Gustavo Alfonso Ayón Aguirre (born April 1, 1985) is a Mexican 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. His last team was

Capitanes de Arecibo The Capitanes de Arecibo are a Puerto Rican professional basketball team based in Arecibo that competes in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) league. In 2010, the team also had the distinction to play in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) ...

of the

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. The Baloncesto Superior Naci ...

(BSN). He also represents the senior Mexican national basketball team in international

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

competitions. Standing at a height of , he plays at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position. Ayon is a two−time All-EuroLeague Second Team selection.

Early life and college career

Gustavo was born April 1, 1985, to parents Ayón Ayón and mother Linda Ayón. Ayón attended at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, in Mexico, for three years of college. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Mexican College Championship Tournament, in leading his team to the National Championship. Following that season, he signed with

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

. However, Ayón never played for the Spartans, instead choosing to sign with a Mexican professional team, Halcones UV Xalapa.

Professional career

Gustavo_Ayon_and_Nene_Washington_at_Orlando_010

Mexico

In the 2006 season, Ayón saw some action off the bench for Halcones UV Xalapa, as the team finished second in the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important ...

. Ayón cracked the team's starting lineup the following season, and eventually led Halcones to back-to-back Mexican league titles, in 2007–08 and 2008–09.
He averaged 10.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in 2007–08, and improved on that by averaging 13.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game the following season. In what turned out to be his final game for the team, Ayón turned in a dominant, 24-point, 20-rebound, performance in leading his club to a 94–90 overtime victory over

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 ...

, that clinched their second consecutive league title.

Spain

Following the 2008–09 season, Ayón signed with

Baloncesto Fuenlabrada Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, S.A.D., known as just Fuenlabrada and also Carplus Fuenlabrada because of sponsorship reasons,, is a professional basketball team based in Fuenlabrada, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and plays their home games at F ...

of the Spanish League. In November 2011, Ayón was named the Spanish League's ACB Player of the Month.

NBA

On December 2011, Ayón signed with the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, of the NBA, after paying

with a $1.5-million buy-out clause. Ayón received a three-year contract, with the last year being a team option. On July 11, 2012, Ayón was traded to the Orlando Magic, in a sign-and-trade deal for Ryan Anderson. On February 21, 2013, Ayón was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, along with guards

Ish Smith Ishmael Larry Smith (born July 5, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Smith holds the record of ...

and

JJ Redick Jonathan Clay "JJ" Redick (born June 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is a podcaster and sports analyst for ESPN. He was selected 11th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft. He played college baske ...

, for guards Beno Udrih and

Doron Lamb Doron Emmanuel Calvin Lamb (born November 6, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Scafati Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky. High school career Lamb was born in Que ...

, and forward

Tobias Harris Tobias John Harris (born July 15, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers before declar ...

. On July 25, 2013, he was waived by the Bucks. On July 29, 2013, Ayón was claimed off waivers by the

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 ...

. On February 12, 2014, Ayón scored a career high 18 points, in a 83–104 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. On February 28, 2014, it was announced that Ayón would miss the rest of the 2013–14 season, following successful surgery to repair a right shoulder injury.

Return to Spain

On September 23, 2014, Ayón signed a two-year deal with Spanish club Real Madrid coached by Pablo Laso. In the 2014–15 season, Real Madrid won the EuroLeague, after defeating

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, by a score of 78–59 in the league's finals. Real Madrid eventually finished the season by also winning the Spanish League championship, after a 3–0 series sweep in the Spanish League finals series against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. With that championship, Real Madrid thus won the

triple crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

. Ayón was named the

EuroLeague MVP of the Round The EuroLeague MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Round, previously known as the EuroLeague MVP of the Week, is an award of Europe's premier level basketball league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the best player of each round of the season. Eac ...

, in the first week of the playoffs, in the 2014–15 season, and in week nine of the regular season of the 2015–16 season. On January 4, 2016, Ayón 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 December 2015. On May 6, 2016, he was named to the All-EuroLeague Second Team, for the

2015–16 EuroLeague The 2015–16 Turkish Airlines Euroleague was the 16th season of the modern era of EuroLeague, Euroleague Basketball and the sixth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA E ...

season. In May 2016, he was named the Player of the Month in the Spanish Liga ACB. On July 14, 2016, Ayón signed a new three-year contract with Real Madrid. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the 2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe Doğuş in the final game with 85–80. Over 17 EuroLeague games, Ayón averaged 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. In June 2018, Ayón helped guide Real Madrid to the 2017-18 ACB Spanish League Championship by defeating Kirolbet Baskonia. In June 2019, Ayón helped lead Real Madrid to the 2018-19 ACB Spanish League Championship by defeating FC Barcelona Lassa

Russia

On July 26, 2019, Ayón signed a one-year deal with

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 league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

and the EuroLeague. He averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Ayón parted ways with the team on July 26, 2020.

Return to Mexico

On September 30, 2020, Ayón signed with

Astros de Jalisco Astros de Jalisco (English: ''Jalisco Astros'') is a professional Mexican basketball team, based in Guadalajara, Jalisco. The Astros are part the CIBACOPA and the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional, the top professional basketball league in M ...

of the

Puerto Rico

On September 19, 2021, Ayón signed with

. Ayón led the

to the Championship of the

(BSN) of Puerto Rico. This latest championship is the 16th professional championship for Ayón. On August 20, 2022, Ayón announced his retirement from professional basketball.

National team career

Ayón has been a member of the senior Mexican national basketball team since 2007. He played

for the seventh placed Mexicans at the

2007 FIBA Americas Championship The 2007 FIBA Americas Championships later known as the FIBA AmeriCup (or The Tournament of the Americas), was a basketball tournament held at Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, from August 22, to September 2. It was the thirteenth staging of th ...

, and the fifth placed team at the

2008 Centrobasket The 2008 Men's Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship, also known as 2008 Centrobasket, was hosted in Cancún and Chetumal, México. The four semifinalists of this edition qualified for the 2009 FIBA Americas championship The 200 ...

. In 2013, Ayón led Mexico to victory in the gold medal game against

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

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 West ...

. Ayón was named to the All-Tournament Team, and was named the MVP of the tournament. In August 2014, Ayón led Mexico to victory in the gold medal game against Puerto Rico at the 2014 Centrobasket. Ayón was named the MVP of the tournament. Later that month, he joined Mexico for the

2014 FIBA 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 ...

. In 2015, Ayón was named to the

2015 FIBA Americas Championship The 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for Men, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup, was the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Brazil. This FIBA AmeriCup tournament was held in Mexico City, Mexico. The tournament was ...

All-Tournament Team, after tallying 17.7 points per game (2nd in the tournament), 12.4 rebounds per game (1st in the tournament), 3.5 assists per game (7th in the tournament), 1.3 steals per game (3rd in the tournament), and 1.2 blocks per game (1st in the tournament). In June 2018, Ayón helped lead Mexico to a 78-70 victory over Team USA in 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification (Americas)

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, 54 , , 24 , , 20.1 , , .536 , , .000 , , .619 , , 4.9 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 43 , , 3 , , 13.3 , , .536 , , – , , .500 , , 3.3 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 13.6 , , .595 , , – , , .083 , , 4.9 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-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 ...

, 26 , , 14 , , 16.5 , , .510 , , – , , .400 , , 4.8 , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 135 , , 41 , , 16.7 , , .536 , , .000 , , .504 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , 4.7

Playoffs

, - , style="text-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 ...

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

, 3 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.3

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2014–15† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=5, Real Madrid , 29 , , 23 , , 18.7 , , .623 , , .000 , , .794 , , 4.5 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 8.1 , , 11.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , 27 , , 27 , , 26.1 , , .622 , , .000 , , .619 , , 7.9 , , 2.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.3 , , 11.6 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , 36 , , 36 , , 20.6 , , .699 , , .000 , , .485 , , 5.2 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , 9.8 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2017–18† , 18 , , 11 , , 23.0 , , .577 , , .000 , , .581 , , 5.8 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , 9.3 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 31 , , 6 , , 19.7 , , .669 , , .000 , , .542 , , 6.0 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .8 , , 8.3 , , 14.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 110 , , 97 , , 21.8 , , .639 , , .000 , , .599 , , 5.8 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , 9.7 , , 14.4

Early life and college career

Professional career

Mexico

Spain

NBA

Return to Spain

Russia

Return to Mexico

Puerto Rico

National team career

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

EuroLeague

Domestic leagues

References

External links