Introduction
Pablo Prigioni (born May 17, 1977) is an Argentine-Italian former professional basketball player. At a height of 1.93 m (6'4"), he played at the point guard position. He was a two-time All-EuroLeague selection, and he was also a member of the senior Argentina national team that won the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Professional career
Argentina
Prigioni began his professional career with Ramallo of the Argentine LNB League during the 1995–96 season. He then moved to Belgrano San Nicolás in 1996 before transferring to Obras Sanitarias in 1998.
Europe
In 1999, he moved to the Spanish club Fuenlabrada, where he stayed until 2001. In 2001, Prigioni joined the Spanish club Lucentum Alicante, and he played there until 2003. In 2003, Prigioni joined the EuroLeague team Baskonia. With Baskonia he won several titles, including: 3 Spanish King's Cups in the years 2004, 2006, 2009; 4 Spanish Supercups in the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008; and the Spanish League championship in 2008.
In 2009, he joined Real Madrid. In August 2011, he returned to Baskonia, signing a one-year deal.
NBA
On July 24, 2012, Prigioni signed a one-year contract with the New York Knicks for the rookie minimum. At age 35, Prigioni became the oldest NBA rookie in history when he made his debut on November 2, 2012. He became the team's starting point guard for the last two months of the 2012–13 season, as well as for the playoffs. In Game 6 of the Knicks' first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, Prigioni made 3 three-pointers in the first quarter. The Knicks won 88–80 to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
On July 10, 2013, Prigioni re-signed with the Knicks.
On February 19, 2015, Prigioni was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Alexey Shved and two second-round picks.
On July 20, 2015, the Rockets traded Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, a 2016 first round draft pick, and cash considerations to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Ty Lawson and a 2017 second round draft pick. Prigioni was immediately waived by Denver upon being acquired.
On August 3, 2015, Prigioni signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. On January 13, 2016, he had a career-high eight steals against the Miami Heat, one shy of the franchise record held by his coach, Doc Rivers. On April 8, 2016, he recorded a season-high 13 points, a career-high seven rebounds, and a season-high seven assists in a 102–99 overtime win over the Utah Jazz.
On July 29, 2016, Prigioni signed with the Houston Rockets, returning to the franchise for a second stint. However, he was waived by the Rockets on October 24, 2016 after appearing in five preseason games.
Return to Europe and retirement
On December 5, 2016, Prigioni returned to Baskonia, signing for the rest of the season. He officially retired from his professional basketball playing career on January 9, 2017. During his pro club career, Prigioni played in 10 EuroLeague seasons, in which he had career averages of 6.1 points, 4.3 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, and in 4 NBA seasons, in which he had career regular season averages of 3.5 points, 2.8 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game.
National team career
As a member of the Argentine senior men's national basketball team, Prigioni played at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He won silver medals at the 2003 FIBA Americas Championship and 2007 FIBA Americas Championship. Prigioni was also a member of the Argentina national team that competed at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games and won the bronze medal. He also won the bronze medal at the 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, and the gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship.
Career statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | ||
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating | ||
| Bold | Career high | ||||||
Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.
| Led the league |
EuroLeague
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Baskonia | 20 | 10 | 22.7 | .452 | .409 | .810 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 1.9 | .2 | 6.0 | 8.9 |
| 2004–05 | Baskonia | 21 | 7 | 19.5 | .394 | .313 | .893 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .0 | 4.4 | 6.6 |
| 2005–06 | Baskonia | 25 | 22 | 27.1 | .462 | .368 | .837 | 2.1 | 6.2 | 2.2 | .0 | 5.8 | 11.7 |
| 2006–07 | Baskonia | 23 | 13 | 25.3 | .442 | .352 | .913 | 2.8 | 4.7 | 2.5 | .0 | 6.6 | 11.6 |
| 2007–08 | Baskonia | 25 | 2 | 23.7 | .375 | .327 | .902 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 1.5 | .0 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| 2008–09 | Baskonia | 21 | 19 | 26.6 | .433 | .427 | .545 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 1.5 | .0 | 6.4 | 9.5 |
| 2009–10 | Real Madrid | 20 | 19 | 27.6 | .422 | .328 | .861 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 1.5 | .1 | 7.0 | 10.1 |
| 2010–11 | Real Madrid | 18 | 13 | 25.5 | .370 | .344 | .762 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 1.4 | .0 | 5.4 | 8.8 |
| 2011–12 | Baskonia | 10 | 6 | 28.6 | .439 | .308 | .846 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 2.2 | .0 | 7.3 | 12.8 |
| 2016–17 | Baskonia | 3 | 0 | 8.7 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.7 | 2.0 | .7 | .0 | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| Career | 186 | 111 | 24.7 | .419 | .351 | .831 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 1.7 | .0 | 6.1 | 9.6 |
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | New York | 78 | 18 | 16.2 | .455 | .396 | .880 | 1.8 | 3.0 | .9 | .0 | 3.5 |
| 2013–14 | New York | 66 | 27 | 19.4 | .461 | .464 | .917 | 2.0 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.8 |
| 2014–15 | New York | 43 | 3 | 18.5 | .422 | .374 | .846 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.2 | .0 | 4.7 |
| 2014–15 | Houston | 24 | 0 | 17.7 | .343 | .275 | .867 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 1.1 | .0 | 3.0 |
| 2015–16 | L.A. Clippers | 59 | 3 | 13.9 | .374 | .295 | .875 | 1.9 | 2.2 | .9 | .0 | 2.5 |
| Career | 270 | 51 | 16.9 | .425 | .379 | .872 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.5 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | New York | 11 | 10 | 20.9 | .395 | .433 | .500 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 1.3 | .1 | 4.5 |
| 2015 | Houston | 17 | 0 | 17.2 | .333 | .293 | .750 | 1.1 | 2.3 | .9 | .0 | 3.1 |
| Career | 28 | 10 | 18.7 | .360 | .352 | .625 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .0 | 3.6 |
Awards and accomplishments
Pro career
- Spanish Prince's Cup Winner: (2002)
- Led the Spanish League in steals: (2003)
- 3× Spanish King's Cup Winner: (2004, 2006, 2009)
- 4× Spanish Supercup Winner: (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
- Spanish King's Cup MVP: (2006)
- 2× All-EuroLeague 2nd Team: (2006, 2007)
- Led the EuroLeague in assists: (2006)
- 3× All-ACB Team: (2006, 2007, 2009)
- Spanish League Champion: (2008)
- Spanish Supercup MVP: (2008)
Argentina national team
- 2003 FIBA Americas Championship:
Silver - 2003 South American Championship: Silver
- 2004 South American Championship:
Gold - 2007 FIBA Americas Championship: Silver
- 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament: Gold
- 2008 Summer Olympic Games:
Bronze - 2009 FIBA Americas Championship: Bronze
- 2011 FIBA Americas Championship: Gold
Silver
Gold
Bronze