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 ...
's
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