Thomas Heurtel (; born 10 April 1989) is a French 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 who plays for

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

of the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus an ...

. Standing at , he plays 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 ...

position.

Professional career

France (2007–2010)

Heurtel rose through the ranks at the French club

Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez Elan Corporation plc was a major drugs firm based in Dublin, Ireland, which had major interests in the United States. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as ELN, the Irish Stock Exchange as ELN.I, and the London Stock Exchange as ELN ...

, and he played in the senior men's first team of the club for two seasons. In the 2008–09 season, he won the French League's Rising Star Award. One year later, after the

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

of Pau-Orthez, he signed with the French club

ASVEL Basket ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon ...

, but he played on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

with French club

Strasbourg IG Strasbourg Illkirch-Graffenstaden Basket, most commonly known as SIG Basket or SIG Strasbourg, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Strasbourg. The club, founded in 1929, competes domestically in the French Pro A League, and ...

Spain (2010–2014)

In the summer of 2010, Heurtel left France, to join the Spanish League club Meridiano Alicante. In 2011, Heurtel signed with Spanish club Baskonia, and with them he debuted in the top-tier level European-wide league, the EuroLeague.

Turkey (2014–2017)

On 27 December 2014, just before the start of the Top 16 stage of the 2014–15 Euroleague season,

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

bought him to Baskonia and Heurtel signed a contract until June 2017 with Turkish club

, of the

Turkish Basketball Super 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 mi ...

(BSL). With Efes, Heurtel needed just two months to win his first club title, as he helped his team to win the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

title. Additionally, Heurtel was named the Turkish Cup Final MVP. At the beginning of the next season, Heurtel helped Anadolu Efes to beat

Pınar Karşıyaka Pınar is a common feminine Turkish given name. In Turkish, "Pınar" means "Spring" (of water), and/or "Fountain". Notable people called Pınar include: Given name * Pinar Heggernes (born 1969), Turkish-born Norwegian computer scientist * Pına ...

to win the Turkish President´s Cup, his second title with Efes. In the 2016–17 season, Heurtel was named the

EuroLeague MVP of the Month The EuroLeague MVP of the Month is the award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, for the most valuable player of each month of the season. The award began in the 2004–05 season, after the EuroLeague eliminated the Eur ...

, for the first time in his career, after averaging 16.7 points and 10.7 assists in the month of February.

Return to Spain (2017–2021)

Basketball match Greece vs France on 02 September 2017 44

On 22 June 2017 Heurtel signed a two-year deal with FC Barcelona Lassa of the

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

. On 18 February 2018 Heurtel won the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

with FC Barcelona Lassa and was named MVP of the tournament. On July 5, 2019, Heurtel resigned with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

for two more years, with an option to extend it until the end of the 2021–22 campaign.

Return to France (2021)

On February 24, 2021, Heurtel signed with

ASVEL ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

for the rest of the season.

Second return to Spain (2021–2022)

On July 6, 2021, Heurtel signed a one-year deal with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

of the

and the EuroLeague. He was sidelined in the latter stretch of the season due to disciplinary reasons. On June 29, 2022, Heurtel officially parted ways with the Spanish club.

National team career

Heurtel played with the French under-20 national team at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, and at the

2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 12th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The cities of Rhodes and Ialysos, in Greece, hosted the tournament. Greece won their second title. Israel and Belgium were relegated to Divis ...

, where he won a silver medal. He has also been a member of the senior men's

French national basketball team The France men's national basketball team (french: Équipe de France de basketball) represents France in international basketball and is administered by the French Federation of Basketball. France is currently ranked fifth in the FIBA World Ran ...

. With France, he played at the

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

, where he won a gold medal, at the

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

, where he won a bronze medal, and at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. After Heurtel broke his agreement not to play for any Russian or Belarusian team in order to represent France at EuroBasket 2022 -- by joining a Russian team in 2022 -- in November 2022 French basketball federation president Jean-Pierre Siutat said: "he will no longer be there (in the France national team). It’s over."

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=4, Baskonia , 10 , , 4 , , 11.4 , , .389 , , .235 , , .500 , , .8 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .0 , , 3.3 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , 28 , , 20 , , 20.4 , , .484 , , .437 , , .690 , , 2.1 , , 4.5 , , .7 , , .0 , , 7.2 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 21 , , 19 , , 25.8 , , .429 , , .235 , , .786 , , 2.1 , , 5.3 , , .7 , , .0 , , 8.0 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, 2014–15 , 10 , , 6 , , 28.3 , , .532 , , .563 , , .786 , , 2.8 , , 6.7 , , .9 , , .0 , , 12.2 , , 16.2 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3,

, 18 , , 9 , , 24.0 , , .418 , , .393 , , .826 , , 2.4 , , 6.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 9.4 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , 24 , , 15 , , 27.4 , , .498 , , .427 , , .803 , , 2.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 7.9 , , .8 , , .0 , , 12.7 , , 17.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 35 , , 6 , , 26.3 , , .456 , , .337 , , .867 , , 1.7 , , 5.6 , , .8 , , .0 , , 12.7 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Barcelona , 30 , , 22 , , 23.6 , , .500 , , .348 , , .814 , , 2.4 , , 6.4 , , .7 , , .0 , , 11.3 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 35 , , 19 , , 21.1 , , .477 , , .450 , , .753 , , 1.9 , , 4.8 , , .7 , , .0 , , 10.4 , , 11.1 , - class="sortbottom" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center;", Career , 211 , , 120 , , 24.1 , , .462 , , .380 , , .807 , , 2.1 , , 5.6 , , .7 , , .0 , , 9.9 , , 11.6