Axel Arnar Nikulásson (2 June 1962 – 21 January 2022) was an Icelandic

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. He won the Icelandic championship twice, with

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

in 1989 and with KR in 1990.

Early life

Axel was born in Akranes in 1962 but grew up in

Playing career

Axel started playing basketball with

's youth teams around the age of 11. He broke into the first-team in 1979 and helped the team with the second-tier 1. deild in 1982 and achieve promotion to the first-tier Úrvalsdeild karla. During his first Úrvalsdeild season, Axel averaged 18.6 and helped Keflavík finish as the runner-up to the national championship. The following season, Axel moved to the United States to attend

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) is a public university in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. It is one of ten state universities that compose the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). History What today is East ...

where he also played for the school's basketball team, the

East Stroudsburg Warriors The East Stroudsburg Warriors are the athletic teams that represent East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, located in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Warriors are members of the Pennsylva ...

. He appeared in one Icelandic Cup game for Grindavík in December January 1987 while home on Christmas vacation. During the summer of 1987, Axel rejoined Keflavík. The following season he quit the team after the controversial firing of head coach Lee Nober. He eventually rejoined the team and helped it win the 1989 national championship. After the championship, he left Keflavík and signed with KR with whom he won the 1990 national championship. Axel retired from playing after appearing in three games for

Reynir Sandgerði Reynir Sandgerði (), sometimes known as Reynir S., is an Icelandic sports club based in Sandgerði on the Reykjanes peninsular. The club has active departments in football, basketball and swimming. Basketball Reynir Sandgerði's basketball depar ...

in 1993.

National team career

Between 1980 and 1992, Axel played 63 games for the Icelandic national basketball team.

Coaching career

Axel was hired as the head coach of KR prior to the 1994–1995 season. He led the team to a 16–16 record and a trip to the playoffs. The following season, he stepped down as head coach in November 1995 after a 6–3 start.

Post basketball career

In 1995, Axel started working for the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Axel died on 21 January 2022, at the age of 59.

References

External links

Úrvalsdeild statistics
at

Icelandic Basketball Association The Icelandic Basketball Association (''Icelandic:Körfuknattleikssamband Íslands - KKÍ'') is the national governing body of basketball in Iceland and is a member of the continental association FIBA Europe and the global International Basketbal ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikulasson, Axel 1962 births 2022 deaths East Stroudsburg Warriors men's basketball players Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson Axel Nikulasson 20th-century Icelandic sportsmen