Jiří Welsch

Jiří Welsch

Welsch with Unicaja Málaga.
Position	Point guard Shooting guard Small forward
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
League	Basketball League Belgium Euroleague
Team	Spirou Basket
Born	January 27, 1980 (1980-01-27) Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
Nationality	Czech
College	none
Draft	16th overall, 2002
Pro career	1998–present
Career history	CSA Sparta Prague (1998–00) Olimpija Ljubljana (2000–02) Golden State Warriors (2002–03) Dallas Mavericks (2003) Boston Celtics (2003–05) Cleveland Cavaliers (2005) Milwaukee Bucks (2005–06) Unicaja Málaga (2006-10) Estudiantes Madrid (2010-11)
Awards	Slovenian league MVP 2002

Jiří Welsch inbounding the ball.

Jiří Welsch (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈvɛlʃ]) (born January 27, 1980) is a Czech professional basketball player with Spirou Basket of the Basketball League Belgium. Welsch has played in the National Basketball Association league in the United States, having been drafted in 2002 by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Pro career

Early years

Welsch began his professional career as a teenager with BHC SKP Pardubice of the Czech Republic League, where he played until 1998. He then signed with CSA Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic league for the 1998-99 season, and then he moved to Union Olimpija Ljubljana of the Slovenian League, where he played until 2002. He was named the Slovenian League Most Valuable Player following the 2001-02 season campaign.

NBA

Welsch was drafted by the NBA club the Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th selection of the 2002 NBA Draft, but he was immediately traded to the Golden State Warriors for a future first-round draft pick and a future first or second round draft pick. He spent one season with the Warriors, averaging 1.6 points per game, 0.8 rebounds per game, and 0.7 assists per game in 37 games in the 2002-03 season before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, along with Antawn Jamison, Chris Mills and Danny Fortson, in exchange for Evan Eschmeyer, Nick Van Exel, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones and Antoine Rigaudeau on August 18, 2003. Without ever playing a game for them, Welsch, along with Mills, Raef LaFrentz and a lottery-protected 2004 NBA Draft pick, was traded by Dallas to the Boston Celtics on October 20, 2003 in exchange for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. Welsch started 68 games for the Celtics in the 2003-04 season, averaging 9.2 points per game.

Welsch averaged 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in 136 games played (100 of them starts) in 2003-04 and 2004-05, while playing with the Celtics. On February 24, 2005, Welsch was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a future 2007 first-round draft pick.

On June 28, 2005, Welsch was traded by the Cavs to the Milwaukee Bucks for a 2006 second round draft pick.

Back to Europe

In August 2006, Welsch decided to leave the NBA and he signed with the Spanish ACB League club Unicaja Málaga.

In July 2011 he signed a two-year contract with Spirou Basket in Belgium.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002–03	Golden State	37	0	6.3	.253	.250	.759	.8	.7	.22	.05	1.6
2003–04	Boston	81	68	26.9	.428	.381	.743	3.7	2.3	1.25	.09	9.2
2004–05	Boston	55	32	20.5	.428	.323	.773	2.5	1.5	.71	.09	7.5
2004–05	Cleveland	16	0	12.0	.235	.182	.714	1.8	1.2	.31	.00	2.9
2005–06	Milwaukee	58	2	14.9	.387	.286	.747	1.9	1.1	.59	.02	4.3

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Boston	4	4	26.0	.478	.250	1.000	3.0	2.3	0.5	.0	8.0
2005–06	Milwaukee	4	0	3.8	.500	.0	.750	0.8	0.5	0.25	.0	1.8

External links

• Official Website (Czech)
• Euroleague.net Player Profile
• NBA.com Profile - Jiri Welsch