Wayne Brabender

Wayne Brabender

Medal record
Representing Spain
Men’s Basketball
FIBA EuroBasket
	1973 Spain	National Team

File:Wayne Brabender.jpg

Wayne Brabender

Wayne Donald Brabender Cole (born October 6, 1945 in Montevideo, Minnesota) is a retired American-Spanish basketball player, who acquired Spanish citizenship on May 22, 1968. At 6'4" (1.93 m), he could play at either the shooting guard or small forward positions. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. On February 3, 2008, Brabender was chosen as one of the 50 most influential personalities to European club basketball, over the last half-century, by the Euroleague Basketball Experts Committee.

Club playing career

After playing college basketball at the University of Minnesota Morris, Brabender was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 14th round (145th overall) of the 1967 NBA Draft, though he never played in the NBA. Brabender came to Spain in order to gain experience, and he ended up contributing to four Euroleague titles won by Real Madrid in 1968, 1974, 1978, and 1980. With Real Madrid, he also won 13 Spanish League championships, 7 Spanish Cups, and 4 Intercontinental Cups.

Spanish national team

Brabender played for the senior men's Spanish national basketball team, and he won the silver medal at the EuroBasket 1973, where he was also named the MVP of the tournament. He also played at the EuroBasket 1971, the 1972 Summer Olympic Games, the 1974 FIBA World Championship, EuroBasket 1975, the 1975 Mediterranean Games, EuroBasket 1977, EuroBasket 1979, the 1980 Summer Olympic Games, EuroBasket 1981, and the 1982 FIBA World Championship.

External links

• Euroleague.net Profile
• LeyendasBaloncestoRealMadrid.es (Spanish)