Gregory Maxdier Vargas Díaz (born 18 February 1986) is a Venezuelan 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 who last played for Hapoel Haifa of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

. He was the Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017, and the Israeli Premier League Assists Leader in 2017 and 2020.

Professional career

In the 2015–16 season, Vargas averaged 13.9 points and 6.4 assists per game in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

, with Maccabi Haifa. Vargas also played against 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 ...

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

as a part of Maccabi Haifa, in an NBA preseason game. He scored over 20 points in 8 games, and had 10 or more assists in 3 games as well, during the 2015–16 season. On 7 July 2016, Vargas signed with French club SLUC Nancy. In November 2016, he left Nancy after appearing in eight games. On 17 December 2016, he returned to his former club Maccabi Haifa., During his season with the club he won Israeli Super League Defensive Player of the Year award and helped Haifa reaching the Israeli League Finals. He was the Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017. He was also the Israeli Premier League Assists Leader in 2017. On 20 July 2017, Vargas signed with the Spanish club

Baloncesto Fuenlabrada Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D., known as Flexicar Fuenlabrada because of sponsorship reasons, or just as Fuenlabrada, is a professional basketball team based in Fuenlabrada, Spain. The team plays in the Primera FEB and ...

of the

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 ...

for the 2017–18 season. On 1 August 2019, Vargas returned to Maccabi Haifa for a third stint, signing a one-year deal. On 3 February 2020, Vargas recorded a triple-double 16 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists, leading Haifa to a 93–84 win over

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil () is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250-seat arena in Gan Ner. History T ...

. He was subsequently named Israeli League Round 18 MVP. He was the Israeli Premier League Assists Leader in 2019–20. On 2 July 2020, he signed with U-BT Cluj-Napoca of the Romanian Liga Națională. Vargas played with Cocodrilos de Caracas in the 2021 season of the Venezuelan SuperLiga and was named the league MVP after averaging 17.4 points and 7.7 assists for the team.

National team career

Vargas is a member of the senior men's Venezuelan national basketball team. As a member of the team at the

2015 FIBA Americas Championship The 2015 FIBA Americas Championship for Men, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup, was the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Brazil. This FIBA AmeriCup tournament was held in Mexico City, Mexico. The tournament wa ...

, he helped Venezuela to defeat

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to win the gold medal. That was Venezuela's first FIBA Americas Championship, and allowed them to qualify for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio, where Vargas also played with Venezuela.

Player profile

Vargas was described as a tough

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

player, who could be a

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

, by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla.

Personal

Vargas' older brother

José José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

is also a professional basketball player. The two brothers have played together on the senior men's Venezuelan national team.

References

External links

FIBA ProfileEurobasket.com Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Gregory 1986 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Baloncesto Fuenlabrada players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Cocodrilos de Caracas players Guaros de Lara players Halcones de Xalapa players Halcones Rojos Veracruz players Hapoel Haifa B.C. players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Liga ACB players Maccabi Haifa B.C. players Maratonistas de Coamo players Marinos B.B.C. players Olympic basketball players for Venezuela Pan American Games competitors for Venezuela Panteras de Miranda players People from Ocumare del Tuy Sportspeople from Miranda (state) Point guards Shooting guards SLUC Nancy Basket players U-BT Cluj-Napoca players Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in France Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in Israel Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in Puerto Rico Venezuelan expatriate basketball people in Spain Venezuelan men's basketball players Brujos de Guayama players 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Reales de La Vega players Gladiadores de Anzoátegui players