Frédéric Weis (born 22 June 1977) is a French former professional basketball player.

Professional career

During his pro career, Weis played with Unicaja Málaga and Iurbentia Bilbao of the Spanish ACB League,

PAOK Thessaloniki PAOK ( el, ΠΑΟΚ, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans' ...

in the Greek League, and

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

in the

French League The French League (: "French League for purging, mutual aid and European collaboration") was a collaborationist French movement founded by Pierre Costantini in September 1940. Its journal was entitled '' L'Appel''. Bibliography * Pierre Phi ...

. On 28 January 2009 Iurbentia Bilbao waived him, after he missed 3 games in a row, due to his health, and on 13 February he signed with ViveMenorca. He was drafted by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, with the 15th pick in the first round, of the 1999 NBA draft, but he did not sign with them, and never played in the

NBA 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 St ...

. The draft pick angered many Knicks fans, because Ron Artest, who had grown up in Queens, New York, and played for

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

, was still available. Artest was taken with the next pick by the Chicago Bulls. Weis took part in the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season competition organized by the National Basketball Association. NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regular season line-ups ...

, and then declined to sign a rookie contract, being convinced by his agent - who was also a minority owner of Weis's team, Limoges - to return to France. Weis ended up never playing in an NBA game, later stating that in spite of his interest in going to North America, the Knicks never directly contacted him about returning. On 29 August 2008 Weis's draft rights were traded from the New York Knicks, to the

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

, for

Patrick Ewing Jr. Patrick Aloysius Ewing Jr. (born May 20, 1984) is a Jamaican–American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach and general manager of the Newfoundland Growlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). He is th ...

In March 2011 he announced his retirement.

National team career

Weis won the silver medal at the

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, with the senior French national basketball team. With France's national team he played at the following

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 E ...

s: the

1999 EuroBasket The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

, the

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a b ...

, the

2005 EuroBasket The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...

, and the

2007 EuroBasket The 2007 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2007, was the 35th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2008 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to th ...

. At the 2005 EuroBasket, Weis won the bronze medal with his national team. He also played with France's national team at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

.Frédéric WEIS (FRA) participated in 13 FIBA / FIBA Zones events.
/ref>

"''Le dunk de la mort''"

Weis is known for having been posterized by the United States' Vince Carter, during a basketball game between the U.S. and France at the

on 25 September 2000. After getting the ball off a steal, the 6'6" (1.98 m) Carter drove to the basket and spread his legs as he jumped over the 7'2" (2.18 m) Weis before dunking the ball ferociously. The French media dubbed the slam ''"le dunk de la mort"'': "the dunk of death". The U.S. won the game 106–94. In an ESPN story published on the 15th anniversary of the dunk, Weis said that Carter "deserves to make history. Sadly for me, I was on the video, too. I learned people can fly."

Personal life

In 2002, Weis' wife, Celia, gave birth to a son, Enzo, while Weis was playing in Spain. After Enzo was diagnosed with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

as a toddler, Weis spiraled into alcoholism and depression, and Celia took their son and returned to France. In 2008, Weis drove to a rest stop in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

, and attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

, by intentionally overdosing on sleeping pills. After surviving the attempt, Weis eventually quit drinking and reconciled with his wife. Following his retirement from basketball, Weis and Celia began operating a

tobacco shop A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retailer of tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampers. More specia ...

and bar in

. He is also a television analyst for

French league The French League (: "French League for purging, mutual aid and European collaboration") was a collaborationist French movement founded by Pierre Costantini in September 1940. Its journal was entitled '' L'Appel''. Bibliography * Pierre Phi ...

games.

References

External links

Vince Carter dunks on Frederic Weis at the 2000 OlympicsEuroleague.net ProfileSpanish League Profile

French League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weis, Frederic 1977 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Bilbao Basket players Centers (basketball) Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball players French expatriate basketball people in Greece French expatriate basketball people in Spain French men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Liga ACB players Limoges CSP players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Menorca Bàsquet players New York Knicks draft picks Olympic basketball players of France Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for France P.A.O.K. BC players People from Thionville Sportspeople from Moselle (department)