Erazem Lorbek

Erazem Lorbek

Lorbek with Lottomatica Roma.
Position	Forward-Center
Height	6 ft 10.75 in (2.10 m)
Weight	245 lb (111 kg)
League	Liga ACB Euroleague
Team	FC Barcelona
Born	February 21, 1984 (1984-02-21) Ljubljana, Slovenia, Yugoslavia
Nationality	Slovenian
College	Michigan State University
Draft	2nd round, 46th overall, 2005 Indiana Pacers
Pro career	1999–present
Career history	Union Olimpija (1999-02) Fortitudo Bologna (2003-06) Unicaja Málaga (2006-07) Benetton Treviso (2007) Lottomatica Roma (2007-08) CSKA Moscow (2008-09)
Awards	FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship MVP 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship MVP 2004 Euroleague Rising Star 2005 All-Euroleague Second Team 2009 EuroBasket 2009 All-Tournament Team

Erazem Lorbek (born February 21, 1984 in Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a Slovenian professional basketball player. He is a 6 ft 10 ³⁄₄ in (2.10 m) forward-center who currently plays with the Liga ACB club FC Barcelona.

Pro career

Lorbek was developed by the youth program of KK Union Olimpija, the top basketball club in his hometown and in the Slovenian league, and he attended Michigan State University in the U.S., where he played for the Spartans in the 2002-03 season as a freshman, averaging 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. However, he chose to return to Europe after a year at Michigan State, signing a deal with Fortitudo Bologna of the Italian league, where he played from 2003 to 2006 (the team was known as Skipper Bologna in the 2003-2004 season and Climamio Bologna from 2004–2006).

Lorbek won the Euroleague 2004-05 Rising Star award and originally declared for the 2004 NBA Draft, but he ultimately withdrew his name from consideration. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2005 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. But the Pacers did not sign him and Lorbek continued to play in Europe. During the 2011 NBA Draft the Indiana Pacers traded the rights to Lorbek to the San Antonio Spurs.

Lorbek began the 2006-07 season on loan from the Spanish league club Unicaja Málaga to the Italian league club Benetton Treviso; however, in February 2007, the deal was voided by the Italian Basketball Federation due to unspecified violations of federation regulations. Lorbek then signed with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian league, where he became one of the best power forwards of the Euroleague. He joined the Russian League club CSKA Moscow in 2008, with whom he reached the Euroleague final in his first season and was voted to the All-Euroleague Second Team.

On August 18, 2009 he was transferred to Liga ACB club FC Barcelona for an undisclosed fee. He signed a three-year contract with the possibility to leave and join NBA after his second year. Lorbek's rights were traded to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Slovenian national team

Lorbek is also a member of the Slovenian national basketball team. With Slovenia's national team he has played at the 2005, 2007 and 2009 FIBA European Championships. He was one of the top players of the 2009 tournament and earned the power forward position in the All-Tournament Team. In 2011 he said he didn't want to play for the Slovenian national basketball team at 2011 FIBA European Championships just 15 minutes before training camp started. Two days later, he changed his mind and is going to represent Slovenia at the Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania.

Notes

2011 Lorbel could join the spurs this season after being drafted in 05 by the pacers he was traded in the george hill trade.

External links

• FIBAEurope.com Profile
• Erazem Lorbek at NBA.com
• Euroleague.net Profile

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Nikos Zisis	FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship MVP 2004	Succeeded by Nikita Kurbanov