J. P. Batista

João Paulo Lopes "J. P." Batista (born October 29, 1981) is a Brazilian professional basketball player for Minas of the NBB. Standing at 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he plays at the power forward position. He played college basketball at Gonzaga University.

J. P. Batista
Minas
PositionPower forward
LeagueNBB
Personal information
Born (1981-10-29) October 29, 1981
Olinda, Pernambuco
NationalityBrazilian
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight270 lb (122 kg)
Career information
College
NBA draft2006 / Undrafted
Playing career2006–present
Career history
2006–2008Lietuvos rytas
2008Barons Rīga
2008–2014Le Mans Sarthe
2014–2015Limoges CSP
2015–2018Flamengo
2018–2019Mogi das Cruzes
2019–2020Le Mans Sarthe
2020-presentMinas
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Batista was born and raised in Olinda, Pernambuco, attended Colegio Atual school in Olinda and was named State Player of the Year as a senior in 2001.

College career

Batista arrived at Gonzaga in 2004, after spending the first year of his college career at Western Nebraska Community College and the second at Barton County Community College in Kansas, where he mentored teammate and fellow international student Antanas Kavaliauskas. He finished his first season with Gonzaga averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game, and was named the top newcomer in the West Coast Conference.

Playing alongside the All-American Adam Morrison, Batista finished the 2005-06 NCAA basketball season averaging over 19 points and 9 rebounds per game, while shooting a remarkable 59 percent from the field and 83 percent from the line.[1]

Professional career

Despite his impressive collegiate statistics, Batista was generally ignored by the scouts leading up to the 2006 NBA Draft, with his lack of athleticism and his age (he was nearly 25 at the time of the draft, unusually old for a college prospect) perhaps hindering his chances of being drafted. Batista played for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves entry in the Las Vegas Summer League,[2] but he was not signed by the team.

He accepted an offer to play for Lietuvos rytas in Vilnius, Lithuania in the LKL and ULEB Cup. With Lietuvos rytas he played in the ULEB Cup and Lithuanian basketball Cup finals, and won the BBL championship. Their 2006-07 ULEB Cup run ended in a loss in the final to Real Madrid, but since Real had already qualified for the 2007-08 Euroleague through their league position, Lietuvos rytas received the Euroleague berth that normally goes to the ULEB Cup winners.

On June 16, 2014, he signed a two-year deal with French club Limoges CSP.[3] With them he won the 2014–15 LNB Pro A championship. On June 25, 2015, he parted ways with Limoges.[4]

On July 16, 2015, he returned to Brazil and signed with Flamengo.[5]

On June 25, 2019, he has signed a contract with Le Mans Sarthe of the LNB Pro A.[6]

EuroLeague 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.

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2007–08 Lietuvos Rytas 1108.0.516.000.5561.5.2.1.03.42.0
2008–09 Le Mans 10723.5.570.000.6673.81.5.7.411.49.9
2014–15 Limoges CSP 10117.1.455.000.8182.11.0.2.27.86.0

National team career

Batista represents the senior men's Brazilian national basketball team and he was a part of the 2010 FIBA World Championship squad.

References

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