Ludovic Vaty (21 November 1988 – 1 September 2023) was a French basketball player and coach. He played nine games for the
French national team. In May 2013, he was forced to retire early due to a heart condition, but later returned to playing amateur basketball.
Biography
Born in
Les Abymes
Les Abymes () is the most populous commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is located on the west side of the island of Grande-Terre, and is part of the largest metropolitan area of Guadel ...
on 21 November 1988, Vaty began playing youth basketball in his hometown before being recruited by Onestas Patrick Shanny at the age of 11. He began playing in Guadeloupe's regional basketball league. He joined Point-Ã -Pitre's basketball team in 2002. He moved to Metropolitan France in 2003 and joined
Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball
Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball (), shortly CFBB, is a French basketball club, based in Paris. The club's squads are filled with players from the training institute INSEP. The first team of the club currently plays in the Nationale Masculine 1, the ...
, then
Pau-Orthez in 2006.
Vaty played his first minutes in
LNB Pro A
The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...
in the
2007–08 season with Pau-Lacq-Orthez. He won a bronze medal with the French U-19 team at the 2007
FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Serbia. In 2009, he was shortlisted for the French national team, but did not make the final cut.
Vaty entered his name in the
2009 NBA draft
The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...
, but was not selected. That summer, he signed with
Orléans Loiret Basket. He once again entered his name into the
2010 NBA draft
The 2010 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2010, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National ...
, but was also not selected. That summer, he signed with the Spanish club CB Granada, but his contract was invalidated due to an ankle injury. On 9 September 2010, he returned to Orléans to replace
Zach Moss
Zach Marquis Moss, known as Zach Moss, born on July 14, 1981, in Pompano Beach, Florida, is an American professional basketball player playing at the center position. Unselected in the 2004 NBA draft
The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, ...
, who had fractured his rib. In the 2011 offseason, he signed with
BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque. In February 2013, he was named MVP of the
LNB Pro A Leaders Cup, which he had one with Gravelines-Dunkerque.
On 23 May 2013, Vaty was forced to retire early due to a heart condition incompatible with the practice of high-level sport. On 28 January 2014, he was named an assistant coach of the French U-18 national team. In autumn 2014, he returned to playing basketball at an amateur level with Élan Pau Nord-Est of the . In July 2016, he joined of
Nationale Masculine 1. After a season with
JSA Bordeaux Basket, he joined Coteaux de Luy in 2019.
In August 2023, as a player for , Vaty suffered a heart attack in training and was placed into a medically induced coma. He died in
Toulouse on 1 September 2023, at the age of 34.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaty, Ludovic
1988 births
2023 deaths
BCM Gravelines players
Centers (basketball)
Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball players
Élan Béarnais players
French men's basketball players
French people of Guadeloupean descent
JSA Bordeaux Basket players
Orléans Loiret Basket players
People from Les Abymes
Power forwards