Thabo Patrick Sefolosha (; born May 2, 1984) is a Swiss 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 has also played in the NBA for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

and Houston Rockets, in the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

for the Fenerbahçe, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

for Élan Chalon, in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

for Angelico Biella, and in Switzerland for

Vevey Riviera Basket Vevey Riviera Basket, also known as Riviera Lakers, is a Swiss basketball club based in Vevey. It plays in the first national tier. History The club was founded in 1952 as Vevey Basket. Vevey won the Ligue Nationale de Basket (Switzerland), Swis ...

. In 2006, he became the first player from Switzerland to play in the NBA, and in 2013, he was labelled the best Swiss basketball player of all-time by Swiss newspaper ''Freiburger Nachrichten''.

Early life

Sefolosha was born in

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

, Switzerland to Patrick Sefolosha, a black South African musician, and Christine Sefolosha (née Beck), a Swiss artist. In his youth, he has visited and lived in several countries. He speaks French, Italian and English.Thabo Sefolosha: Coming to America
" NBA: September 14, 2006.

Professional career

Early years (2001–2006)

Sefolosha was invited to join the junior Swiss national basketball team, and at 17 he began a professional career with Tege Riviera Basket, in Switzerland's top domestic league. On a team trip to France, Sefolosha was approached by a French talent scout to play with Elan Chalon in the premier pro league in France. Sefolosha spent his first year in Chalon-sur-Saône playing with the junior under-21 squad, which traveled alongside the senior club. The following year (2002–03), he earned a rotation spot on the senior club, where he played 30 games and averaged 4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

per game. The following season, Sefolosha earned a starting spot on the senior team, which he helped lead to a third-place finish in the French league, where his team advanced to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

semifinals. During the season, he averaged 9.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 steal in 30.7 minutes per game. Before the start of his fourth season with Elan Chalon, a contract dispute between Sefolosha and the team arose. Sefolosha's agent and the team president could not reach an agreement on a new contract, so Sefolosha signed with Italian team Angelico Biella. "Last summer, I had the chance to re-negotiate my contract with the club. We were supposed to reach an agreement, but when my agent and the president started talking, they couldn't agree on a contract. They wanted to keep me, but at the same time I had this offer from Italy. That's when I decided that the best thing for my career was to play in Biella. Yes, there was a little bit of trouble, but in the end it was OK."HoopsHype interview with Sefolosha
URL last accessed September 27, 2006

Chicago Bulls (2006–2009)

Sefolosha was taken with the 13th pick of the 2006 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and promptly traded to the

for the 16th pick ( Rodney Carney), and cash considerations.ESPN article on the 2006 NBA Draft
URL last accessed September 27, 2006 In an article on Bulls.com, Sefolosha was quoted saying "I was certainly surprised (at the draft) when someone came up and said that I was the next to be picked. I thought maybe he had made a mistake or something. But a few minutes later he came back and told me that not only was I going to be picked, but that I was going to be traded to Chicago, which really got me excited." Bulls head coach

Scott Skiles Scott Allen Skiles Sr. (born March 5, 1964) is an American former basketball coach and player. He coached the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic. A first-round draft pick out of Michigan State University, Skiles played ...

cited Sefolosha's wingspan and past pro basketball experience as reasons why the Bulls were interested in him. "Thabo's got great physical gifts that, frankly, a lot of guys in the league just don't have. He's got tremendous length and has really quick hands, he grabs your attention whenever you watch him play. It's easy to see that he knows what he's doing out there. You can tell he likes to play defense, too. He's eager to get after it." After the NBA summer leagues finished,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

asked several NBA talent scouts and executives to rank the summer league players and Sefolosha scored high. "He excelled at just about everything", reported one of the professionals. "Thabo Sefolosha showed that he's going to be able to step in right away and contribute to the Bulls."

Oklahoma City Thunder (2009–2014)

On February 19, 2009, the trade deadline, Sefolosha was traded by the Bulls to the

for Denver's 2009 first-round draft pick, which Chicago used to draft

Taj Gibson Taj Jami Gibson (born June 24, 1985) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Gibson played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected 26th overall by th ...

. Sefolosha was selected to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team for the

2009–10 NBA season The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 1,230-game regular season (82 games for each of the 30 teams) began on October 27, 2009, and ended on April 14, 2010. The season ended when the Los Angel ...

. In October 2011, during the 2011 NBA lockout, Sefolosha signed with Fenerbahçe Ülker in Turkey, but only for Euroleague matches. His deal had an out-clause that allowed him to return to Oklahoma City at the end of the lockout. He played 7 matches with Fenerbahçe Ülker during the 2011–12 Euroleague season. In 2012, Sefolosha and the Thunder reached the NBA Finals, but were defeated by the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

Atlanta Hawks (2014–2017)

On July 15, 2014, Sefolosha was acquired by the

in a sign-and-trade deal, along with rights to Giorgos Printezis, in exchange for the rights to

Sofoklis Schortsanitis Sofoklis Schortsanitis (Greek: Σοφοκλής Σχορτσανίτης; born 22 June 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player and Olympian. An All-EuroLeague First Team selection in 2011, Schortsanitis won the EuroLeague title ...

. On January 31, 2015, he was ruled out for six to eight weeks with a strained right calf. On April 9, he was ruled out for the rest of the regular season due to a fractured tibia suffered while being arrested by members of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

Utah Jazz (2017–2019)

On July 18, 2017, Sefolosha signed a multi-year deal with the

. On January 12, 2018, in Utah's 99–88 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Sefolosha suffered a right

MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3) ...

injury. He underwent season-ending surgery five days later. On April 3, 2018, he was suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program.

Houston Rockets (2019–2020)

On September 23, 2019, Sefolosha signed a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets. Sefolosha announced his retirement from professional basketball on March 31, 2021.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 71 , , 4 , , 12.2 , , .426 , , .357 , , .511 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 69 , , 22 , , 20.8 , , .428 , , .330 , , .721 , , 3.7 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 43 , , 14 , , 17.1 , , .434 , , .300 , , .840 , , 2.9 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .4 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, 23 , , 22 , , 31.1 , , .417 , , .243 , , .833 , , 5.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 82 , , 28.6 , , .440 , , .313 , , .674 , , 4.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 79 , , 79 , , 25.9 , , .471 , , .275 , , .747 , , 4.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 5.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 42 , , 42 , , 21.8 , , .432 , , .437 , , .884 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .4 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 81 , , 27.5 , , .481 , , .419 , , .826 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 61 , , 61 , , 26.0 , , .415 , , .316 , , .768 , , 3.6 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 6.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 52 , , 7 , , 18.8 , , .418 , , .321 , , .776 , , 4.3 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 75 , , 11 , , 23.4 , , .505 , , .339 , , .626 , , 4.5 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 6.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 62 , , 42 , , 25.7 , , .441 , , .342 , , .733 , , 4.4 , , 1.7 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, 38 , , 6 , , 21.2 , , .492 , , .381 , , .815 , , 4.2 , , 0.9 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 50 , , 2 , , 12.2 , , .477 , , .436 , , .636 , , 2.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.9 , , .1 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, 41 , , 0 , , 10.6 , , .407 , , .278 , , .375 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , .3 , , 2.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 869 , , 475 , , 21.9 , , .449 , , .349 , , .732 , , 3.7 , , 1.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 5.7

Playoffs

, - , align="left" , 2007 , align="left" ,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 9 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .385 , , .375 , , .583 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" , 2010 , align="left" ,

, 6 , , 6 , , 21.2 , , .296 , , .231 , , .889 , , 3.0 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , 2011 , align="left" ,

, 17 , , 17 , , 20.2 , , .463 , , .154 , , 1.000 , , 3.1 , , .7 , , .9 , , .3 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, align="left" ,

, 20 , , 20 , , 22.3 , , .402 , , .327 , , .889 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, align="left" ,

, 11 , , 11 , , 27.3 , , .344 , , .316 , , .818 , , 4.5 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 13 , , 13 , , 17.5 , , .415 , , .261 , , .800 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , .8 , , .0 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 2 , , 20.3 , , .478 , , .368 , , .533 , , 4.1 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .000 , , - , , .250 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .143 , , .125 , , - , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 96 , , 69 , , 18.8 , , .396 , , .283 , , .744 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .3 , , 4.4

Euroleague

, - , align="left" , 2011–12 , align="left" , Fenerbahçe , 7 , , 6 , , 26.9 , , .529 , , .500 , , .633 , , 6.0 , , .9 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , 11.4 , , 14.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 6 , , 26.9 , , .529 , , .500 , , .633 , , 6.0 , , .9 , , 2.1 , , .4 , , 11.4 , , 14.3

Personal life

On April 8, 2015, Sefolosha and teammate Pero Antić were arrested outside a nightclub in New York City for allegedly interfering with police after

Chris Copeland Christopher Stephen Copeland (born March 17, 1984) nicknamed "The X-Factor" is an American former professional basketball player who last played for MoraBanc Andorra of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the University of Colorado Bo ...

of the Indiana Pacers was stabbed in the abdomen following an argument. During the altercation, the NYPD officers broke Sefolosha's right leg, shutting him down for the rest of the season. He underwent surgery on April 16, to repair a fractured tibia and ligament damage. The prosecution offered Sefolosha a plea bargain, which would have involved a dismissal of the charges after six months, but Sefolosha refused it on September 9, 2015, even though his attorney, Alex Spiro, urged him to take it. Sefolosha said that he wanted to let the case proceed to trial instead; at the same time, charges against Antić were dropped. Sefolosha's court hearing was set on October 5, 2015. On October 9, a

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

jury found him not guilty of all three misdemeanor charges:

obstructing government administration Obstruction may refer to: Places * Obstruction Island, in Washington state * Obstruction Islands, east of New Guinea Medicine * Obstructive jaundice * Obstructive sleep apnea * Airway obstruction, a respiratory problem ** Recurrent airway obst ...

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...

and

resisting arrest Resisting arrest, or simply resisting, is an illegal act of a suspected criminal either fleeing, threatening, assaulting, or providing a fake ID to a police officer during arrest. In most cases, the person responsible for resisting arrest is crimi ...

. On October 21, 2015, Sefolosha announced he would be suing the city of New York as well as eight police officers for up to $50 million in damages. On April 9, 2017, it was announced Sefolosha had settled with the NYPD for $4 million, a "substantial portion" of which he donated to Gideon's Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating public defenders. In October 2017, Sefolosha revealed that he saved a woman the previous month from drowning while he and his family were on a rafting trip down the Provo River.

References

External links

Sefolosha's official website

Thabo Sefolosha
at euroleague.net * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sefolosha, Thabo 1984 births Living people Atlanta Hawks players Chicago Bulls players Élan Chalon players Swiss expatriate basketball people in France Swiss expatriate basketball people in Turkey Swiss expatriate basketball people in the United States Fenerbahçe men's basketball players Houston Rockets players National Basketball Association players from Switzerland Oklahoma City Thunder players Pallacanestro Biella players People from Vevey Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Shooting guards Small forwards Swiss expatriate basketball people in Italy Swiss men's basketball players Swiss people of South African descent South African expatriate sportspeople in France South African expatriate sportspeople in Italy South African expatriate sportspeople in Turkey South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States Utah Jazz players Vevey Riviera Basket players Sportspeople from the canton of Vaud

Early life

Professional career

Early years (2001–2006)

Chicago Bulls (2006–2009)

Oklahoma City Thunder (2009–2014)

Atlanta Hawks (2014–2017)

Utah Jazz (2017–2019)

Houston Rockets (2019–2020)

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Euroleague

Personal life

See also

References

External links