Luis Scola

Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa (born April 30, 1980) is an Argentine professional basketball player who plays for Pallacanestro Varese of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). A three-time All-EuroLeague selection with Tau Ceramica, he signed with the Houston Rockets in 2007, and was voted to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Later on, he played for the Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Scola and the second or maternal family name is Balvoa.

Luis Scola
Scola in October 2019
No. 40 – Pallacanestro Varese
PositionPower forward
LeagueLBA
Personal information
Born (1980-04-30) April 30, 1980
Buenos Aires, Argentina
NationalityArgentine / Spanish[1]
Listed height2.07 m (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight110 kg (243 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2002 / Round: 2 / Pick: 56th overall
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Playing career1995–present
Career history
1995–1998Ferro Carril Oeste
1998–2007Tau Ceramica
1998–2000→Gijón
2007–2012Houston Rockets
2012–2013Phoenix Suns
2013–2015Indiana Pacers
2015–2016Toronto Raptors
2016–2017Brooklyn Nets
2017–2018Shanxi Brave Dragons
2018–2019Shanghai Sharks
2019–2020Olimpia Milano
2020–presentVarese
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Argentina
Olympic Games
2004 Athens
2008 Beijing
World Cup
2002 Indianapolis
2019 China
FIBA Diamond Ball
2004 Belgrade
2008 Nanjing
FIBA AmeriCup
2001 Neuquén
2011 Mar del Plata
2003 San Juan
2007 Las Vegas
2015 Mexico City
2017 Argentina
1999 San Juan
2009 San Juan
2013 Caracas
Pan American Games
2019 Lima

Scola has been a regular member of the Argentina national team since 1999, that won an Olympic gold team medal in 2004, and a bronze team medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was honored as the national flag bearer at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Professional career

Ferro Carril Oeste (1995–1998)

Scola started his career with the Buenos Aires youth teams of Ferro Carril Oeste. He made his professional debut with the same club's pro team in the Argentine league during the 1995–96 season, at the age of 15.

Spain

Cabitel Gijón (1998–2000)

After the 1997–98 basketball season in the Argentine League, Scola moved to Spain and signed with Saski Baskonia. He was loaned to Gijón Baloncesto, where he helped the then Spanish League Second Division club achieve promotion to the Spanish League First Division. He then was loaned back to Gijón through the 1999–2000 season, before arriving at Baskonia, where he played for seven seasons.

Tau Ceramica (1998–2007)

With Saski Baskonia, Scola reached the EuroLeague Finals in the 2000–01 season, and three consecutive EuroLeague Final Fours, between 2005 and 2007. His outstanding performances earned him an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2005, as well as two All-EuroLeague First Team selections in 2006 and 2007.

Although Scola did not win the EuroLeague championship with Baskonia, he did win with them every major Spanish League title, winning a Spanish ACB League championship in 2002, three Spanish King's Cups in 2002, 2004, 2006, and three Spanish Supercups in 2005, 2006, 2007.

NBA

In the summer of 2005, the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA (who drafted Scola in 2002), attempted to negotiate with Baskonia to buy out his contract. After throwing around numbers as large as US$15 million, Baskonia settled on a number of over $3 million for the buyout of the contract. This made it difficult for Scola to join fellow Argentina national team member Manu Ginóbili in San Antonio, because of the NBA's rule which limits teams to paying no more than $500,000 of a player's buyout.[2] Scola would have been responsible for paying Baskonia the remaining $2.5 million amount of the buyout. When the deal to buy out Scola's contract fell through, the Spurs instead signed an Argentine national team teammate and friend of Scola's, Fabricio Oberto.

Houston Rockets (2007–2012)

On July 12, 2007, the Spurs traded the rights to Scola, along with center-forward Jackie Butler, to the Houston Rockets, in return for Vassilis Spanoulis, a future second-round draft pick, and cash considerations. He signed with the Rockets soon after[3] and his US$3.2 million buyout was completed a few days later.[4][5] Scola signed a three-year contract with the Rockets, at a salary of $9.5 million. Scola placed third in the NBA 2007–08 Rookie of the Year Award voting[6] and he was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. On March 13, 2010, he scored a career high 44 points against the New Jersey Nets.

On the afternoon of December 8, 2011, the day before the 2011 NBA lockout ended and players could move between teams, the Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Hornets agreed to a trade that would have sent Scola, along with Goran Dragić, Kevin Martin, and Lamar Odom to the Hornets. In exchange, the Rockets would have received Pau Gasol, and the Lakers would have received star point guard Chris Paul. That night, after other team owners voiced their opposition, league commissioner David Stern nullified the trade.[7]

On July 13, 2012, he was waived by the Rockets using the league's amnesty clause to provide salary cap relief.[8] It was widely noted,[9] however, that Scola was not cut due to a lack of performance; rather, the deal was an attempt to clear cap space for the Rockets to trade for former Orlando Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard. Howard was instead traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Rockets used their cap space to gain former Oklahoma City Thunder Sixth Man of the Year shooting guard and Olympic gold medalist James Harden.

Phoenix Suns (2012–2013)
Scola with the Suns in December 2012

On July 15, 2012, Scola was claimed off amnesty waivers by the Phoenix Suns.[10] Reportedly, the Dallas Mavericks and the Cleveland Cavaliers were also interested in acquiring him during the amnesty process.[11][12] On November 21, 2012, he was relegated to playing off the bench for the first time in his NBA career since the start of his rookie season. He regained his starting spot less than a month later, and on December 29, he scored a season-high 33 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves.[13] While Scola did become a leader for the Suns, he finished the season with declining averages, as his 12.8 points per game were his lowest since the 2008–09 season.

Indiana Pacers (2013–2015)

On July 27, 2013, the Suns traded Scola to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a future second round draft pick.[14] In his two seasons for the Pacers, he played a back-up power forward role to David West as he started just 18 games over his two-year stint.

Toronto Raptors (2015–2016)

On July 15, 2015, Scola signed with the Toronto Raptors.[15] He made his debut for the Raptors in their season opener on October 28, recording eight rebounds while taking no field goal attempts in a 106–99 win over the Indiana Pacers.[16] He helped the Raptors make the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016 for the first time in franchise history.

Brooklyn Nets (2016–2017)

On July 13, 2016, Scola signed with the Brooklyn Nets.[17] He made his debut for the Nets in their season opener on October 26, scoring eight points in a 122–117 loss to the Boston Celtics.[18] On February 27, 2017, he was waived by the Nets.[19]

China

Shanxi Brave Dragons (2017–2018)

On July 9, 2017, Scola signed with the Shanxi Brave Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association.[20]

Shanghai Sharks (2018–19)

On August 10, 2018, Scola signed with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.[21]

Olimpia Milano (2019–2020)

On 29 September 2019, Olimpia Milano head coach, Ettore Messina, during the press conference of the 2nd round match of the 2019–20 LBA season lost against Germani Basket Brescia, announced that Scola had signed with the team for the rest of season.[22] On 11 June 2020, Scola left Olimpia Milano.[23]

Varese (2020–2021)

On 1 July 2020 Scola decides to play at least one year more before retirement and signs with Pallacanestro Varese, always in the LBA, for the 2019-20 season with an option for the next year.[24]

National team career

With Argentina's junior national teams, Scola won the gold medal at the 1995 South American Cadet Championship, the gold medal at the 1996 South American Junior Championship, the gold medal at the 2000 FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship, and the bronze medal at the 2001 FIBA Under-21 World Cup.

As a member of the senior Argentina national team, Scola has won several medals: the silver medal at the 1999 South American Championship, the bronze medal at the 1999 FIBA Americas Championship, the gold medal at the 2001 FIBA Americas Championship, the silver medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the silver medal at the 2003 FIBA Americas Championship, the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the silver medal at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the bronze medal at the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, the gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship and the bronze medal at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship among other titles. At the 2015 FIBA Americas Championship tournament, Scola became the all-time leading scorer in FIBA AmeriCup history, and won his 4th tournament MVP.

Scola broke two records of the Argentina national team at the FIBA World Cup, during the 2010 edition: top overall scorer for Argentina at a World Cup (beating Ernesto Gehrmann's 331 points)[25] and most points scored for Argentina in one game at a World Cup (scoring 37 against Brazil in the round of 16, therefore beating Alberto Desimone's 35 points scored against Mexico in 1963).[26]

In 2019, at 39 years old, he was part of the team that won the gold medal at the Pan American Games. At the 2019 FIBA World Cup, he scored 135 points and 57 rebounds in the seven matches en route to the final.

Titles and medals

Club level
  • Spanish League Champion: (2002)
  • 3× Spanish King's Cup Winner: (2002, 2004, 2006)
  • 3× Spanish Supercup Winner: (2005, 2006, 2007)

Argentina national team

Awards
Luis Scola with the Argentine national team

Club level

Argentina junior national team

Argentina senior national team

Career statistics
Legend
  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  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

NBA

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007–08 Houston 823924.7.515.000.6686.41.3.7.210.3
2008–09 Houston 828230.3.531.000.7608.81.5.8.112.7
2009–10 Houston 828232.6.514.200.7798.62.1.8.316.2
2010–11 Houston 747432.6.504.000.7388.22.5.6.618.3
2011–12 Houston 666631.3.491.000.7736.52.1.5.415.5
2012–13 Phoenix 826726.6.473.188.7876.62.2.8.412.8
2013–14 Indiana 82217.1.470.143.7284.81.0.3.27.6
2014–15 Indiana 811620.5.467.250.6996.51.3.6.29.4
2015–16 Toronto 767621.5.450.404.7264.7.9.6.48.7
2016–17 Brooklyn 36112.8.470.340.6763.91.0.4.15.1
Career 74350525.6.493.339.7406.71.6.6.312.0

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008 Houston 6636.7.448.000.6869.31.3.7.214.0
2009 Houston 131332.6.494.000.6738.41.8.5.214.4
2014 Indiana 17013.9.465.333.5912.5.5.4.26.1
2016 Toronto 11912.7.258.190.7271.6.6.3.02.5
Career 482821.4.454.200.6674.71.0.4.18.5

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2000–01 TAU Cerámica 22518.3.547.000.5384.4.71.0.18.77.0
2001–02 20323.7.689.333.6704.61.11.3.315.916.8
2002–03 16924.7.546.000.6775.01.3.9.315.113.0
2003–04 14628.8.604.000.7656.12.41.4.415.216.8
2004–05 242124.7.564.000.6766.51.91.3.715.116.9
2005–06 252428.6.536.000.6796.72.21.6.814.818.8
2006–07 231826.5.573.000.7085.92.2.9.315.517.9
Career 1448625.6.577.091.6715.61.71.2.514.315.4

Personal life

Scola and his wife, fellow Argentine Pamela, have four children together.[27][28] He also holds a Spanish passport.[29]

He was a golden ambassador for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires when he was named in July 2017.[30]

gollark: RS = evil.
gollark: I mean, basically anything can transfer that puny power output.
gollark: Cryo-stabilized fluxducts.
gollark: I only got 375000. I think yours is right.
gollark: Can you *give* me those numbers?

References
  2. Larry Coon's NBA Salary Cap FAQ. Archived July 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine July 11, 2007
  3. San Antonio's 2002 draft pick Scola signs with Rockets. July 17, 2007
  4. Scola's NBA dream realized with trade to Rockets - Jonathan Feigen, Houston Chronicle, 14 July 2007
  5. Scola buyout issue is resolved. July 17, 2007
  6. Kevin Durant Named T-Mobile Rookie of the Year. Nba.com (May 1, 2008).
  7. Wojnarowski, Adrian (December 9, 2011). "Teams still pushing for Paul trade". Yahoo! Sports.
  8. "Suns claim Luis Scola off waiver wire, amnesty Josh Childress". SI.com. Associated Press. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
  9. Bill Simmons (August 10, 2012). "The London Chronicles, Vol. 6: The Mailbag That Wasn't". Grantland.com.
  10. Young, Royce. (July 15, 2012) Suns claim Luis Scola off waiver wire, amnesty Josh Childress. CBSSports.com.
  11. Suns make winning bid for Luis Scola – Dallas Mavericks Blog – ESPN Dallas. Espn.go.com.
  12. Holler, Doug (July 15, 2012). "Phoenix Suns acquire Luis Scola in auction". The Arizona Republic. AZCentral.com.
  13. Luis Scola 2012-13 Game Log
  14. "Pacers Acquire Luis Scola; Send Green, Plumlee, Future No. 1 Pick to Suns". NBA.com. July 27, 2013.
  15. "Raptors Sign Luis Scola". NBA.com. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  16. "DeRozan scores 25, Lowry has 23, Raptors beat Pacers 106-99". NBA.com. October 28, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  17. "Brooklyn Nets Sign Luis Scola and Greivis Vasquez". NBA.com. July 13, 2016. Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  18. "Thomas scores 25, Celtics fight off Nets 122-117". ESPN.com. October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  19. "BROOKLYN NETS WAIVE LUIS SCOLA". NBA.com. February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  20. "Luis Scola signs in China with Shanxi". Sportando.com. July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  21. "Luis Scola signs at Sharks". asia-basket.com. August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  22. "L'Olimpia annuncia l'arrivo di Luis Scola" (in Italian). olimpiamilano.com. September 29, 2019.
  23. "GIORGIO ARMANI THANKS LUIS SCOLA: "IT'S BEEN AN HONOR TO HAVE HIM ON OUR TEAM, I HOPE TO SEE HIM AT THE OLYMPICS"". olimpiamilano.com. June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  24. "LUIS SCOLA È UN NUOVO GIOCATORE BIANCOROSSO" (in Italian). pallacanestrovarese.it. July 1, 2020.
  25. Hernán Sartori (September 3, 2010). "Scola, el goleador que lidera la esperanza". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  26. Pablo Cormick (September 7, 2010). "Argentina, con inteligencia y carácter". ESPNDeportes (in Spanish). Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  27. "Five Things to Know About Luis Scola". NBA.com. July 30, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  28. "Luis Scola's wife Pamela Scola". PlayerWives.com. May 24, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  29. "Luis Scola". ABC.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  30. "Olympic basketball champion Scola named Buenos Aires 2018 ambassador".
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