Andrés Nocioni

Saski Baskonia
Small forward / Power forward
Personal information
Born	(1979-11-30) November 30, 1979 (age 32) Santa Fe, Argentina
Nationality	Argentine / Italian[1]
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	2001 / Undrafted
Pro career	1996–present
Career history
1996–1997	Olimpia Venado Tuerto (Argentina)
1997–1999	Independiente (Gral. Pico) (Argentina)
1999–2000	Tau Cerámica (Spain)
2000–2001	→Minorisa.net Manresa (Spain)
2001–2004	Tau Cerámica (Spain)
2004–2009	Chicago Bulls
2009–2010	Sacramento Kings
2010–2012	Philadelphia 76ers
2011	Peñarol de Mar del Plata (Argentina)
2012–present	Caja Laboral (Spain)
Career highlights and awards
2x All-Euroleague Second Team 2003, 2004 Spanish League MVP (2004)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Andrés Marcelo Nocioni (born November 30, 1979) is an Argentine professional basketball player who plays for Caja Laboral in the Spanish Liga ACB. He was a two-time All-Euroleague selection before spending eight seasons in the NBA from 2004 to 2012. His natural position is small forward, but he does sometimes play at power forward.

A regular member of the Argentine national team, Nocioni was part of the team that won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.^[2] He has also helped the Argentine national team to win the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics^[3] and a silver medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis.

Personal[link]

Andrés was the second son of Pedro José Pilo Nocioni and Ángela Palmira Roux, both also born in Santa Fe. Though both he and his older brother Pablo were born in Santa Fe, the family actually lived in Gálvez, 80 km south of Santa Fe, where Andrés attended school.^[4] Andrés and his wife, Paula Raquel Aimonetto, have two sons, Laureano^[5] and Benicio. Nocioni is known as Chapu after the children TV series El Chapulín Colorado, which was very popular in Argentina.^{[6][dead link]} He holds Argentine and Italian citizenships.^[7]

Pro career[link]

Argentina and Spain[link]

Nocioni's professional career began in the Argentine basketball league (LNB) in the 1995–96 season, and in 1998–99 he was already named Best Sixth Man. In 2001, Nocioni went to Vitoria-Gasteiz, where he spent three seasons as a refuerzo (reinforcement player) with Spain's TAU Cerámica of the ACB Spanish professional league. He was the league's 2004 Most Valuable Player and his stellar play earned him an All-Euroleague Second Team selection in 2003 and 2004.

NBA career[link]

Andrés Nocioni signing basketballs for fans.

After winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, Nocioni was signed as an undrafted rookie free-agent by the Chicago Bulls. Two of his countrymen, Manu Ginóbili and Carlos Delfino, were also in the NBA at the time.

He played in 81 games during his rookie campaign and posted averages of 8.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.5 apg and 23.4 mpg.^[8] Nocioni's physical style of defense created controversy around the league, and he was suspended for one game after a hard foul to Detroit Pistons' Tayshaun Prince.^[9] Nocioni had previously committed a hard foul on the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade and then was shoved past photographers and into the first row of spectators by Udonis Haslem. A spectator tossed a drink at Nocioni, which was similar to the incident that triggered Pacers–Pistons brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The fan was ejected by security. For the incident Nocioni received a flagrant-one foul (which is a foul involving excessive or unjustified contact) and a technical. Haslem received a technical and an ejection.^[10]