Anderson Varejão

Anderson França Varejão (/vareʒɐ̃ũ/; born September 28 1982, in Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo) is a Brazilian professional basketball player, who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He won the gold medal with the Brazil national basketball team at the 2003 Pan American Games.

Early professional career

2001-2002

Varejão appeared in two regular season Liga ACB games for FC Barcelona Bàsquet and scored four total points.

Varejão also played in nine Euroleague games for FC Barcelona. In three regular season games Varejão averaged averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. In six "Top 16" playoff games, he averaged 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds, including a season high 10 points against Benetton Treviso.

2002-2003

Varejão appeared in four regular season Liga ACB games for FC Barcelona. He averaged 8.3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. While Varejão did not play in the Liga ACB playoffs that year, FC Barcelona, led by Juan Carlos Navarro, Sarunas Jasikevicius, and Dejan Bodiroga, won the Liga ACB championship.

Varejão also played in 22 Euroleague games (starting one), helping FC Barcelona to their first ever Euroleague Championship. Varejão averaged 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, including a season high 17 points against Benetton Treviso. He later scored one point in the Euroleague Championship Game against Benetton Treviso.

2003-2004

Varejão appeared in 27 regular season Liga ACB games for FC Barcelona. He averaged 7.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Varejão once again did not play in the playoffs that year, but FC Barcelona, led by Navarro and Bodiroga, won its second straight Liga ACB championship.

Varejão also played in 18 Euroleague games for FC Barcelona. In 13 regular season games Varejão averaged averaged 8.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, including a season high 17 points against Ulker Istanbul. In five "Top 16" playoff games, he averaged 5 points and 4.8 rebounds.

NBA career

NBA Draft

Varejão was selected by the Orlando Magic in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft (30th overall) and traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Drew Gooden and Steven Hunter in exchange for Tony Battie and two future second-round picks on July 23, 2004. He became a regular contributor for the Cavs, exciting fans and earning the nickname Wild Thing because of his energetic and relentless style of play.

2004-05 NBA season

In his rookie season, Varejão played in 54 games and averaged 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 16 minutes played per game. He had a season high 14 points on March 26, 2005 against the Dallas Mavericks and a season high 14 rebounds on January 15, 2005 against the Utah Jazz.

Varejão ranked first in the NBA in steals per turnover (1.58), fourth in the NBA in offensive rebounds per 48 minutes (6.1), second among rookies in offensive rebounds per 48 minutes (6.1), and fourth in total rebounds per 48 minutes (14.3).

Vajejao spent six games on the Injured list with left knee patella tendinitis from Nov. 17-29 and 11 more from Feb. 1-27 with a left high ankle sprain.

2005-06 NBA season

After missing the first 32 games of the 2005-2006 season with a dislocated right shoulder, Varejão played in 48 games played (four starts), and in under 16 minutes a game averaged 4.8 points and 4.6 rebounds. Varejão had a season high 14 points on two occasions and a career high 18 rebounds on April 19, 2006 against the Atlanta Hawks.

On February 21, 2006, fans at Quicken Loans Arena attempted to break the Guinness World Record for "most people wearing wigs in a single venue" when 20,562 fans wore wigs given away before the game in celebration of Varejão's unique hairstyle. All fans in attendance were instructed to put the wigs on during a timeout. It does not appear, however, that the fans were successful, as the Philadelphia Flyers now claim to have the wig wearing record with 9,315.

As a big contributor during the Cavaliers' 2006 playoff run, Varejão averaged 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds (equating to 11.7 rebounds per 48 minutes played). During the Eastern Conference Semifinal series against the Detroit Pistons, he uncharacteristically shot over 80% from the free throw line and played a big part in the Cavaliers' wins in Game 3 (16 points) and Game 4 (drawing a charge from Chauncey Billups with 29 seconds left to play and by preventing Richard Hamilton from making a potentially game-winning shot).

2006-07 NBA season

In the 2006-2007 season, Varejão received increased minutes from Mike Brown. In 81 games played (six starts), he averaged 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and was a staple on defense taking 99 charges in the season. This was the most in the NBA. Varejão also tied with Al Harrington for eighth in the NBA in personal fouls (269) and was eighth in the NBA's Defensive Rating.

Varejão had a career high 17 points on December 11, 2006 against the New Orleans Hornets and a season high 17 rebounds (including a career high nine offensive rebounds) against the Utah Jazz on Valentine's Day.

Varejão played in all 20 of the Cavs playoff game, averaging 6.0 points and 6.0 rebounds. He had a playoff high 14 points and a career playoff high 14 rebounds in a Game 2 loss to Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2007-08 NBA season

In the 2007 offseason Varejão became a restricted free agent, and he did not sign a contract with the Cavaliers at the start of the 2007-08 NBA season. On December 4 2007, he signed a two-year $11.1 million offer sheet (with a player option for a third year at $6.2 million) with the Charlotte Bobcats. Under the NBA's collective bargaining rules, the Cavaliers had one week to match the offer sheet, and the Cavaliers did so on December 5 2007.

In 48 regular season games played (13 starts), Varejão averaged career highs in minutes (27.5), rebounds (8.3), offensive rebounds (2.8), and assists (1.1). He had a season high and tied his career high with 17 points on April 2, 2008 against the Charlotte Bobcats, a season high and career high tying 18 rebounds on January 11, 2008 also against the Charlotte Bobcats, and a career high six assists on March 8, 2008 against the Indiana Pacers. In his 13 starts, he averaged 7.9 points and 10.1 rebounds.

Flopping

Varejão has been suggested at times for resorting to flopping when overwhelmed on defense; he himself along with teammates have played off such accusations. "My team just tries to be in good position all night, to take a charge. Maybe sometimes I exaggerate on the charge" as he said with an interview with the Detroit Free Press in the 2007 NBA Playoffs.

2006 FIBA World Championship incident

On August 23, 2006, Varejão, playing for the Brazilian national basketball team, committed a controversial foul during a preliminary game of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece. The foul involved Varejão's left elbow hitting Greek point guard Nikos Zisis' cheekbone. The incident resulted in a triple fracture of Zisis' face which required reconstructive surgery. Because of the injury, Zisis was unable to play with the Greek team for the remainder of the tournament.

Varejão, however, has dismissed Zisis' allegations that the foul was malicious. He stated to the press that Zisis was unlucky and that he "should have known basketball is a contact sport. Varejão also mentioned that there were three referees and that all of them saw the foul as unintentional. "When I saw how severe the injury was, I tried to apologize to him, but he turned his back on me," he said.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left" | 2004–05 | align="left" | Cleveland | 54 || 0 || 16.0 || .513 || .000 || .535 || 4.8 || .5 || .8 || .7 || 4.9 |- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Cleveland | 48 || 4 || 15.8 || .527 || .000 || .513 || 4.9 || .4 || .6 || .4 || 4.6 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Cleveland | 81 || 6 || 23.9 || .476 || .000 || .616 || 6.7 || .9 || .9 || .6 || 6.8 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Cleveland | 48 || 13 || 27.5 || .461 || .000 || .598 || 8.3 || 1.1 || .8 || .5 || 6.7 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 231 || 23 || 21.1 || .486 || .000 || .576 || 6.2 || .8 || .8 || .5 || 5.9 |}

Playoffs

|- | align="left" | 2005–06 | align="left" | Cleveland | 13 || 0 || 18.3 || .620 || .000 || .703 || 4.5 || .2 || .7 || .2 || 6.8 |- | align="left" | 2006–07 | align="left" | Cleveland | 20 || 0 || 22.4 || .511 || .000 || .563 || 6.0 || .6 || 1.0 || .6 || 6.0 |- | align="left" | 2007–08 | align="left" | Cleveland | 13 || 0 || 18.5 || .407 || .000 || .429 || 5.2 || .7 || .6 || .1 || 4.1 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 46 || 0 || 20.1 || .510 || .000 || .585 || 5.3 || .5 || .8 || .3 || 5.7 |}

References

External links

• NBA.com Profile - Anderson Varejao
• Anderson Varejao Player Profile (InterBasket)
• Pronunciation