Fabricio Raúl Jesús Oberto (; born March 21, 1975) is an Argentine-ItalianEuroleague.net OBERTO, FABRICIO Nationality: Italy.
/ref> color analyst and former 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. At , he played as a center and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

. With the LNB club

Atenas Atenas () is a district of the Atenas canton, in the Alajuela province of Costa Rica. Its urban area is referred as Atenas city. Toponymy Its name means Athens ''(Αθήνα)'', the capital of Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Repu ...

, in his native Argentina, Oberto began playing professionally in 1993, and later played overseas with teams in Spain and Greece. In 2005, Oberto signed with the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, a team of the American

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), and won a championship with the Spurs in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He is also a former member of the senior

Argentina national basketball team The Argentina men's national basketball team () represents Argentina in men's FIBA, international basketball officially nicknamed ''The Argentine Soul'' (), and it is controlled by the Argentine Basketball Federation. Argentina's national baske ...

, with whom he won two Olympic medals, including a gold medal in 2004. He was inducted into the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

in 2019.

Professional career

Argentina and Europe

At age 17, Oberto went to a trial at Atenas de Córdoba, one of the most important basketball clubs in Argentina, and was selected to start the following year, and started playing professionally later that year. In 1998, after being chosen MVP of the finals of the Argentine league, he transferred to the Greek League club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, starting his

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 ...

experience that would take him to the Spanish League's Tau Cerámica a year later. After 3 seasons with TAU, he moved to Pamesa Valencia in 2002.

NBA career

In 2005, after voiding his contract with Pamesa, Oberto signed a three-year,

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

7.5 million contract with the

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, where he joined fellow

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Manu Ginóbili Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili ( , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Credited for popularizing the Euro step move in the NBA, he is regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards and sixth men in the le ...

. He kept with jersey number 7, the same kit number he used with the

. Oberto was the oldest rookie in Spurs history at the age of 31.NBA.com: Fabricio Oberto Bio Page
During the first year of his NBA stint, Oberto was no longer the key player he had been in Europe, playing less than nine minutes per game on average. He nonetheless was very satisfied with his role on the Spurs, a perennial championship contender. In his second NBA season, Oberto became more of a factor in the Spurs rotation, starting in some games and getting his first double-double on November 8, 2006, when he scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also became a pivotal player for the Spurs during the 2006–07 Western Conference Finals, averaging 31 minutes and 14 points in the first two games of the series. Oberto won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2007. On June 23, 2009, Oberto was traded to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

as a part of a three-team trade among Pistons, Spurs and the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, which included

Richard Jefferson Richard Allen Jefferson Jr. (born June 21, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who played small forward. He played for eight teams in his 17-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Jefferson playe ...

. Then he was immediately waived by the Pistons. On August 11, 2009, he was signed by the Wizards. Since jersey number 7 was already taken by Andray Blatche, he chose to wear number 21 because of his birth date (March 21) and in honor of one of his idols, former teammate

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

. After a single season in which he got limited playing time as the team struggled through the Gilbert Arenas gun incident and ultimately began to rebuild, he became a free agent once more in the summer of 2010. Oberto was a significant contributor defending

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

for its fifth-place finish at the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 Septem ...

. After his solid play during the World Championship in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, he received multiple offers from European teams, most notably Efes Pilsen and

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 ...

. Oberto held out for an opportunity to sign with an NBA team. He reached an agreement to join the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

for the 2010–11 season. However, on November 4, 2010, after playing five games for Portland, he began experiencing palpitations related to a previous heart condition and decided to retire in order to preserve his health.

Return to activity

In January 2013, Oberto signed a contract with his former team, Atenas de Córdoba, returning to the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol after 14 years. Oberto was hired for the remainder of the season as a replacement for center Julián Aprea, who had been separated from the team by coach Alejandro Lotterio and then dismissed at the end of 2012.

National team career

Oberto started playing with the

shortly before his 20th birthday in 1995; tournament success followed, including bringing to Argentina a gold medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. He additionally won a bronze medal with the team in the 2008 tournament. In July 2011, Oberto announced that he was coming out of retirement to play in the

FIBA Americas Championship The FIBA AmeriCup (previously known as the FIBA Americas Championship) is the Americas Basketball Championship that takes place every four years between national teams of the Western Hemisphere continents. Since FIBA organized the entire Wester ...

. He said that doctors had cleared him to participate. Personal problems prevented him from playing for Argentina in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Accomplishments and awards

Clubs

* Argentine Youth League Champion: 1993 * South American Club Championship champion: 1994 * Pan American Club Championship champion: 1996 * FIBA South American League champion: 1997, 1998 * Argentine League champion: 1998 * Spanish King's Cup winner: 2002 * Spanish League champion: 2002 *

ULEB Cup EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketbal ...

champion: 2003 *

NBA champion The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Easter ...

Argentina national team

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

* Summer Olympics :

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

* FIBA Americas Championship :

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* FIBA South American Championship : 1997 * FIBA Diamond Ball :

* FIBA Diamond Ball :

Post-playing career

On February 9, 2021, 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 ...

of the

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

announced that Oberto would be the team's color analyst during the 2020–21 season.

Personal life

Oberto was born in Las Varillas, Argentina. Oberto and his wife have a daughter. He also enjoys playing the guitar and his favorite bands include

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

, U2 and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. On June 4, 2009, Oberto underwent a successful ablation procedure to correct the electrical system of the heart that was sending Oberto into

atrial fibrillation Atrial fibrillation (AF, AFib or A-fib) is an Heart arrhythmia, abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by fibrillation, rapid and irregular beating of the Atrium (heart), atrial chambers of the heart. It often begins as short periods ...

. The procedure was performed at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, 59 , , 0 , , 8.3 , , .473 , , .000 , , .556 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.7 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 33 , , 17.3 , , .562 , , , , .647 , , 4.7 , , .9 , , .3 , , .3 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 82* , , 64 , , 20.1 , , .608 , , .000 , , .607 , , 5.2 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 54 , , 11 , , 12.5 , , .587 , , .000 , , .571 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Washington , 57 , , 20 , , 11.4 , , .625 , , , , .765 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .2 , , .2 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Portland , 5 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .600 , , , , .500 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 336 , , 128 , , 14.5 , , .576 , , .000 , , .617 , , 3.5 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.2

Playoffs

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

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

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

, 7 , , 0 , , 4.9 , , .333 , , , , .250 , , .9 , , .1 , , .1 , , .4 , , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

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

, 20 , , 12 , , 20.8 , , .625 , , .000 , , .571 , , 4.9 , , .7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 17 , , 9 , , 19.5 , , .609 , , , , .700 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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

, 2 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .667 , , , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 6.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 46 , , 21 , , 17.4 , , .603 , , .000 , , .615 , , 3.9 , , .8 , , .3 , , .3 , , 4.2

References

External links

EuroLeague profile

Liga ACB profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberto, Fabricio 1975 births Living people 1998 FIBA World Championship players 2002 FIBA World Championship players 2006 FIBA World Championship players 2010 FIBA World Championship players Argentine expatriate basketball people in Spain Argentine expatriate basketball people in the United States Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Greece Argentine men's basketball players Argentine sportspeople of Italian descent Atenas basketball players Basketball players at the 1995 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Centers (basketball) FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Greek Basket League players Italian men's basketball players Liga ACB players Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics NBA players from Argentina Olympiacos B.C. players Olympic basketball players for Argentina Olympic bronze medalists for Argentina Olympic gold medalists for Argentina Olympic medalists in basketball Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina Pan American Games gold medalists in basketball Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards San Antonio Spurs players Saski Baskonia players Basketball players from Córdoba Province, Argentina Undrafted NBA players Valencia Basket players Washington Wizards players 20th-century Italian sportsmen