Sunday, November 2, 2008

Whatever happened to... Esteban Batista


Esteban Batista is a 6'10 268 PF out of Uruguay. This guy first came to my attention during the 2007 Olympic Qualifier, playing for Uruguay. He was totally dominant, utterly relentless around the basket, with his highly skilled footwork and physical presence. He finished that tourney averaging a 4th highest 20.8 ppg (on a team that averaged less than 80 ppg) and a competition-high 12.4 rpg, and keep in mind, that's in 40 minute games. To put that rebound total in perspective, the second-place guy had only 9.8 rpg.

Turns out he played in a couple seasons over '05-06 and '06-07 for the Atlanta Hawks, although not too much (70 games over two years with about 8 mpg). He played last year for Maccabi Electra of the Euroleague and is playing for them again this year.

You can get a look at his game, incredibly skilled and relentless around the basket, in the following clip, taken from his play in the Euroleague.

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