Orlando Homer Méndez-Valdez (born April 29, 1986) is an American-born Mexican former 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 (appro ...

player who is currently the

General manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Mexico City Capitanes The Mexico City Capitanes () are a Mexican professional basketball team based in Mexico City. The Capitanes competed as a member club in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) for its first three seasons and the franchise is currently ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the ...

High school career

Mendez-Valdez attended Lanier High School in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, where he graduated in 2004. He was named the San Antonio Player of the year his senior year and first team All State honors, and his jersey number was retired in 2009. Mendez-Valdez attended prep school at Charis Prep in

Goldsboro, North Carolina Goldsboro, originally Goldsborough, is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 33,657 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Me ...

. He won the MVP award in the Bull City Classic, and led the team to a championship at the tournament.

College career

At the collegiate level, Mendez-Valdez played for

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

from 2005 to 2009. He was a member of the 2008 Sweet Sixteen team which included

Courtney Lee Courtney Lee (born October 3, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Lee was selected by the Orlando Magic with the 22nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft ...

, Tyrone Brazelton, Ty Rogers, and Boris Siakam. In 2009, he was named the

Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The award was first given following the conference's first basketball season of 1976–7 ...

, and the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

Male Athlete of the Year. In addition, he received

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

accolades, and recorded the first-ever triple double in Western Kentucky history.

Professional career

After failing to be drafted in the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden 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 p ...

, he played professional basketball in the LNBP from 2009 to 2016. On September 14, 2016, Mendez-Valdez signed with the Israeli team

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

for the 2016–17 season. During his season with the club, Mendez-Valdez won the Three-Point Shootout contest in the Israeli League All-Star event, he also helped Haifa reaching the Israeli League Finals. He returned to the LNBP on August 25, 2017, signing with

Soles de Mexicali The Soles de Mexicali (English: ''Mexicali Suns'') is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, playing in the Northern Division of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). The team was founded ...

for the 2017–18 season.

Mexico City Capitanes (2022–2023)

On November 4, 2022, Méndez was named to the opening night roster for the

. On January 7, 2023, Méndez-Valdez was waived. On January 19, 2023, Méndez-Valdez was reacquired by the

Capitanes de Ciudad de México The Mexico City Capitanes () are a Mexican professional basketball team based in Mexico City. The Capitanes competed as a member club in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) for its first three seasons and the franchise is currently ...

. Méndez-Valdez retired after the end of the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

National team career

In 2013, Mendez-Valdez helped lead Mexico to victory in the gold medal game against Puerto Rico at the

FIBA Americas Championship The FIBA AmeriCup (previously known as the FIBA Americas Championship) is the Americas Basketball Championship that takes place every four years between national teams of the Western Hemisphere continents. Since FIBA organized the entire Wester ...

Honours

*Pan American Games 2011 Silver Medal *FIBA COCABA Championship 2013 Gold Medal *FIBA Americas Championship 2013 Gold Medal *Centrobasket 2016 Silver Medal

References

External links

RealGM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez-Valdez, Orlando 1986 births Living people 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players American emigrants to Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players from San Antonio Gansos Salvajes UIC players Halcones de Xalapa players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Israel Mexican men's basketball players Mexico City Capitanes players Pan American Games silver medalists in basketball Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico Pioneros de Quintana Roo players Point guards Shooting guards Soles de Mexicali players Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball players 21st-century Mexican sportsmen