Francisco Marinho Robby Elson (born February 28, 1976, in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

) is a Dutch retired professional basketball player. Elson was the seventh Dutch player to play in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA). Elson served as the captain of the Netherlands national basketball team in international basketball, as he led the team in several

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...

qualifying rounds. He was the first Dutch player to become

NBA champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...

, with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in 2007.

Youth and college career

Elson started his career at AMVJ Rotterdam at the age of twelve. After a couple of years playing, he stopped after his older brother Patrick died of a heart attack while playing basketball at the age of 21. His gym teacher at the Maria School asked him to return to the club at the age of sixteen. He played one game in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

, the highest level Dutch league, in the 1994–95 season for Rotterdam. Elson was a member of the Dutch Under-20 National Team. He played two seasons at Kilgore Junior College in Texas before completing his college at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. As a senior, he helped lead the Bears to the NIT Championship. Elson was inducted into Kilgore College's Hall of Fame in 2016.

Professional career

Elson was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft from

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

by the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, but did not commence play with them until the 2003–04 campaign. He played four years in Spain: *1999–2001 with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional Football team, football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish footb ...

averaging 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 32 games for his first season and 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 34 games for the second. *2001–02 with

Pamesa Valencia Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...

averaging 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 34 games. *2002–03 with Caja San Fernando averaging 9.7 point and 8.2 rebounds in 34 games. Over his first two seasons with Denver, Elson was mostly a reserve. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. In 2005–06, his third season with the Nuggets, Elson played in 72 games and started in 54 of them. He averaged 21.9 minutes, 4.9 points (on 53.2% shooting) and 4.7 rebounds per game. Elson gained notoriety during Denver's 2004 playoff series with

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

through his physical attempts to contain Kevin Garnett. Elson knocked Garnett into the seats behind the basket with a hard foul early in a game and later in the game was hit in the groin by Garnett. Elson caused controversy when he described Garnett as "gay" for the groin shot. Elson later apologized to the gay and lesbian community for his comments. In July 2006 Elson signed a 2-year, $6 million contract with the

. This was to help provide depth at center by replacing Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic. Elson split time at center with Fabricio Oberto, with Elson providing rebounding and defense. Elson won his first NBA Championship in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

after the Spurs swept the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. On February 21, 2008, Elson was traded by the

along with Brent Barry to the Sonics in exchange for Kurt Thomas. He spent most of this season coming off the bench for both the Spurs and the Sonics. Elson later signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Bucks to serve as Andrew Bogut's primary backup. 2008-09, his first season with the Bucks, was the last of his NBA career where he started games with any regularity. On February 18, 2010, Elson was traded to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

along with sharpshooter Jodie Meeks in exchange for Primoz Brezec and Royal Ivey. Elson missed most of the season after hernia surgery, and appeared in only one game with his new team. On September 15, 2010, Elson signed a guaranteed two-year contract with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

. After his contract expired, he returned to the Netherlands for treatment on his knee. On January 27, 2012, Elson was signed by the

to provide the team with front-court depth because of injuries at the position. He signed two 10-day contracts, then was not re-signed for a third time after Spencer Hawes returned from injury. In January 2013, Elson signed with

Mahram Tehran Mahram Tehran Basketball Club is an Iranian professional basketball club based in Tehran, Iran. They compete in the Iranian Basketball Super League. Mahram is considered one of the giants of Iranian Basketball and were Champions of Asia in 2009 a ...

of the Iranian Basketball Super League. On June 20, 2013, Elson's retirement was announced on Dutch websites. He later stated that his retirement was just from international basketball. In March 2014, his retirement became official.

National team career

Elson played 60 games for the Netherlands men's national basketball team, after making his debut on 5 June 1998 against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

Personal life

Elson is fluent in Dutch, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Mandarin. He is of

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se descent. His father is half Chinese and half African. His mother is half Indian and half African. Elson has a brown belt in karate.''Ian Thomsen's Fast Break'', Sports Illustrated
March 14, 2005

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

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, 72 , , 54 , , 21.9 , , .532 , , .200 , , .662 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , .8 , , .6 , , 4.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , align="left" ,

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Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

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Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

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, 11 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .308 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .1 , , .0 , , .9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

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, 5 , , 0 , , 3.2 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , .4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 472 , , 149 , , 15.3 , , .478 , , .188 , , .700 , , 3.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , .5 , , 3.7

Playoffs

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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, 4 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .583 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , .3 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

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, 20 , , 8 , , 11.5 , , .591 , , .000 , , .700 , , 3.1 , , .1 , , .4 , , .3 , , 3.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 30 , , 10 , , 12.4 , , .581 , , .000 , , .682 , , 2.8 , , .2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 2.9

References

External links

NBA.com Player bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elson, Francisco 1976 births Living people California Golden Bears men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Denver Nuggets draft picks Denver Nuggets players Dutch expatriate basketball people in Iran Dutch expatriate basketball people in Italy Dutch expatriate basketball people in Spain Dutch expatriate basketball people in the United States Dutch men's basketball players Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Kilgore College alumni Liga ACB players Mahram Tehran BC players Milwaukee Bucks players National Basketball Association players from the Netherlands Philadelphia 76ers players Real Betis Baloncesto players San Antonio Spurs players Seattle SuperSonics players Sportspeople from Rotterdam Utah Jazz players Valencia Basket players