Friðrik Erlendur Stefánsson (born 6 October 1976) is an Icelandic 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 (appro ...

player who spent 17 seasons with

Njarðvík Njarðvík () is a town in southwestern Iceland, on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400. History In 1995 it merged with the town of Keflavík and the village of Hafnir to form the new municipality of Reykjanesbær. ...

, winning the Icelandic national championship three times and the Icelandic Basketball Cup three times. In 2006 he was voted as the Úrvalsdeild domestic player of the year.

Early life and career

Friðrik grew up in

Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyja ...

where he started practicing basketball at the age of 16 with a local team called Týr. During a school trip in

in 1992, he was spotted by Axel Nikulásson, the head coach of the Icelandic U-16 team, who selected him for the team's games in August that year. He was the first player to play for the Icelandic national team before playing in any official games organized by the

Icelandic Basketball Federation The Icelandic Basketball Association (''Icelandic:Körfuknattleikssamband Íslands - KKÍ'') is the national governing body of basketball in Iceland and is a member of the continental association FIBA Europe and the global International Basketbal ...

. In December 1993, he joined KR for the rest of the 1993-1994 season. In March 1994, he was injured on practice after a backboard of a basket fell on him after a dunk. After starting the 1994-95 season with KR, he joined 1. deild karla club

KFÍ The Vestri men's basketball team, commonly known as Vestri, is a basketball team based in Ísafjörður, Iceland. The club was founded in 1965 as Körfuknattleiksfélag Ísafjarðar and held that name until it merged with newly founded Íþrótta ...

in October. He started the following season with KFÍ, but left to join Úrvalsdeild club

Þór Akureyri Íþróttafélagið Þór (, ), commonly known as Þór Akureyri (), or simply Þór or Thór, is a multi-sport club in Akureyri, in the north of Iceland. It features departments in basketball, football, handball and taekwondo. Its main rival is ...

in November 1995. He left the club in February 1996 after failing to break into the rotation. In March 1996, he appeared in two games for Íþróttafélag Vestmannaeyja (ÍV) in the 2. deild karla where he averaged 18.5 points per game.

National team career

Between 1997 and 2008, Friðrik played 112 games for the Icelandic national team. He was selected to Iceland's squad for the

2005 Games of the Small States of Europe The 2005 Games of the Small States of Europe, or the XIth Games of the Small States of Europe, were held in Andorra la Vella, Andorra from May 30 to June 4, 2005. Andorra la Vella previously hosted the games in 1991. Administration of the games wa ...

but missed the games after suffering an eye injury on practice.

Health problems

In 2007 Friðrik had a heart surgery to correct an

atrial flutter Atrial flutter (AFL) is a common abnormal heart rhythm that starts in the atrial chambers of the heart. When it first occurs, it is usually associated with a fast heart rate and is classified as a type of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). ...

problem. In the previous years he had collapsed twice while playing, in the 2005 playoffs and once with the Icelandic national team. He missed the 2008 Úrvalsdeild playoffs due to

irregular heartbeat Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats ...

. In 2014 he retired from top division play, siding various injuries, but continued to play with Njarðvík's B-team in the lower divisions. In 2015, in a game with the B-team, he collapsed once again and had to be resuscitated.

Awards and achievements

Club honours

* Icelandic Champion: (3) **2001, 2002, 2006 * Icelandic Basketball Cup: (3) **1999, 2002, 2005 * Icelandic Basketball Supercup: (6) **1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 * Icelandic Company Cup (3) **Winners (3): 2001, 2003, 2005 * Icelandic Division I champion: **1996

Individual awards

* Úrvalsdeild Domestic player of the Year: **2006 * Úrvalsdeild Defense Player of the Year: **2005 * Úrvalsdeild Young Player of the Year: **1997 * Úrvalsdeild Domestic All-First Team: (6) **1998, 2000, 2002, 2005–2007

External links

Korisliiga statisticsÚrvalsdeild statistics (1993–2007)
at

Icelandic Basketball Association The Icelandic Basketball Association (''Icelandic:Körfuknattleikssamband Íslands - KKÍ'') is the national governing body of basketball in Iceland and is a member of the continental association FIBA Europe and the global International Basketbal ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stefansson, Fridrik Erlendur 1976 births Living people Centers (basketball) Fridrik Erlendur Stefansson Fridrik Erlendur Stefansson Fridrik Erlendur Stefansson Fridrik Erlendur Stefansson Fridrik Erlendur Stefansson Fridrik Erlendur Stefansson Fridrik Erlendur Stefansson