By now we are quite aware that Brazil’s most preferred sport is undoubtedly football, but over the years, basketball has gained in popularity and thus reeling in more fans.
Whether it’s due to the influence of international leagues or even thanks to the improvement of sport management in the country, all of which has contributed to the increase of its visibility and consequently the greater investment interest of companies, resulting in more qualified players and better teams.
We have decided to list, in alphabetical order, the greatest names of Brazilian basketball, world champions in both man and woman’s category: Far from the intention raking these players, we’ve selected ten names, so you have your own best list. Shall we begin?
ALESSANDRA OLIVEIRA
Few players are as successful as Alessandra.
The center earned the world title in 1994 and won the silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. At the WNBA, she played for the Washington Mystics (1998–1999), Indiana Fever (2000) and the Seattle Storm (2001).
AMAURY PASSOS
He was two-time world champion and won two Olympic medals.
He was part of the most successful generation in the history of the Brazilian national men's basketball team. He won two world championships between 1959 and 1963, two Olympic bronze medals between 1960 and 1964, in addition to four South American championships.
Initially he played as a center, but with the arrival of taller athletes, he changed his position, alternating between small forward and occasionally guard.
ANDERSON VAREJÃO
The forward was a success both in European basketball and at the NBA.
For Barcelona, Varejão was the only Brazilian to have won the Euro League. In the NBA, the Brazilian became one of the idols of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a franchise he defended between 2004 and 2016.
He is still fifth in the list of players with the most rebounds in the history of the Cavaliers and the eighth in the list of defensive block shots and steals. In 2016, Anderson Varejão became the first player to have defended the two NBA finalists in the same year, after being traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Golden State Warriors.
For the Brazilian national team, he was champion of the 2003 Pan American Games, South American champion in the same year and twice champion of the Copa America, in 2005 and 2009. He was also in the London Olympics in 2012, in which Brazil came in 5th.
ÉRIKA DE SOUZA
Érika's resumé is to be the envy of any great basketball player.
Érika, was not only a Pan-American champion and stood out as one of the great players of the WNBA, being champion of the 2002 season and having participated in three editions of the All-Star Game, but she has also been ranked among the best defensive players of the 2013 season.
In European basketball, Érika was the champion of the Euro league in 2011, eight times Spanish champion and Hungarian champion. For the Brazilian national team, the center was champion of the Pan American Games of 2019 and three-time champion of the Copa America, in 2001, 2003 and 2011.
MARIA HELENA CARDOSO (HELENINHA)
Maria Helena Campos, known as Heleninha, participated in a series of Brazilian basketball achievements between the late 1950s and early 1970s.
She was the champion of the Pan American Games in Winnipeg in 1967, silver medal in Chicago in 1959 and São Paulo in 1963. She was also three times South American champion in 1958, 1965 and 1970, in addition to being the bronze medalist in the 1971 World Cup
HORTÊNCIA
Hortência is the biggest top scorer in the history of the Brazilian Women's Basketball Team.
Queen of the most successful generation in the history of women's basketball in Brazil, she was also champion of the Pan American Games in Havana in 1991, world champion in 1994 and silver medalist in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
In 2018, former player of the number 4 jersey of the Brazilian national team, she was elected the best player in the history of the Women's Basketball World Cups.
IZIANE
One of the most talented players of her generation, Iziane joined WNBA at the age of 20, where she defended six franchises over 11 seasons.
Her most successful period was at the Atlanta Dream, the team she played for in the WNBA finals in 2010 and 2011.
The small forward also played in five different European leagues (Spain, France, Russia, Latvia and Poland) and played only two editions of the Olympic Games for the Brazilian team: It was in the 2004 and 2016 Olympics and in 2008 and 2012, she has been dismissed on the grounds of indiscipline.
JANETH ARCAIM
Every time there is a list of the best players in the history of Brazilian basketball, Janeth Arcain will certainly be on it.
One of the main athletes of the Brazilian team and world champion in 1994, she also won the silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the bronze medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Janeth is the third highest scorer in the team's history, having scored 2,247 points in 138 official games.
First Brazilian to play in the WNBA, she defended the Houston Comets and was four times champion of the North American League. In 2001, she received the Most Improved Player (MIP) award and was picked to the All-Star Game.
Today Janeth runs the “Janeth Arcain Institute” which aims to democratize access to quality sports, sports based on good values, in order to promote basketball as a tool of human development and also for transforming society and exercising citizenship.
LEANDRO BARBOSA
Leandrinho is another player of his generation in Brazilian basketball who managed to be successful in the NBA.
The shooting guard received the Sixth Man of the Year award in the 2006-2007 season, when he defended the Phoenix Suns, and was champion of the league in 2014-2015, playing for the Golden State Warriors.
In addition to the Arizona and Warriors franchises, he also played for the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics.
For the Brazilian national team, Leandrinho was twice champion of the Copa America, in 2005 and 2009, and was in the Olympics of 2012 and 2016. In 2019, Leandrinho played QUAI54 for the STREETOPIA team and won the MVP of all matches and was the vice-champion of the 15th edition of the largest streetball tournament in the world, in Paris.
In 2020 Leandrinho said goodbye to the courts and left his home country once again to become Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr's right-hand man as ‘Mentor Coach’, a key technical role.
MARCEL DE SOUZA
Marcel was one of the main players in the Brazilian national team between the 1970s and the early 1990s. The small forward played four Olympic editions, five World Championships and five Pan American Games.
In the 1987 Pan American, Marcel played a key role when, for the first time in history, when the American basketball team was defeated in a game played in the United States.
MARCELINHO HUERTAS
One of the best shooting guards in the history of Brazilian basketball.
Marcelinho Huertas spent most of his career in the Spanish basketball league, but he also had his experience in the NBA, where he played for the Los Angeles Lakers between 2015 and 2017, in the final stretch of Kobe Bryant's career.
Playing for Caja Laboral and Barcelona, the guard was three times champion of the ACB League, the main Spanish basketball competition.
For the Brazilian team, Marcelinho Huertas won the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007. He also took the gold medal and the MVP award for the 2006 South American Championship.
MARQUINHOS ABDALLA
Marquinhos Abdalla was the first Brazilian player to be drafted by the NBA. In 1976, he was picked in 162nd draft position by the Portland Trail Blazers.
With the national team's shirt, Marquinhos Abdalla was runner-up in the world in 1970 and bronze medalist in 1978. He also won the gold medal at the Pan American Games in Cali in 1971 and participated in three Olympic Games: Munich in 1972, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984.
MARTA SOBRAL
The center Marta was one of the main references within the center circle for the Brazilian team in the 90s.
She was champion of the Pan American Games in Havana in 1991 and won two Olympic medals: silver in Atlanta in 1996 and bronze in Sydney in 2000.
NENÊ HILÁRIO
Known as the Brazilian player with the most solid career in the NBA among all those who passed through the league. After standing out for Vasco, he arrived in the NBA in 2002 drafted by the New York Knicks in the seventh overall choice, but was soon traded to the Denver Nuggets, a franchise he played for until 2012.
Still while playing for the NBA, Nenê defended the Washington Wizards between 2012 and 2016 and the Houston Rockets from 2016 to 2019.
For the Brazilian national team, the center was a runner-up in the 2001 Copa America. In the London Olympics, he was part of the team that came in 5th place.
OSCAR SCHMIDT
A career spanning more than 30 years, filled with championships and achievements by teams in Brazil, Europe and also by the Brazilian national team, made him the “sacred hands”, the top scorer and best player in the history of Brazilian basketball.
His most notorious championship was the gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis.
In addition, Oscar won three South American championships for the Brazilian team.
In 2013 he received the highest honor of his career. He was immortalized in the Springfield Basketball Hall of Fame, Massachusetts, in the United States, in a ceremony at the grand Symphony Hall where he was honored at the hands of one of the greatest basketball players of all time: Larry Bird, the Boston Celtics living legend.
MAGIC PAULA
Magic Paula shared with Hortência the leadership and leading role for being the most successful player in the history of women's basketball in Brazil. Paula's first call for the professional team came when she was just 14 years old. Defending Brazil, she was champion of the Pan American Games in Havana in 1991, world champion in 1994, and won the silver medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.
In 2005, she was nominated to the Hall of Fame of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) where she was admitted in 2013 during a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland.
ROSA BRANCA
Two-time world champion with the Brazilian team in 1959 and 1963 and vice in 1970, he also won two bronze Olympic medals: 1960 in Rome and Tokyo in 1964.
At the Pan American Games, there were two other medals: bronze in Mexico City in 1955, and silver in São Paulo, in 1963.
TIAGO SPLITTER
In addition to winning championships in Europe, Tiago Splitter was the first Brazilian to become an NBA champion.
In Spanish basketball, Splitter was the MVP of the regular season of the ACB League and also received the MVP award from the finals and won the 2010 title.
Playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Tiago Splitter was the first Brazilian player to become NBA champion in 2014. The center / small forward who was rarely on the bench, also played a key role in two of the five games in the finals against the Miami Heat.
For the Brazilian national team, Splitter was champion of the Pan American Games in 2003, twice champion of the Copa America, in 2005 and 2009, and South American champion in 2003.
Currently he no longer plays for the Brazilian national team because he has been hired by the Brooklyn Nets to be part of Kenny Atkinson’s coaching team.
UBIRATAN PEREIRA
The greatest Brazilian center of all time joined FIBA’s Merit’s Group in 1994. In August 2009, he was nominated to join the FIBA Hall of Fame and, a year later, he also joined the Hall of Fame of Basketball in Springfield in the USA.
He was the first Brazilian basketball player to sign a professional contract abroad. He won four medals in World Cups playing for the national team, the peak of his career being part of the world champion team in 1963.
The center played three Olympic Games: Tokyo in 1964, Mexico City in 1968 and Munich in 1972.
WLAMIR MARQUES
One of the main players of Brazil in the team that was twice world champion, in 1959 and 1963.
Diabo Loiro (“the blonde devil”) , as he was nicknamed, was a bronze medalist twice, in the Rome 1960 and Tokyo 1964 editions of the Olympic Games. Wlamir's debut for the Brazilian team came when he was just 16 years old. The first game he played wearing the green and yellow jersey was the only one that he was on the bench.
