Frédéric Weis (born 22 June 1977) is a French 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. Despite being a first-round

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

draft pick, he never played professionally in North America.

Professional career

During his pro career, Weis played with Unicaja Málaga and Iurbentia Bilbao of the Spanish ACB League, PAOK Thessaloniki in the Greek League, and

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

in the French League. On 28 January 2009, Iurbentia Bilbao waived him after he missed three games due to his health, and on 13 February he signed with ViveMenorca. In March 2011, he announced his retirement.

NBA

Weis was selected by the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

with the 15th overall pick of the

1999 NBA draft The 1999–2000 NBA season, 1999 NBA draft was held on June 30, 1999, at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Bran ...

. His selection angered many Knicks fans as

Ron Artest Metta Sandiford-Artest (born Ronald William Artest Jr., November 13, 1979), previously legally named Metta World Peace, is an American former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Un ...

, who had grown up in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

and played for St. John's University, was still available. Artest would be selected with the next pick by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. Weis took part in the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

and then declined to sign a rookie contract, being convinced by his agent - who was also a minority owner of Weis's team, Limoges - to return to France. Weis ended up never playing in an NBA game, later stating that in spite of his interest in going to North America, the Knicks never directly contacted him about returning. On 29 August 2008 the Knicks traded Weis's draft rights to 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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

for Patrick Ewing Jr. Ironically, Ewing Jr. would not make the final roster that fall.

National team career

Weis won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, with the senior French national basketball team. With France's national team he played at the following

EuroBasket EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

s: the 1999 EuroBasket, the 2001 EuroBasket, the 2005 EuroBasket, and the 2007 EuroBasket. At the 2005 EuroBasket, Weis won the bronze medal with his national team. He also played with France's national team at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised b ...

.Frédéric WEIS (FRA) participated in 13 FIBA / FIBA Zones events.
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"''Le dunk de la mort''"

Weis is best known for having been " posterized" by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 22 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, b ...

during a game between the U.S. and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games on 25 September 2000. After getting the ball off a steal, the Carter drove to the basket and spread his legs as he jumped over the Weis before dunking the ball ferociously. The French media dubbed the slam ''"le dunk de la mort"'': "the dunk of death". The U.S. won the game 106–94. In an

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

story published on the 15th anniversary of the dunk, Weis said that Carter "deserves to make history. Sadly for me, I was on the video, too. I learned people can fly."

Personal life

In 2002, Weis's wife, Celia, gave birth to a son, Enzo, while Weis was playing in Spain. After Enzo was diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

as a toddler, Weis spiraled into

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and depression, and Celia took their son and returned to France. In 2008, Weis drove to a

rest stop A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

and attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

by intentionally overdosing on

sleeping pills A hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), also known as a somnifacient or soporific, and commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep and to treat insomnia (sleeplessness). Th ...

. After surviving the attempt, Weis quit drinking and reconciled with his wife. Following his retirement from basketball, Weis and Celia began operating a tobacco shop and bar in

. He is currently a television analyst for French league games.

References

External links

Vince Carter dunks on Frederic Weis at the 2000 OlympicsEuroleague.net ProfileSpanish League Profile

French League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weis, Frederic 1977 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Bilbao Basket players Centers (basketball) Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball players French expatriate basketball people in Greece French expatriate basketball people in Spain French men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Liga ACB players Limoges CSP players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Menorca Bàsquet players New York Knicks draft picks Olympic basketball players for France Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for France P.A.O.K. BC players Sportspeople from Thionville 20th-century French sportsmen