Seppo Kuusela (25 February 1934 – 16 October 2014) was a Finnish basketball player, basketball coach, and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

player. At 182 cm tall, he played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

positions, as a basketball player. He was twice voted the

Finnish Basketball Player of the Year The Finnish Basketball Player of the Year is an annual award that is given to the best basketball player (male or female) with Finnish citizenship. Finnish players that are playing anywhere in the world, qualify for the award. The award is voted on ...

, in 1959 and 1960, by Finnish

sports journalist Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

Club basketball career

Kuusela played in the top-tier level Finnish basketball league, the SM-sarja, winning multiple Finnish League championships during his club career.

National basketball team career

Alongside club competitions, Kuusela also represented the senior Finnish national basketball team, at five

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 ...

tournaments (

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

Trophies and awards

Basketball player

* 9× Finnish League Champion: (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1969) ** Finnish League Runner-up: (1967) ** Finnish League 3rd Place: (1973) * 2× Finnish Player of the Year: (1959, 1960) * 2× Finnish League Top Scorer: (1960, 1961) * Finnish Cup Winner: (1968)

Handball player

* 2× Finnish Handball Championship Champion: (1953, 1955)

Basketball coach

* 3× Finnish League Champion: (1970, 1971, 1972)

Other

* Finnish Basketball Hall of Fame inductee 2019

Sources

Seppo Kuusela
Finnish Basketball Association
National Team Stats
Finnish Basketball Association

References

1934 births 2014 deaths Finnish men's basketball players Point guards Shooting guards Sportspeople from Helsinki Finnish basketball coaches Finnish male handball players {{Finland-basketball-bio-stub