Simon Birgander

Simon Birgander
No. 2 – Joventut Badalona
Position Power forward
League ACB
Personal information
Born (1997-10-23) October 23, 1997
Kvistofta, Helsingborg, Sweden
Nationality Swedish
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Career information
NBA draft 2017 / Undrafted
Playing career 2015–present
Career history
2015–2016 Helsingborg
2016–2017 Clavijo
2017–present Joventut Badalona

Simon Fredrik Stefan Birgander (born October 23, 1997) is a Swedish professional basketball player for Joventut de Badalona in the Spanish Liga ACB.

Career

He cut his teeth in the youth ranks of Helsingborg Basket in his native Sweden before making his debut in the country’s second-tier league Basketettan in the early stages of the 2015-16 season. He had a tremendous presence inside in terms of blocking shots (5.8bpg) in Basketettan play, while averaging 11.7 points and 13.5 rebounds per contest (12 games played).[1]

Birgander left Sweden in January 2016 to head to Spain, where he joined CB Clavijo of the LEB Gold, the second-tier division.[2] He was also made eligible to play for EBA side Natural Rioja Vintage Clavijo. In EBA play, he was a major contributor on the defensive end of the court, averaging 3.6 blocks a game in 14 games of the 2015-16 campaign, while scoring 7.4 points and pulling down 9.3 rebounds per outing.

On April 2017, Birgander put his name into the 2017 NBA Draft. Two months later, he became one of only 10 international underclassmen to remain in the NBA Draft that year. However, he went undrafted.[3] He signed with Joventut de Badalona of the Spanish top-flight Liga ACB in July 2017.[4]

International career

Birgander was a key member of the Swedish under-18 national team who won gold at the 2015 Division B European Championship, averaging 3.8 points, 6.0 boards as well as a tournament-high 2.5 blocks a game.[5] In 2016, he averaged 7.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest at the under-20 European Championships in Finland.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Spelare". www.basket.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  2. ↑ nuevecuatrouno (2016-01-20). "Simon Birgander, apuesta de futuro para el Cocinas.com". nuevecuatrouno.com. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  3. ↑ Pascoe, Bruce. "Controversial trade takes the spotlight away from Arizona's Lauri Markkanen". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  4. ↑ "El Divina Joventut ficha al joven pívot sueco Simon Birgander". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  5. ↑ "Simon Birgander | U18 European Championship Men (2015) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  6. ↑ "FIBA U20 European Championship (2016) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
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