Sveinbjörn Claessen (born 22 February 1986) is an Icelandic

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 ...

coach and a former member of the Icelandic men's national basketball team. Nicknamed Mr. ÍR, he has spent his entire career with Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur, winning the Icelandic Cup with the club in 2007.

Playing career

Sveinbjörn came up through the junior ranks of ÍR, spending one year playing with Mira Mesa Senior High School in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

at the age of 17. Originally a point guard, he moved to the wing position when he started playing for ÍR's senior team in the Úrvalsdeild karla during the 2004–2005 season. He helped ÍR to victory in the Icelandic Cup finals in 2007, scoring 8 points and handing out 7 assists in the 83-81 victory against Hamar/Selfoss. The following season, he was named to the Úrvalsdeild Domestic All-First Team He helped ÍR reach the semi-finals in the playoffs where they led 2-0 against

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njar� ...

, before collapsing and losing the next three games and the series. In the second game of the 2009–2010 season, Sveinbjörn tore the

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

in his left knee, causing him to miss the rest of the season. He returned in November 2010 and averaged 6.7 points in 14 regular season games, his lowest since his rookie season. He upped the averages to 14.3 points in the playoffs but was unable to prevent ÍR from being swept, 0-3, by

in the first round. In the third game of the 2011-2012 season, Sveinbjörn tore an

again, this time in his right knee, and missed the rest of the season. His best statistical season came in 2013–2014 when he averaged 19.9 points, scoring 20 points in 14 of his 22 games, tops among Icelandic players. He led ÍR to the Cup finals again during the season but they were unable to repeat their 2007 success, losing to

Grindavík Grindavík () is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland not far from the tuya Þorbjörn. It is one of the few cities with a harbour on this coast. Most of the inhabitants work in the fishing industry. The Blue Lagoon, Grindaví ...

89-77. On 3 December 2015, he became the second ÍR player to reach 200 games in the Úrvalsdeild karla, after

Eiríkur Önundarson Eiríkur Sverrir Önundarson (born 19 September 1974) is an Icelandic former basketball player and a former member of the Icelandic men's national basketball team. He spent 19 of his 21 seasons with Íþróttafélag Reykjavíkur where he won ...

who played 350 games for ÍR in the league. During the 2017–2018 season, the recurrent knee injuries were starting to take their toll. Although he appeared in all 22 games of the regular season, he averaged a career low 4.0 points in 14 minutes per game. He subsequently retired after ÍR's loss against Tindastóll in the semi-finals of the playoffs that year. Sveinbjörn made a comeback in October 2019 with ÍR. He was an unused substitute in a victory against

Þór Akureyri Íþróttafélagið Þór, commonly known as Þór Akureyri, simply Þór or Thór, is a multi-sport club in Akureyri, Iceland. It features departments in Basketball, football, Handball and Taekwondo. Its main rivals is another sport club from A ...

on 25 October. On 15 November, he saw his first minutes since 2018 when he played 4 minutes, scoring 2 points, in a victory against

Fjölnir Fjölnir ( non, Fjǫlnir ) is a legendary king in Norse mythology said to have been the son of Freyr (Frey) and his consort Gerðr (Gertha). The name appears in a variety of forms, including Fiolnir, Fjölner, Fjolner, and Fjolne. He was claim ...

National team career

Sveinbjörn played 5 games for the Icelandic men's national basketball team from 2007 to 2009.

References

External links

Statistics 2008-2018
at kki.is
Úrvalsdeild karla statistics 2004-2007
at kki.is {{DEFAULTSORT:Claessen, Sveinbjorn 1986 births Living people Forwards (basketball) Guards (basketball) Icelandic expatriate basketball people in the United States Sveinbjorn Claessen ÍR men's basketball players Sveinbjorn Claessen 21st-century Icelandic sportsmen