Helgi Jónas Guðfinnsson (born 18 April 1976) is an Icelandic

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

and former professional player. He spent the majority of his career with

Grindavík Grindavík () is a fishing town in the Southern Peninsula district of Iceland, not far from Þorbjörn, a tuya (a type of flat-topped, steep-sided volcano). It is one of the few towns with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work ...

where he won the Icelandic championship in 1996 and the Icelandic Cup in 1995, 1998 and 2006. He was twice named the Úrvalsdeild Domestic Player of the Year and once the Icelandic Basketball Men's Player of the Year. After his playing career came to an end, Helgi went into coaching and led Grindavík to the Icelandic Cup in 2011 and the national championship in 2012.

Early life

Helgi Jónas grew up Neskaupsstaður where he trained

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in his youth. At the age of 11, he moved with his family to

where he started playing basketball.

Basketball

Playing career

After playing for Grindavík's junior teams, Helgi broke into the senior team during the 1992–1993 season, averaging 6.9 points in 23 games and being named the Úrvalsdeild Young Player of the Year. He spent the following season in high school in 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 ...

before returning to Grindavík in 1994. In 1996, he helped Grindavík win its first ever national championship. After a standout 1997–1998 season, where he was named the Úrvalsdeild Domestic Player of the Year, he played professionally for Donar Groeningen, RB Antwerpen and Ieper for the next three seasons. He returned to Grindavík in 2001 and average 21.1 points in his first season back. For the 2002–03 season, he was named the Úrvalsdeild Domestic Player of the Year again after averaging 18.9 points per game. After retiring in 2006, he returned during the 2008–09 season and helped Grindavík to the Úrvalsdeild finals where the team lost against KR 3–2. While serving as the head coach of Grindavík, Helgi appeared in a few games during the 2010–11 season due to injuries on the roster. He last played for ÍG in 2011 in the second-tier 1. deild karla, appearing two games where he averaged 31.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists.

National team career

From 1995 to 2001, Helgi played 63 games for the Icelandic national basketball team.

Coaching career

In April 2010, Helgi signed a three-year contract with

. He was voted the Úrvalsdeild coach of the year in 2012 after he led Grindavík to the Icelandic championship. After the season, he resigned from his post. In April 2014, he signed a two-year contract as the head coach of rival Úrvalsdeild club

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

. In November the same year, he was forced to step down as head coach due to heart problems. In May 2019, Helgi returned to coaching when he was hired as an assistant coach to

Daníel Guðni Guðmundsson Daníel Guðni Guðmundsson (born 17 November 1986) is an Icelandic basketball coach and a former player. During his playing career, he won the Icelandic Basketball Cup in 2014, and the Icelandic Super Cup three times, in 2004, 2006 and 2013. ...

. In August 2023, Helgi was hired as an assistant coach with

Álftanes Álftanes () is the name of a town and a collection of small peninsulas in Iceland. It means ''swan peninsula''. The best known of these peninsulas extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes with the town of the same name in the Capital Region ...

Football

From 2002 to 2003, Helgi played nine games in the Icelandic top-tier football league as well as appear in one

cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

game for Grindavík's football team. He played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Personal life

Helgi's son is basketball player Arnór Tristan Helgason.

References

External links

Icelandic statistics 2008-2011
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 ...

1976 births Living people Men's association football forwards Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Point guards Shooting guards Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson Helgi Jonas Gudfinnsson {{Iceland-basketball-bio-stub