Wendell Paul Alexis[1] (born July 31, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player who played for several European clubs, between 1986 and 2004, most notably for ALBA Berlin, where he was voted MVP of the German Bundesliga four times, during his 6-year stay with the club. In 2018, he was named to the 101 Greats of European Basketball list.

Wendell Alexis
Personal information
Born (1964-07-31) July 31, 1964 (age 60)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolChrist the King (Queens, New York)
CollegeSyracuse (1982–1986)
NBA draft1986: 3rd round, 59th overall pick
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Playing career1986–2004
PositionPower forward
Career history
1986–1987Forum Valladolid
1987–1988Real Madrid
1988–1990Enichem Livorno
1990–1991Ticino Siena
1991–1993Pallacanestro Trapani
1993–1994Maccabi Tel Aviv
1994Pfizer Reggio Calabria
1995–1996Levallois
1996–2002ALBA Berlin
2002–2003PAOK
2003–2004Mitteldeutscher BC
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Representing  United States
FIBA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Athens

High school

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Alexis attended and played basketball at Christ The King Regional High School, in Middle Village, Queens, New York.

College career

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Alexis played college basketball for the Syracuse Orangemen, from 1982 until 1986, being a starter during his senior year and earning All Big East Conference honors.

Professional career

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Alexis was drafted by the Golden State Warriors, just one pick ahead of future Hall of Fame member Dražen Petrović. Alexis never played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), though, but he went on to play in Europe until 2004. He settled in Spain for his first two years there, winning the Korać Cup in 1988, with Real Madrid. From 1988 until 1993, Alexis played in Italy, where he reached the domestic championship's finals in 1989, as a team member of Enichem Livorno. After a brief return to Forum Valladolid, he moved to Israel. As a player for Maccabi Tel Aviv, he won the Israeli League championship. Alexis spent another year in Italy, at Reggio Calabria, before joining French club Levallois.

He then moved to Berlin for ALBA, where he would stay until 2002. Alexis won the German League championship every season there, and he was chosen as the competition's MVP in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2002. He is still the club's all-time leading scorer, with 5,922 points scored overall,[2] being dubbed "Iceman" by the fans.[3] Alexis competed in the FIBA EuroStars games of 1997–98 and 1998–99, as a member of the Western rosters.

After playing with the Greek club PAOK, for one year, Alexis returned to Germany, and won the FIBA Europe Cup (FIBA EuroCup Challenge) title with Mitteldeutscher BC.

National team career

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Alexis also represented the senior United States national team at the 1998 FIBA World Championship, where Team USA played without any NBA players being available, due to the NBA lockout. He won the bronze medal at the tournament, and he was the team's second best scorer.[4]

Coaching career

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After the end of his active professional basketball playing career, Alexis worked as an assistant coach of the NJIT Highlanders college basketball team. In September 2008, Alexis was named an assistant coach of the NBA Development League's Austin Toros.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Wendell Paul Alexis's profile". fiba.com. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  2. ^ "List of Alba Berlin's leading scorers overall since joining the first German division in 1991". Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  3. ^ Profile at the official website of Alba Berlin Archived July 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in German)
  4. ^ "Stats of the US team at the 1998 WC". Archived from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  5. ^ "Toros Basketball: Bench Changes". Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
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