Orlando Homer Méndez-Valdez (born April 29, 1986) is an American-born Mexican 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 for the

Capitanes de Ciudad de México The Capitanes de Ciudad de México (English: ''Mexico City Captains'') are a Mexican professional basketball team based in Mexico City, Mexico. The Capitanes competed as a member club in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) for the ...

of the

NBA G 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 ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

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 Co ...

High school career

Mendez-Valdez attended Lanier High School in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, 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 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 Metropol ...

. 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 is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

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 at Western Kentucky University. Lee was drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 22nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft and was ...

Tyrone Brazelton Tyrone Brazelton (born March 30, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Levski Sofia of the NBL. He plays at the point guard position. He won a Polish Championship in 2009 with the club Prokom. On October 2, 201 ...

, 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 a basketball award given to the most outstanding men's basketball player in the Sun Belt Conference. The award was first given following the conference's first basketball season of 1976 ...

, and the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

Male Athlete of the Year. In addition, he received All-American 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 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 ...

, 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 ( he, מכבי חיפה) 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 ...

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 founde ...

for the 2017–18 season.

Capitanes de Ciudad de México (2022–present)

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

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 organised 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 American emigrants to Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Israel American sportspeople of Mexican descent American men's basketball players Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players from San Antonio Capitanes de Ciudad de México players 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 Pan American Games 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