Edy Tavares

Walter Samuel "Edy" Tavares da Veiga (born 22 March 1992) is a Cape Verdean professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was selected with the 43rd overall pick in 2014 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks and has played internationally for the Cape Verde national basketball team. Tavares receives praise as a physical phenomenon, standing 7'3" tall and possessing a 7'9" wingspan.[1]

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Tavares and the second or paternal family name is da Veiga.
Edy Tavares
Tavares with Cleveland in 2017
No. 22 – Real Madrid
PositionCenter
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroLeague
Personal information
Born (1992-03-22) 22 March 1992
Maio, Cape Verde
NationalityCape Verdean
Listed height7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)
Listed weight265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2014 / Round: 2 / Pick: 43rd overall
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009–2015Gran Canaria
2011–2013→La Palma
2015–2016Atlanta Hawks
2015–2016→Austin Spurs
2015→Canton Charge
2016→Bakersfield Jam
2016–2017Raptors 905
2017Cleveland Cavaliers
2017Raptors 905
2017–presentReal Madrid
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Tavares was born in Cape Verde on the island of Maio. He did not play any basketball until he was 17 years old, and his talent was discovered by a German tourist who was on vacation in Cape Verde in 2009.[2][3]

Professional career

Spain

From 2009 to 2011, Tavares played for CB Gran Canaria's junior team in the Liga EBA.[3] In 2011, he was loaned to UB La Palma of the LEB Oro for the 2011–12 season. In 2012, he returned to Gran Canaria and made his Liga ACB debut on 6 January 2013. He also played three games for La Palma in 2012–13 as well.

In April 2013, Tavares declared for the 2013 NBA draft[4] but later withdrew his name and returned to Gran Canaria for the 2013–14 season.

On 19 June 2014, Tavares re-signed with Gran Canaria on a three-year deal,[5] while still remaining eligible for the 2014 NBA draft.[6]

On 26 June 2014, Tavares was selected with the 43rd overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks, becoming the first Cape Verdean-born player to be drafted in the NBA.[7] On 26 August 2014, it was announced Tavares would return to Gran Canaria for the 2014–15 season.[8] During their 2014–15 season, Tavares earned All-EuroCup First Team honors.

Atlanta Hawks

On 6 July 2015, Tavares joined the Atlanta Hawks for the 2015 NBA Summer League.[9] Three days later, he signed a multi-year deal with the Hawks.[10] He made his debut for the Hawks on 29 October recording one point and one rebound in a 112–101 win over the New York Knicks.[11] During his rookie season, using the flexible assignment rule, Tavares received multiple assignments to the Austin Spurs, Canton Charge and Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.[12] On 31 October 2016, he was waived by the Hawks after appearing in one game for the team in the 2016–17 season.[13]

Raptors 905

On 12 November 2016, Tavares was acquired by Raptors 905 of the NBA Development League.[14] On February 6, 2017, he was named in the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the 2017 NBA D-League All-Star Game.[15] At the season's end, he was named the recipient of the NBA Development League Defensive Player of the Year Award.[16]

Cleveland Cavaliers

On 12 April 2017, Tavares signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[17] He made his debut for the Cavaliers that night, recording 10 rebounds and 6 blocks in a 99–83 loss to the Toronto Raptors.[18] Tavares did not play at all in the 2017 playoffs due to a hand injury.[19] On 11 October 2017, Tavares was waived by the Cavaliers.[20]

Brief return to Raptors 905

Shortly after getting waived by the Cavaliers, Tavares returned to Raptors 905, ultimately playing only one regular season game for them, scoring 13 points, with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks vs. the Grand Rapids Drive on 5 November 2017.

Return to Spain

On 10 November 2017, Tavares signed with Real Madrid until the end of the 2019–20 season.[21][22] In May 2018, Real Madrid won the 2017–18 EuroLeague championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe in the final game with 85–80.[23] Over 17 EuroLeague games, Tavares averaged 6.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

On 21 September 2019, Tavares set an individual record for most blocks in a Spanish Supercup game, with 7 blocks in the semi-final against Fuenlabrada.[24]

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.

† Denotes season in which Tavares' team won the EuroLeague
Led the league

NBA
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Atlanta 1106.6.579.000.3751.9.3.1.62.3
2016–17 Atlanta 104.01.000.000.0001.0.0.0.02.0
2016–17 Cleveland 1024.0.750.000.00010.01.0.06.06.0
Career 1307.8.625.000.2732.5.3.1.92.5

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2017–18† Real Madrid 292317.4.682.000.6235.3.5.41.56.510.6
2018–19 342819.4.794.000.6326.2.7.41.77.413.4
Career 635118.5.743.000.6285.8.6.41.67.012.1

Domestic leagues
Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12UB La PalmaLEB Oro216.7.552.000.3331.7.0.2.51.6
2012–13Herbalife Gran CanariaLiga ACB125.6.500.000.6672.2.2.2.51.5
2013–143520.7.593.000.7226.8.3.51.56.0
2014–153622.0.583.000.6287.9.3.81.88.0
2017–18Real Madrid3620.6.674.000.5826.3.5.42.27.9

See also

References
  1. "22 – Walter Tavares". NBADraft.com. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  2. "Walter Tavares: The biggest unknown in the draft". HoopsHype.com. May 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  3. "Who Is Walter Tavares: Meet NBA Draft's Mystery 7-Footer". BleacherReport.com. June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  4. "Walter Tavares declares for the NBA Draft". Sportando.com. April 22, 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  5. "Gran Canaria extends Walter Tavares for three years". Sportando.com. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  6. "Draft prospect Walter Tavares signs three-year deal with Gran Canaria". CBSSports.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  7. "Tavares selected 43rd by the Hawks". SuperSport.com. June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  8. "Tavares back for another season with Gran Canaria". AJC.com. August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  9. "Edy Tavares, Mike Muscala Headline Hawks' Summer League Roster". NBA.com. July 6, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  10. "Hawks Sign Walter "Edy" Tavares". NBA.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  11. "Hawks beat Knicks 112-101 for 1st victory of the season". NBA.com. October 29, 2015. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  12. "2015-16 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  13. "Hawks Request Waivers On Edy Tavares". NBA.com. October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  14. "RAPTORS 905 ACQUIRE EDY TAVARES". NBA.com. November 12, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  15. "Rosters for 2017 NBA Development League All-Star Game Presented By Kumho Tire". NBA.com. February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  16. "Edy Tavares Named 2016-17 NBA D-League Defensive Player of The Year". NBA.com. April 18, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  17. "Cavaliers Sign Dahntay Jones and Edy Tavares". NBA.com. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  18. "Raptors prep for playoffs, beat "resting" Cavaliers 98-83". ESPN.com. April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  19. Chiari, Mike (May 14, 2017). "Cavaliers Center Walter Tavares Out Indefinitely with Hand Injury". BleacherReport.com. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  20. "Cavaliers Waive Edy Tavares". NBA.com. October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  21. "Official Announcement: Tavares | Real Madrid CF". Real Madrid C.F. - Web Oficial. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  22. "This is Walter Tavares | Real Madrid CF". Real Madrid C.F. - Web Oficial. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  23. "Real Madrid is 2018 EuroLeague champion". euroleague.net. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  24. "Walter Tavares sets record for most Supercopa Endesa blocks". Eurohoops. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
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