Juan Ignacio Sánchez Brown (born May 8, 1977), commonly known as Pepe Sánchez, is an Argentine 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. He played at the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position. He was a part of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

2004 Olympic The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

gold medal team and was the first Argentine to play in the

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 ...

. He played two seasons in the NBA, playing in a total of 38 games with the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

(24 games),

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

(5 games), and the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

(9 games), averaging only 5 minutes per game.

Professional career

Early years

At age 12, he began playing for the youth team of Club Bahiense del Norte, together with future NBA star Emanuel Ginóbili. At age 17 he moved to

Deportivo Roca The Club Social y Deportivo General Roca is an Argentine sports club, based on General Roca, in the Río Negro Province. The club, founded on 1 September 1974, is mostly known for its football and basketball teams. The football team currently ...

for the 1994–95 season of the Argentine League, where he played point guard. The following year, he accepted a scholarship offer from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, but stayed in Argentina during the 1995–96 season, playing for

Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca Club Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca is an Argentine sports club based in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its basketball team, that currently played in the main levels of Argentina, including Campeonato Argentino an ...

. After his participation in the 1996 Youth Panamerican Tournament in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, where he represented the junior national team of Argentina, he moved to Philadelphia where he played for the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

college team for 4 years under

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach John Chaney, and finished his career as the #2 player in the NCAA in steals (he is currently in fifth place in career steals). As a junior, the crafty point guard guided the Owls to an appearance in the Elite Eight, where they fell to

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. Despite averaging only 5.6 points per game as a senior, he was named a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. He earned a degree in history at Temple in 2000.

NBA

On October 2,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

, after not being selected in the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

. On October 31,

, he became the first Argentine to play in a regular season game in the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

, firsting countryman

Rubén Wolkowyski Rubén Oscar Wolkowyski (born September 30, 1973) is an Argentine former professional basketball player, who also holds Polish citizenship. At a height of tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. Professional career Wolkowy ...

by a few minutes. On February 22,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he was traded along with

Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of ...

Nazr Mohammed Nazr Tahiru Mohammed ( ; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current ...

and

Theo Ratliff Theophalus Curtis Ratliff (born April 17, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Alabama, Ratliff played for and graduated from the University of Wyo ...

to the

, in exchange for

Roshown McLeod Roshown McLeod (born November 17, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round (20th pick overall) of the 1998 NBA draft. A 6'8" small forward from St. John's University a ...

and

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

. He was waived on March 12,

. On March 15,

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

. On October 10,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he signed as a

with the

. On August 21,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, he was traded along with Clifford Robinson to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, in exchange for Bob Sura. He was waived on October 31,

. Sánchez played a total of 38 games in his NBA career and recorded a total of 20 points, 21 rebounds, 49 assists and 16 steals. His final game was on April 16, 2003, in a 92–99 loss to the Boston Celtics where he played for 6 minutes and the only stat he recorded was 1 rebound.

Europe

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Sánchez won the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

championship in the 2001–02 season, while playing with the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

club Panathinaikos. He also played in the Spanish League with Etosa Alicante. He transferred to the Spanish League club

Unicaja Málaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the ...

in 2004, with whom he won the 2005–06

ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

; Unicaja's first Spanish League title. After three years at Unicaja, he left as a free agent when his contract expired at the end of the 2006–07 season. On August 13, 2007, he signed with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

. In July 2008, he signed with

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, but he was released in April 2009.

National team career

Sánchez was first called up to the senior men's

Argentine national basketball team The Argentina men's national basketball team () represents Argentina in men's international basketball officially nicknamed ''The Argentine Soul'' (), and it is controlled by the Argentine Basketball Federation. Argentina's national basketbal ...

in 1998. With Argentina, he played at the:

FIBA World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

, at both the

1998 FIBA World Championship The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), and hosted in Greece ...

and the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was held by the FIBA, International Basketb ...

(where he won the silver medal), the 1999 South American Championship (where he won the silver medal), and at the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

(where he won the gold medal). Sánchez's performance 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 ...

was quite satisfactory, with the Argentine press choosing him as the most outstanding player of the team.Voto de confianza
/ref>

Career statistics

Domestic leagues

References

External links

*
Euroleague.net Profile

Spanish League Profile

Latinbasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Pepe 1977 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players 2002 FIBA World Championship players 2006 FIBA World Championship players All-American college men's basketball players Argentine men's basketball players Argentine expatriate basketball people in Spain Argentine expatriate basketball people in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece Argentine sportspeople of Spanish descent Atlanta Hawks players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics CB Lucentum Alicante players Detroit Pistons players Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca basketball players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Greek Basket League players Liga ACB players Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics NBA players from Argentina Obras Sanitarias basketball players Olympic basketball players for Argentina Olympic gold medalists for Argentina Olympic medalists in basketball Panathinaikos B.C. players Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Real Madrid Baloncesto players Spanish men's basketball players Sportspeople from Bahía Blanca Basketball players from Buenos Aires Province Temple Owls men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players