Francisco Elson
Francisco Marinho Robby Elson (born February 28, 1976 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch retired professional basketball player. Elson was the seventh Dutch player to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] Elson served as the captain of the Netherlands national basketball team in international basketball, as he led the team in several EuroBasket qualifying rounds. He was the first Dutch player to become NBA champion, with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.
 Elson with the Spurs in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 28, 1976 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Maria Regina Mavo |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1999 / Round: 2 / Pick: 41st overall |
| Selected by the Denver Nuggets | |
| Playing career | 1999–2013 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 56, 16, 9, 8 |
| Career history | |
| 1999–2001 | FC Barcelona Regal |
| 2001–2002 | Pamesa Valencia |
| 2002–2003 | Caja San Fernando |
| 2003–2006 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2006–2008 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2008 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2008–2010 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 2010 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2010–2011 | Utah Jazz |
| 2012 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2013 | Mahram Tehran |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 1,726 (3.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,638 (3.5 rpg) |
| Blocks | 255 (0.5 bpg) |
Stats  at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Youth and College Career
Elson started his career at AMVJ Rotterdam at the age of twelve. After a couple of years playing, he stopped after his older brother Patrick died of a heart attack while playing basketball at the age of 21.[2] His gym teacher at the Maria School asked him to return to the club at the age of sixteen.
Elson was a member of the Dutch Under-20 National Team. He played two seasons at Kilgore Junior College in Texas before completing his college at the University of California, Berkeley. As a senior, he helped lead the Bears to the NIT Championship.[3]
Elson was indicted into Kilgore College's Hall of Fame in 2016.[4]
Professional career
Elson was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft from Cal by the Denver Nuggets, but did not commence play with them until the 2003–04 campaign. He played four years in Spain:
- 1999–2001 with FC Barcelona averaging 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 32 games for his first season and 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 34 games for the second.
- 2001–02 with Pamesa Valencia averaging 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 34 games.
- 2002–03 with Caja San Fernando averaging 9.7 point and 8.2 rebounds in 34 games.
Over his first two seasons with Denver, Elson was mostly a reserve. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. In 2005–06, his third season with the Nuggets, Elson played in 72 games and started in 54 of them. He averaged 21.9 minutes, 4.9 points (on 53.2% shooting) and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Elson gained notoriety during Denver's 2004 playoff series with Minnesota through his physical attempts to contain Kevin Garnett. Elson knocked Garnett into the seats behind the basket with a hard foul early in a game and later in the game was hit in the groin by Garnett. Elson caused controversy when he described Garnett as "gay" for the groin shot. Elson later apologized to the gay and lesbian community for his comments.[5]
In July 2006 Elson signed a 2-year, $6 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs.[6] This was to help provide depth at center by replacing Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic. Elson split time at center with Fabricio Oberto, with Elson providing rebounding and defense.[7] Elson won his first NBA Championship in 2007 after the Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On February 21, 2008, Elson was traded by the San Antonio Spurs along with Brent Barry to the Sonics in exchange for Kurt Thomas.[8] He spent most of this season coming off the bench for both the Spurs and the Sonics.
Elson later signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Bucks to serve as Andrew Bogut's primary backup.[9] 2008-09, his first season with the Bucks, was the last of his NBA career where he started games with any regularity.
On February 18, 2010, Elson was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers along with sharpshooter Jodie Meeks in exchange for Primoz Brezec and Royal Ivey.[10] Elson missed most of the season after hernia surgery, and appeared in only one game with his new team.[11]
On September 15, 2010, Elson signed a guaranteed two-year contract with the Utah Jazz.[12] After his contract expired, he returned to the Netherlands for treatment on his knee.[13]
On January 27, 2012, Elson was signed by the Philadelphia 76ers to provide the team with front-court depth because of injuries at the position.[14] He signed two 10-day contracts, then was not re-signed for a third time after Spencer Hawes returned from injury.[15]
On June 20, 2013, Elson's retirement was announced on Dutch websites.[16] He later stated that his retirement was just from international basketball.[17] In March 2014, his retirement became official.[18]
Personal life
Elson is fluent in Dutch, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Mandarin. He is of Surinamese descent.[19] His father is half Chinese and half African. His mother is half Indian and half African. Elson has a brown belt in karate.[20]
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won an NBA championship |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Denver | 62 | 14 | 14.1 | .472 | .000 | .667 | 3.3 | .5 | .6 | .6 | 3.5 |
| 2004–05 | Denver | 67 | 11 | 14.0 | .468 | .333 | .570 | 3.0 | .5 | .5 | .6 | 3.7 |
| 2005–06 | Denver | 72 | 54 | 21.9 | .532 | .200 | .662 | 4.7 | .7 | .8 | .6 | 4.9 |
| 2006–07† | San Antonio | 70 | 41 | 19.0 | .511 | .000 | .775 | 4.8 | .8 | .4 | .8 | 5.0 |
| 2007–08 | San Antonio | 41 | 3 | 13.0 | .419 | .000 | .833 | 3.3 | .4 | .2 | .3 | 3.5 |
| 2007–08 | Seattle | 22 | 2 | 12.7 | .341 | .000 | .462 | 3.0 | .4 | .3 | .3 | 3.0 |
| 2008–09 | Milwaukee | 59 | 23 | 16.6 | .491 | .250 | .846 | 3.9 | .5 | .6 | .6 | 3.4 |
| 2009–10 | Milwaukee | 11 | 0 | 5.6 | .308 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.2 | .2 | .1 | .0 | .9 |
| 2009–10 | Philadelphia | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .500 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2010–11 | Utah | 62 | 1 | 9.8 | .478 | .000 | .839 | 1.9 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 2.2 |
| 2011–12 | Philadelphia | 5 | 0 | 3.2 | .333 | .000 | .000 | .2 | .2 | .2 | .2 | .4 |
| Career | 472 | 149 | 15.3 | .478 | .188 | .700 | 3.5 | .6 | .5 | .5 | 3.7 | |
See also
Sports portal- List of European basketball players in the United States
References
- Francisco Elson's Bio on NBA.com Retrieved on September 15, 2008. Archived April 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Ian Thomsen's Fast Break, Sports Illustrated, March 14, 2005
- Spurs sign Francisco Elson, spurs.com, August 2, 2006
- Hall of Fame - 2016 Inductees
- Elson apologizes to gay and lesbian community, Associated Press, April 29, 2004
- Nuggets Don't Match on Elson, WOAI, July 21, 2006
- NBA.com - 2007-08 Season Preview; San Antonio Spurs
- ESPN – Spurs get Kurt Thomas from SuperSonics for Barry, Elson and draft pick – NBA
- "Bucks sign Francisco Elson". NBA.com. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
- "Sixers Complete Four Player Trade with Milwaukee". NBA.com. February 18, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
- Cooney, Bob and Phil Jasner (February 19, 2010). "Brezec, Ivey dealt to Bucks". Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia. p. 99.
- "Jazz signs Francisco Elson". NBA.com. September 15, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- Tony Jones [@tribjazz] (April 13, 2011). "Jazz's Elson will not have offseason surgery on left knee. Still swollen, though. Will rest and receive treatment in Netherlands" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Sixers sign free agent big man Elson". CSNPhilly.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- "Turner's role is decreasing". Phillyburbs.com. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- "Francisco Elson kondigt afscheid aan". Nusport.nl (in Dutch). June 22, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- "Francisco Elson: People need to stand up". Basketball+ (in Dutch). Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- "SAS: Elson: "Ik ben nu definitief gestopt"". Sportamerika.nl (in Dutch). March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- "Francisco Elson, Spurs player with Suriname ties, inspires fan frenzy for NBA finals". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. June 14, 2007. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007.
- Ian Thomsen's Fast Break, Sports Illustrated, March 14, 2005