Luca Vildoza Explained

Luca Vildoza
Position:Shooting guard / Point guard
League:Greek Basket League
EuroLeague
Team:Olympiacos
Birth Date:11 August 1995
Birth Place:Quilmes, Argentina
Height Ft:6
Height In:3
Weight Lb:190
Draft Year:2017
Career Start:2012
Years1:2012–2016
Team1:Quilmes
Years2:2016–2021
Team2:Baskonia
Years3:2016–2017
Team3:Quilmes
Team4:Milwaukee Bucks
Years5:2022–2023
Team5:Crvena zvezda
Years6:2023–2024
Team6:Panathinaikos
Years7:2024–present
Team7:Olympiacos
Highlights:

Luca Vildoza (born August 11, 1995) is an Argentine professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He also represents the Argentine national team in international competition. At tall, he plays at both the point guard and shooting guard positions.

Professional career

Quilmes (2012–2017)

Vildoza began his career with the Argentine 1st Division (LNB) club Quilmes, in the 2011–12 LNB season. He then played in the Argentine 2nd Division with Quilmes during the TNA 2012–13 season. He spent the next three seasons playing in the top-tier level Argentine League with Quilmes.

Baskonia (2016–2021)

In 2016, Vildoza signed a four-year contract with the Liga ACB club Baskonia. However, Baskonia loaned him back to Quilmes for the 2016–17 season[1] where he averaged 16.9 points and 3.9 assists per game. He rejoined Baskonia for the 2017–18 season and made a debut in the EuroLeague. Over 24 EuroLeague games, he averaged 4.5 points, 2 assists, and 1.3 rebounds per game. In the Liga ACB, he appeared in 25 games and averaged 5.9 points while shooting 50% from the field goal and 40.4% from the three-point line.[2] Baskonia made the ACB Playoffs Finals that season and lost the final 3–1 to Real Madrid.

In the 2018–19 season, Vildoza's role in the team increased, and so did his stats, as he averaged 9.1 points and 3.8 assists over 34 games of the EuroLeague. In March 2019, Vildoza signed a contract extension with Baskonia to stay until the end of 2023–24 season.[3] In the Liga ACB, he appeared in 32 games, averaging 9.3 points per game. In the ACB Quarterfinals, Baskonia lost 2–0 to Zaragoza.

Milwaukee Bucks (2022)

On May 6, 2021, Vildoza signed with the New York Knicks,[4] but was waived on October 3 after playing two 2021 NBA Summer League games.[5] On October 5, Vildoza announced that he had undergone surgery on his right foot.[6]

On April 6, 2022, Vildoza was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks to a reported two-year contract.[7] [8]

On April 22, 2022, Vildoza made his NBA debut in game three of a first-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls.[9] Vildoza was subbed in during the fourth quarter at the 8:02 mark. Vildoza made a three-point shot, grabbed a rebound, recorded two assists, and recorded two steals as the Bucks won 111–81.[10] On July 5, he was waived by the Bucks.[11] On July 9, the Bucks re-signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract.[12]

Crvena zvezda (2022–2023)

On October 14, 2022, Vildoza was signed by Crvena zvezda mts of the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague to a reported two-year contract.[13] At the end of the month, he received the ABA League Player of the Month Award.[14] In 29 EuroLeague games (24 starts), he averaged 12.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.6 turnovers, playing around 24 minutes per contest.

Panathinaikos (2023–2024)

On June 26, 2023, Vildoza signed a three-year contract with Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos.[15] On July 2, 2024, Vildoza amicably parted ways with Panathinaikos, having lifted both the domestic championship as well as the EuroLeague title for the first time in his career.

Olympiacos (2024–present)

On July 2, 2024, Vildoza signed a two-year deal with Greek Basket League runner-ups and EuroLeague bronze medalists Olympiacos.

National team career

Vildoza was a member of the junior national teams of Argentina. He played with Argentina's junior national team at the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Cup. He is also a member of the senior men's Argentine national basketball team. With Argentina's senior team, he has played at the 2014 ODESUR Games, the 2015 Pan American Games, the 2016 South American Championship, and the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.[16]

In 2019, Vildoza took part in the team that won the Pan American gold medal in Lima. Vildoza was included in the Argentine squad for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and clinched the silver medal with Argentina, which emerged as runners-up to Spain at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[17]

Career statistics

NBA

Playoffs

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022| style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee| 7 || 0 || 2.4 || .333 || .200 || || .3 || .6 || .3 || .0 || .7|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career| 7 || 0 || 2.4 || .333 || .200 || || .3 || .6 || .3 || .0 || .7

EuroLeague

Denotes seasons in which Vildoza won the EuroLeague

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18| style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4"| Baskonia| 24 || 2 || 13.2 || .422 || .412 || .696 || 1.3 || 2.0 || .5 || .1 || 4.5 || 3.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| 34 || 17 || 22.5 || .403 || .372 || .879 || 2.3 || 3.8 || 1.1 || .1 || 9.1 || 9.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| 16 || 7 || 23.1 || .382 || .288 || 1.000 || 1.9 || 3.2 || 1.1 || .4 || 7.1 || 6.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| 32 || 18 || 25.1 || .410 || .388 || .761 || 2.0 || 3.5 || 1.6 || .1 || 10.3 || 10.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Crvena zvezda| 29 || 24 || 24.2 || .416 || .355 || .901 || 2.5 || 3.9 || 1.4 || .1 || 12.6 || 12.2|-| style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;"| 2023–24†| style="text-align:left;"| Panathinaikos| 28 || 5 || 14.9 || .385 || .366 || .762 || 1.5 || 1.5 || .6 || || 5.7 || 4.6|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career| 163 || 73 || 20.7 || .408 || .366 || .842 || 2.0 || 3.0 || 1.1 || .1 || 8.5 || 8.2

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Luca Vildoza new player for Laboral Kutxa Baskonia. 16 August 2016. Baskonia.com. 16 August 2016.
  2. Web site: Luca Vildoza Player Profile. RealGM.com. 28 April 2021.
  3. News: Baskonia, Vildoza together til 2024!. 6 March 2019. euroleague.net. 10 September 2019.
  4. Web site: Knicks Sign Luca Vildoza. NBA.com. May 6, 2021. May 7, 2021.
  5. Web site: Knicks Waive Luca Vildoza. NBA.com. October 3, 2021. October 3, 2021.
  6. Luca Vildoza. 1445454961387589643. Hola a todos. Les quiero contar que finalmente hoy me operé del pie derecho, que estoy bien y que apenas los doctores me lo permitan, comenzaré con la recuperación para volver a jugar. Estoy tranquilo. Pasé meses difíciles.. LucaVildoza. October 5, 2021. October 5, 2021. Spanish.
  7. Web site: Milwaukee Bucks Sign Luca Vildoza. NBA.com. April 6, 2022. April 6, 2022.
  8. Web site: Adrian. Wojnarowski. Guard Luca Vildoza expected to sign with Milwaukee Bucks, sources say. ESPN.com. April 4, 2022. April 6, 2022.
  9. Web site: Game 3 Rapid Recap. BrewHoop.com. April 22, 2022. April 22, 2022.
  10. Web site: Bucks use balanced attack to cruise past Bulls in Game 3. NBA.com. April 22, 2022. April 22, 2022.
  11. The Milwaukee Bucks Have Waived 2 Players . July 5, 2022 . Sports Illustrated.
  12. Web site: Bucks Re-Sign Rayjon Tucker, Luca Vildoza To Camp Contracts . 2022-07-12 . basketball.realgm.com.
  13. Web site: Luca Vildoza is the new reinforcement of Crvena zvezda mts . aba-liga.com . 14 October 2022.
  14. Web site: NLB MVP OF OCTOBER: LUCA VILDOZA (CRVENA ZVEZDA MTS) . aba-liga.com . 2 November 2022.
  15. Web site: Panathinaikos signs playmaker Luca Vildoza. EuroLeague. 26 June 2023. 27 June 2023.
  16. Web site: Luca VILDOZA (ARG). FIBA.com. 28 April 2021.
  17. Web site: Spain seal second FIBA World Cup with win over Argentina. 15 September 2019. MARCA.com. en. 19 September 2019.