Luis Alberto Flores (born April 11, 1981) is a Dominican former professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall

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 ...

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 ...

. He grew up in the United States, in the predominantly Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights, in New York City, and attended Norman Thomas High School. Flores is a member of the senior Dominican Republic national basketball team. He was the 2009 top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League.

High school

Flores attended Norman Thomas High School, in New York City, where he played high school basketball.

College career

Flores played his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

college basketball season with Rutgers University, but he really showed all his potential during his three years with

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...

. He finished his career as Manhattan's all-time leading scorer, averaging 22.7 points per game. He was named All- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Tournament

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, both in his junior and senior season. He also was selected to the All- Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference First Team, during his three seasons in Manhattan, and was the 2003 and 2004 recipient of the Haggerty Award, being named the top player in the NYC area - only the eighth player to win the award multiple times, in the 70+ year history of the honor.

Professional career

Flores was drafted by the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, in the 2nd round (55th pick) of the

2004 NBA draft The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...

. His draft rights were traded to the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

, along with $300,000 cash, in exchange for the draft rights to Vassilis Spanoulis, before being traded to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

, on August 24, 2004. He played in 15 games with the Warriors (4.9 min per game), before being traded to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, on February 24, 2005. He appeared only in one game with the Nuggets, playing 4 minutes, and was waived on August 30. Flores played three preseason games for the New Orleans Hornets in 2006. After not making the Hornets regular season roster, Flores left for Europe. Overseas, Flores first played in Italy, for BT Roseto (November 2005–2006), and Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia (December 2006–2007). On August 8, 2007, he signed with Greek League team Olympias Patras. In January, 2008, Flores returned to Italy, where he signed with Italian 2nd Division team Indesit Fabriano. 2008–2009 saw Flores in Israel, playing impressively for

Ligat HaAl The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

's defending champion, Hapoel Holon. Flores helped Holon to their first

Israeli State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

title. He was the 2009 top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League. He left the team in the summer of 2009, to sign in Russia, for

Krasnye Krylya Samara BC Krasnye Krylya (russian: БК Красные Крылья, en, BC Red Wings) was a Russian professional basketball club from the city of Samara, Russia. History Krasnye Krylya played in the 2009–10 season of the Russian Super League 1, as ...

. In 2011, he signed with

Asefa Estudiantes Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 19 ...

in Spain; he later left for the birth of his child. Then he signed with

Budivelnyk Kyiv BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdraw from the Superleague due ...

of Ukraine. After ending the season, Flores joined the

Titanes del Licey Titanes del Licey is a professional basketball team based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The team currently plays in Dominican top division Liga Nacional de Baloncesto. Championships Liga Nacional de Baloncesto The Liga Nacional de Balonc ...

of the Dominican Republic, where he made the playoffs, before being eliminated in the 1st round.

National team career

As a member of the senior Dominican Republic national basketball team, Flores played at the following tournaments: the

2003 Centrobasket This page shows the results of the Men's Central American and Caribbean Basketball Championship, also known as the 2003 Centrobasket, which was held in the city of Culiacán, Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican Sta ...

, where he won a silver medal, the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

, where he won a silver medal, the

2005 FIBA Americas Championship The 2005 FIBA Americas Championship, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup (also known as The Tournament of the Americas), was hosted by the Dominican Republic, from August 24, to September 4, 2005. The games were played in Santo Domingo. This FIBA Amer ...

, the

2009 FIBA Americas Championship The 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup, was the continental championship held by FIBA Americas, for North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. This FIBA AmeriCup championship served as a qualifying tourname ...

, the

2011 FIBA Americas Championship The 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Men, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup, was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Americas, at the 2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball tournament, in London. This FIBA AmeriCup tournament was held in Mar del ...

, where he won a bronze medal, and 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 ...

References

External links