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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He has also played in the NBA for the Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder, Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz and

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 Turkish Basketball League for the Fenerbahçe, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for

Élan Chalon Élan Sportif Chalonnais, commonly known as Élan Chalon, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The team's main colors are red and white, and their mascot is a moose. The team's home arena is called ...

, 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 re ...

for

Angelico Biella Pallacanestro Biella, known as Angelico Biella for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Biella, Piedmont. It plays in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season. For past club sponsorship names, see ...

, and in Switzerland for Vevey Riviera Basket. 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, Switzerland to Patrick Sefolosha, a black South African musician, and

Christine Sefolosha Christine Sefolosha (born 1955) is a Swiss painter, born in Montreux. Work and exhibitions Her works have been shown at numerous one person and group exhibitions, including at the Cavin Morris Gallery in New York City, American Visionary Art Mus ...

(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 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 Swiss League championship 2 times, in the yea ...

, 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 Elan or Élan may refer to: People * Elan Atias (born 1975), American singer-songwriter * Elán (musician) (born 1983), Mexican singer * Poets of Elan, a group of Ecuadorian poets Fictional characters * Elan (Order of the Stick), a character in ...

in the premier pro league in France. Sefolosha spent his first year in

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...

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 Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

, 3.5

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

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 eithe ...

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

. "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 The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

and promptly traded to the Chicago Bulls for the 16th pick (

Rodney Carney Rodney Dion Carney (born April 15, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis and was selected in the 2006 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and shortly afterwards traded to ...

), 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 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%). The ...

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 Oklahoma City Thunder for Denver's 2009 first-round draft pick, which Chicago used to draft Taj Gibson. 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.

Atlanta Hawks (2014–2017)

On July 15, 2014, Sefolosha was acquired by the Atlanta Hawks in a sign-and-trade deal, along with rights to

Giorgos Printezis Georgios Printezis (alternate spelling: Giorgos) ( el, Γεώργιος Πρίντεζης, born February 22, 1985) is a Greek former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his career with Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League an ...

, in exchange for the rights to Sofoklis Schortsanitis. 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 Utah Jazz. On January 12, 2018, in Utah's 99–88 loss to the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

, 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

. 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 in ...

, 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 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, 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 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, align="left" ,

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

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, 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 gather ...

, 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 fact ...

, 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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, 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 ser ...

, 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 Pero Antić ( mk, Перо Антиќ, ; born July 29, 1982), is a North Macedonian basketball executive and former professional player. He currently serves as a president of the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia. Antić was a member and ...

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 The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

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 A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

, 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 Alexander Benjamin Spiro (born ) is an American attorney. He is a partner at the New York office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Early life and education Spiro was born in New York and grew up in Boston. He is the eldest of four children ...

, 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, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. 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 Gideon's Promise, formerly the Southern Public Defender Training Center, is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 with a fellowship from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. The organization is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and provides ongo ...

, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating

public defenders A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...

. 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 The Provo River is located in Utah County and Wasatch County, Utah, in the United States. It rises in the Uinta Mountains at Wall Lake and flows about southwest to Utah Lake at the city of Provo, Utah. Course The two main branches of Provo Rive ...

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