Rafael Freire Luz (born February 11, 1992), commonly known as Rafa Luz, is a Brazilian-Spanish professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for MoraBanc Andorra of the

LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonc ...

. He is a point guard.

Early years

Rafa Luz, the brother of several international players for the Brazilian national women's team, was called up to the Brazilian national under-18 team, at the age of 15. In October 2009, after spending two seasons with Unicaja's junior youth teams, Luz got a Spanish passport.

Professional career

Luz signed for the

2010–11 ACB season The 2010–11 ACB season is the 28th season of the Liga ACB. The regular season started on September 30, 2010 and ended on May 15, 2011. Playoffs started on May 19, 2011 and ended on June 14. Regal FC Barcelona won their 16th title. Promotion ...

with the Spanish club Unicaja, but he ended up playing with the club's

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, Clínicas Rincón. In March 2011, he was loaned to the Spanish club

CB Granada Club Baloncesto Granada, S.A.D. was a professional basketball team based in Granada, Andalusia. The team was founded in 1994 and has had notable players during its history, including Curtis Borchardt, Darvin Ham, Giorgos Sigalas, Scott Padgett, P ...

, until the end of the season. There, he averaged 4.8 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game in the

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

. In August 2011, Unicaja loaned him to Spanish club

Lucentum Alicante Club Baloncesto Lucentum Alicante is a professional basketball team based in Alicante, Valencian Community. Lucentum Alicante played in Liga ACB for the last time in 2012, after selling its place in the league to CB Canarias. In August 2015, d ...

. Luz averaged 5.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in the

2011–12 ACB season The 2011–12 ACB season is the 29th season of the Liga ACB, called also Liga Endesa due to sponsorship reasons. The regular season started on 8 October 2011 and ended on 6 May 2012. Playoffs started on 17 May 2011 and ended on 16 June. FC Bar ...

. In August 2012, Luz ended his contract with Unicaja Málaga, and signed a new contract with Spanish club Blu:sens Monbús Obradoiro. He played with the

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

n team until 2015, when he left Spain, and returned to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, after signing a new one-year deal with

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

of the Brazilian NBB league. In July 2016, Luz signed a two-year deal with the Spanish club

Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

. In July 2017, Luz split up from the Basque entity. On July 19, 2018, Luz signed with MoraBanc Andorra of the Liga ACB. On July 16, 2019, Luz signed a two-year deal with

UCAM Murcia UCAM Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Baloncesto, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as UCAM Murcia, is a professional basketball team based in Murcia, Spain. It plays their home games at Palacio de Deportes. History Founded in 1985 ...

. On February 28, 2021, he has signed with Nevėžis Kėdainiai of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Je ...

. On July 14, 2021, he has signed with

Bilbao Basket Club Basket Bilbao Berri S.A.D., commonly known as Bilbao Basket (), also known as Surne Bilbao Basket for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Bilbao, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is the Bilb ...

of the Liga ACB.

National team career

Luz was a part of the senior men's

Brazilian national basketball team The Brazil national basketball team is governed by the Brazilian Basketball Confederation ( pt, Confederação Brasileira de Basketball), abbreviated as CBB. They have been a member of the International Federation of Basketball (FIBA), since 19 ...

that won the silver medal at the

2011 FIBA Americas Championship The 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Men, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup, was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Americas, at the 2012 Summer Olympics men's basketball tournament, in London. This FIBA AmeriCup tournament was held in Mar de ...

, which was held in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. He also played at the

2013 FIBA Americas Championship The 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Men, later known as the FIBA AmeriCup, was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Americas, for the 2014 FIBA World Cup, in Spain. This FIBA AmeriCup tournament was held in Caracas, Venezuela, from August 30, to ...

, the

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: * 15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak a ...

, where he won a gold medal, and the 2016 Summer Olympics.Rafael LUZ (BRA).
/ref>

References

External links

Rafa Luz
at acb.com
Rafa Luz
at eurobasket.com
Rafa Luz
at euroleague.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Luz, Rafa 1992 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Baloncesto Málaga players Basketball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics BC Andorra players Expatriate basketball people in Andorra BC Nevėžis players Bilbao Basket players Brazilian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania Brazilian expatriate basketball people in Spain Brazilian men's basketball players CB Axarquía players CB Granada players CB Lucentum Alicante players CB Murcia players Flamengo basketball players Liga ACB players Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Novo Basquete Brasil players Obradoiro CAB players Olympic basketball players of Brazil Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in basketball People from Araçatuba Point guards Saski Baskonia players Sportspeople from São Paulo (state)