Walter Samuel "Edy" Tavares da Veiga (born March 22, 1992) is a Cape Verdean professional

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 for

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

of the Spanish

Liga ACB The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He was selected with the 43rd overall pick in

2014 NBA draft The 2014 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2014, at Barclays Center, Brooklyn. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The ...

by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

and has played internationally for the Cape Verde national basketball team. Tavares receives praise as a physical phenomenon, standing tall and possessing a wingspan. After being scouted in his hometown, Tavares started playing for

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

in 2009. He was drafted in the

by the

where he played one season. In 2017, Tavares signed with Real Madrid where he became a star player, winning two

titles and three

All-EuroLeague Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an EuroLeague awards, award for European professional club basketball system, Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 s ...

selections, as well as several domestic accolades. Tavares is the EuroLeague's all-time leader in blocks. Tavares guided the Cape Verdean national team to their first-ever

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

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, and has played at

AfroBasket The AfroBasket (alternatively known as the FIBA Africa Championship, FIBA African Championship, or FIBA AfroBasket) is the men's basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa Africa is the world's s ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Early life

Tavares was born in

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

on the island of Maio. His father was also tall, at , and worked on shipping vessels which caused him to be away for long periods of time. Tavares worked as a cashier in his grandmother's shop after school and played beach football as a hobby. 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. The tourist set up a meeting between Tavares and his friend, Raúl Rodriguez, who was a Spanish director of the

CB Gran Canaria Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria – Claret, S.A.D., known as Dreamland Gran Canaria due to sponsorship, is a professional basketball club based in Las Palmas, Spain. The team plays in the Spanish Liga ACB and the Champions League. Their home venue ...

youth academy. After Rodriguez received a photo that showed Tavares' size, they later met in

Praia Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde. There, he had his first training; at the time, Tavares was . He started playing at the Gran Canaria youth academy, where a second under-18 team was created to accommodate Tavares.

Professional career

Spain

From 2009 to 2011, Tavares played for

's junior team in the

Liga EBA The Tercera FEB, formerly known as Liga EBA (''Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado''), is a Spanish basketball championship that is the fourth tier level in the Spanish basketball league system, after the Liga ACB, Primera FEB and Segunda FEB ...

. In 2011, he was loaned to UB La Palma of the

LEB Oro The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the Spanish Basketball Federation, FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categorie ...

for the 2011–12 season. In 2012, he returned to Gran Canaria and made his

debut on January 6, 2013. He also played three games for La Palma in 2012–13 as well. In April 2013, Tavares declared for the

2013 NBA draft The 2013 NBA draft was held on June 27, 2013, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including internation ...

but later withdrew his name and returned to Gran Canaria for the 2013–14 season. On June 19, 2014, Tavares re-signed with Gran Canaria on a three-year deal, while still remaining eligible for the

. On June 26, 2014, Tavares was selected with the 43rd overall pick in the

by the

, becoming the first Cape Verdean-born player to be drafted in the NBA. On August 26, 2014, it was announced Tavares would return to Gran Canaria for the 2014–15 season. During their 2014–15 season, Tavares earned All-EuroCup First Team honors.

Atlanta Hawks

On July 6, 2015, Tavares joined the Atlanta Hawks for the

2015 NBA Summer League The 2015 NBA Summer League consisted of three professional sports, pro basketball sports league, leagues organized by the National Basketball Association, NBA: the Orlando Magic, Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas S ...

. Three days later, he signed a multi-year deal with the Hawks. He made his debut for the Hawks on October 29 recording one point and one rebound in a 112–101 win over the New York Knicks. During his rookie season, using the flexible assignment rule, Tavares received multiple assignments to the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the po ...

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since 2024, the team plays its home games at Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland, thoug ...

and Bakersfield Jam of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. On October 31, 2016, he was waived by the Hawks after appearing in one game for the team in the 2016–17 season.

Raptors 905

On November 12, 2016, Tavares was acquired by

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fine Foods ...

of the

. On February 6, 2017, he was named in the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the 2017 NBA D-League All-Star Game. At the season's end, he was named the recipient of the NBA Development League Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Cleveland Cavaliers

On April 12, 2017, Tavares signed with the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. He made his debut for the Cavaliers that night, recording 10 rebounds and 6 blocks in a 99–83 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

. Tavares did not play at all in the 2017 playoffs due to a hand injury. The Cavaliers made the

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, but lost to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in five games. On October 11, 2017, Tavares was waived by the Cavaliers.

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 The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anahe ...

on November 5, 2017.

Return to Spain

2017–18 season

On November 10, 2017, Tavares signed with

until the end of the 2019–20 season. In May 2018, Real Madrid won the

2017–18 EuroLeague The 2017–18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 18th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the eighth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champi ...

championship, after defeating Fenerbahçe in the final game with 85–80. Over 17 EuroLeague games, Tavares averaged 6.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

2018–19 season

Tavares won the 2018–19 ACB season with Madrid. In the

2018–19 EuroLeague The 2018–19 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 19th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the eighth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champi ...

, he was named the

EuroLeague Best Defender The EuroLeague Best Defender is an annual basketball EuroLeague awards, award of the European professional club basketball system, European premier level EuroLeague. It is awarded to the best defensive player throughout the season, up until the E ...

2019–20 season

On September 21, 2019, Tavares set an individual record for most blocks in a

Spanish Supercup Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine ** Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

game, with 7 blocks in the semi-final against

Fuenlabrada Fuenlabrada () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,586, making it the region's fourth most populated municipality. Placename The etymology of ''Fuenlabrada'' comes from the contra ...

. Real went on to win the Supercup for a second year in a row. The season was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

2020–21 season

In the 2020–21 season, Tavares was named to the

All-EuroLeague First Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

for the first time in his career. He was also named the

for the second time in his career.

2021–22 season

In the EuroLeague, Tavares made a second straight All-EuroLeague First Team selection. In June, Tavares won his third

championship. On June 19, 2022, he had a double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds in Game 4 of the finals; the 81–74 win over

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

clinched Madrid's title. Tavares was named the ACB Finals MVP after the series in which he averaged 13.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 20 index rating per game.

2022–23 season

Tavares opened the season by helping Madrid win their 5th consecutive

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

and was named MVP after his 24-point and 12-rebounds performance on against

in the final. Tavares crowned his season by winning the Euroleague Final 79-78 against Olympiakos, being named

EuroLeague Final Four MVP The EuroLeague Final Four Most Valuable Player Award is presented and awarded to the basketball player who has exhibited the most exceptional play during the EuroLeague Final Four. The award often goes to the best player on the European-wide top ...

for scoring 13 points and collecting a game-high 10 rebounds.

National team career

Tavares played with the Cape Verde national basketball team at

AfroBasket 2013 AfroBasket 2013 was the 27th FIBA Africa Championship, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and the FIBA Africa thereof. The tournament was hosted by Ivory Coast from August 20 to 31, all games were played at t ...

. The following seven years, Tavares did not represent his country due to his club's incompatible dates with the FIBA tournaments. Tavares was again on the roster of Cape Verde for

AfroBasket 2021 FIBA AfroBasket 2021 was the 30th edition of the FIBA AfroBasket, a men's basketball continental championship of Africa. The tournament was hosted by Rwanda for the first time. It was originally scheduled to take place between 17 and 29 August 20 ...

. On August 25, 2021, Tavares recorded 20 points, 18 rebounds and 6 blocks in a shocking overtime victory over ; during the last minute of the game, Tavares shattered the backboard with a game-tying dunk, causing a delay in game. He helped his country reach the fourth place in the tournament, while individually he was named to the All-AfroBasket Team as well. In February 2023, during the last window of the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

qualifiers, Tavares joined Cape Verde again and helped the team qualify for its first-ever

. Cape Verde became the smallest nation to ever to qualify for a World Cup.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 11 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .579 , , .000 , , .375 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .1 , , .6 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 24.0 , , .750 , , .000 , , .000 , , 10.0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 13 , , 0 , , 7.8 , , .625 , , .000 , , .273 , , 2.5 , , .3 , , .1 , , .9 , , 2.5 , -

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2017–18† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="7",

, 29 , , 23 , , 17.4 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .682* , , , , .623 , , 5.3 , , .5 , , .4 , , 1.5 , , 6.5 , , 10.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 34 , , 28 , , 19.4 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .794* , , , , .632 , , 6.2 , , .7 , , .4 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 1.7* , , 7.4 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="background:#CFECEC;", 28* , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 28* , , 22.9 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .680* , , .000 , , .653 , , 7.1 , , .8 , , .6 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 2.2* , , 7.2 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , 36 , , 31 , , 26.0 , , .651 , , , , .716 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 8.0* , , 1.1 , , 1.0 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 1.8* , , 11.4 , , 18.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , 35 , , 34 , , 23.0 , , .689 , , .000 , , .737 , , 7.5 , , 1.0 , , .9 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 1.7* , , 10.9 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2022–23† , 40 , , 38 , , 25.0 , , .676 , , , , .780 , , 6.9 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 2.2* , , 11.2 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 34 , , 33 , , 22.9 , , .607 , , , , .738 , , 6.5 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 1.5* , , 9.4 , , 14.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 236 , , 215 , , 22.6 , , .675 , , .000 , , .713 , , 6.8 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 1.8 , , 9.3 , , 15.6

Domestic leagues

References

External links

Edy Tavares
at acb.com
Edy Tavares
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Tavares, Edy 1992 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Austin Spurs players Bakersfield Jam players Canton Charge players Cape Verdean expatriate basketball people in Canada Cape Verdean expatriate basketball people in Spain Cape Verdean expatriate basketball people in the United States Cape Verdean men's basketball players 21st-century Cape Verdean sportsmen CB Gran Canaria players Centers (basketball) Cleveland Cavaliers players Liga ACB players People from Maio, Cape Verde Raptors 905 players Real Madrid Baloncesto players UB La Palma players

Early life

Professional career

Spain

Atlanta Hawks

Raptors 905

Cleveland Cavaliers

Brief return to Raptors 905

Return to Spain

2017–18 season

2018–19 season

2019–20 season

2020–21 season

2021–22 season

2022–23 season

National team career

Career statistics

NBA

EuroLeague

Domestic leagues

See also

References

External links