Tanel Tein (born 10 January 1978) is an Estonian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He was named Estonian Player of the Year in 2008. Tein played one season of

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 St. Francis Terriers.

Professional career

Tein started his career playing for hometown team Tartu in 1993 and led them to two Estonian championships (

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2001) and three Estonian Cups (2000–2002). In July 2003, he signed with

Śląsk Wrocław Wrocławski Klub Sportowy Śląsk Wrocław Spółka Akcyjna, commonly known as WKS Śląsk Wrocław, Śląsk Wrocław () or simply Śląsk, is a Polish football club based in Wrocław that plays in Ekstraklasa, the highest level of the Polish f ...

of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish league pyramid. The winning team of the final round are crow ...

and the Euroleague, and won the

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in football ( pl, Puchar Polski w piłce nożnej ) is an elimination tournament for Polish football clubs, held continuously from 1950, and is the second most important national title in Polish football after the Ekstraklasa title. ...

in 2004. Tein subsequently played for Alba Berlin and Dynamo Moscow Region, before returning to University of Tartu in November 2005. He went on to win three more Estonian championships in 2007,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 2010.

National team career

Tein began playing for the Estonian national basketball team in 1998. He played with Estonia at the

EuroBasket 2001 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 be ...

, averaging 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The team finished the tournament with a 0–3 record for 14th place.

Controversy

On 11 June 2010, Tein attracted media attention after being brought down by rescuers from a pedestrian bridge in Tartu, where he had fallen asleep drunk.

Career statistics

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 14 , , 29.9 , , .413 , , .315 , , .875 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 8.1 , , 7.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;", St. Francis (NY) , 26, , ... , , ... , , .418 , , .452 , , .813 , , 2.3 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .2 , , 5.3

Awards and accomplishments

* 5× Estonian League champion:

, 2001, 2007,

, 2010 * 3×

Estonian Cup The Estonian Cup ( et, Eesti Karikas) is the national knockout competition in Estonian football. In 2012, the competition was unofficially rebranded as Evald Tipner's Cup. The winner will compete in UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifyi ...

winner: 2000, 2001, 2002 *

winner: 2004 * Estonian Player of the Year: 2008 * 3× Estonian League MVP: 2001, 2002, 2006 * Estonian League Play-offs MVP:

* Estonian League Finals MVP: 2007 * 4× All-Estonian League Team: 2001, 2006,

References

External links

Tanel Tein
at basket.ee
Tanel Tein
at euroleague.net

at fiba.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Tein, Tanel 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Tartu Shooting guards Estonian men's basketball players Korvpalli Meistriliiga players Tartu Ülikool/Rock players St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers men's basketball players Śląsk Wrocław basketball players Alba Berlin players BC Zenit Saint Petersburg players Estonian expatriate basketball people in the United States Estonian expatriate basketball people in Poland Estonian expatriate basketball people in Germany Estonian expatriate basketball people in Russia