball)
Maine Red Claws players
McDonald's High School All-Americans
National Basketball Association players from Brazil
Novo Basquete Brasil players
Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
People from Juiz de Fora
Syracuse Orange men's basketball players
Texas Legends players
UniCEUB/BRB players
Sportspeople from Minas Gerais