Simon Fredrik Stefan Birgander (born 23 October 1997) is a Swedish 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 for Joventut de Badalona in the Spanish

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 ...

Career

He cut his teeth in the youth ranks of Helsingborg Basket in his native Sweden before making his debut in the country's second-tier league Basketettan in the early stages of the 2015–16 season. He had a tremendous presence inside in terms of blocking shots (5.8 bpg) in Basketettan play, while averaging 11.7 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest (12 games played). Birgander left Sweden in January 2016 to head to Spain, where he joined

CB Clavijo Club Baloncesto Clavijo is a professional Basketball team based in Logroño, La Rioja. The team currently plays in league LEB Oro. History Founded in 1967, CB Clavijo started their first years playing in the provincial league and after achieving ...

of the

LEB Gold LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonce ...

, the second-tier division. He was also made eligible to play for EBA side Natural Rioja Vintage Clavijo. In EBA play, he was a major contributor on the defensive end of the court, averaging 3.6 blocks a game in 14 games of the 2015–16 campaign, while scoring 7.4 points and pulling down 9.3 rebounds per outing. In April 2017, Birgander put his name into the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

. Two months later, he became one of only 10 international underclassmen to remain in the NBA Draft that year. However, he went undrafted. He signed with Joventut de Badalona of the Spanish top-flight

in July 2017.

International career

Birgander was a key member of the Swedish under-18 national team who won gold at the 2015 Division B European Championship, averaging 3.8 points, 6.0 boards as well as a tournament-high 2.5 blocks a game. In 2016, he averaged 7.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest at the under-20 European Championships in Finland.

References

External links

Profile
at feb.es

at fiba.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Birgander, Simon 1997 births Living people CB Clavijo players Joventut Badalona players Liga ACB players Power forwards (basketball) Swedish expatriate basketball people in Spain Swedish men's basketball players Sportspeople from Helsingborg