Information AboutRaul Lopez |
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In 1998 , at 18 years old, he began his professional career with Joventut Badalona in the ACB League . Raül was a member of the Spanish Junior National Team that won the 1998 and 1999 World Junior Championships and the 1998 European Junior Championship. In 2000 , he was signed by Real Madrid where he played for two seasons. Then, in 2001 , he was selected in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft , 24th overall, by the Utah Jazz . López was named, along with Memphis Grizzlies star Pau Gasol , to the Spanish National team which participated in the 2000 European Championships (winning the bronze medal) and the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. However before playing for Spain in the 2002 World Championships he suffered an injury in his right knee, the same one that occurred during the 2001-02 season while playing for Real Madrid. In September 2002 he signed his NBA rookie contract with the Utah Jazz and underwent surgery to repair the torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament in his right knee, missing the entire 2002-03 NBA Season . Finally in the 2003-04 Season , totally recovered of his knee injury, he played in all of the 82 regular season games as a replacement of starting point guard Carlos Arroyo , while averaging 7.0 points, 3.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game. Although he has been said to be the Spanish version of John Stockton , his game has often been described as more similar to that of Steve Nash and Tony Parker . He is known for his quickness, court vision, unselfishness, and passing ability. Also, he has the ability to create his own shot, a key skill in the modern NBA. López featured on the Spanish version of the NBA Live 2004 video game. On August 3 , 2005 , López was traded from the Jazz to the Grizzlies as part of the largest trade in NBA history, involving five teams, 13 players, and two draft picks. He was subsequently cut from Memphis's 2005-06 roster. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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