Jiří Welsch
Welsch, with Unicaja Málaga, in 2009.
Personal information
Born (1980-01-27) 27 January 1980
Pardubice, Czechoslovakia
NationalityCzech
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2002: 1st round, 16th overall pick
Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers
Playing career1997–2018
PositionShooting guard / small forward
Career history
1997–1998BK JIP Pardubice
1998–2000Sparta Prague
2000–2002Union Olimpija
2002–2003Golden State Warriors
2003–2005Boston Celtics
2005Cleveland Cavaliers
2005–2006Milwaukee Bucks
2006–2010Unicaja Málaga
2010–2011Estudiantes
2011–2012Spirou Charleroi
2012–2017ČEZ Nymburk
2017–2018BK Pardubice
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Jiří Welsch inbounding the ball.

Jiří Welsch (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjɪr̝iː ˈvɛlʃ]) (born 27 January 1980) is a Czech former professional basketball player for BK Pardubice of the Czech Republic National Basketball League. He has also represented the senior Czech Republic national basketball team. Welsch has played in the National Basketball Association in the United States, having been drafted in 2002 by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Professional career

Early years

Welsch began his professional career as a teenager with BK JIP Pardubice of the Czech Republic League, where he played until 1998. He then signed with CSA Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic League for the 1998–99 season, and then he moved to Union Olimpija Ljubljana of the Slovenian League, where he played until 2002. He was named the Slovenian League Most Valuable Player following the 2001–02 season campaign.

NBA

Welsch was drafted by the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers with the 16th selection of the 2002 NBA draft, but he was immediately traded to the Golden State Warriors for a future first-round draft pick and a future first- or second-round draft pick.[1] He spent one season with the Warriors, averaging 1.6 points per game, 0.8 rebounds per game, and 0.7 assists per game in 37 games in the 2002–03 season before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks, along with Antawn Jamison, Chris Mills and Danny Fortson, in exchange for Evan Eschmeyer, Nick Van Exel, Avery Johnson, Popeye Jones and Antoine Rigaudeau on 18 August 2003.[2] Without ever playing a game for them, Welsch, along with Mills, Raef LaFrentz and a lottery-protected 2004 NBA Draft pick, was traded by Dallas to the Boston Celtics on 20 October 2003 in exchange for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk.[3] Welsch started 68 games for the Celtics in the 2003–04 season, averaging 9.2 points per game.[4]

Welsch averaged 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in 136 games played (100 of them starts) in 2003–04 and 2004–05, while playing with the Celtics. On 24 February 2005, Welsch was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a future 2007 first-round draft pick.[5]

On 28 June 2005, Welsch was traded by the Cavs to the Milwaukee Bucks for a 2006 second-round draft pick.[6]

Welsch's final NBA game was played in Game 5 of the 2006 Eastern Conference First Round on 3 May 2006, against the Detroit Pistons. The Bucks would lose the game 93–122 and drop the series to Detroit 4–1, with Welsch recording 2 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound.

Back to Europe

In August 2006, Welsch decided to leave the NBA, and he signed with the Spanish ACB league club Unicaja Málaga.[4] After playing with Estudiantes Madrid, he signed a contract with Spirou Basket, of Belgium, in July 2011.[7] In 2012, he signed with ČEZ Nymburk.[8] He joined BK Pardubice in 2017.

National team career

Welsch has been a member of the senior Czech Republic national basketball team. He played at the following EuroBasket tournaments: the 1999 EuroBasket, the 2007 EuroBasket, the 2013 EuroBasket, the 2015 EuroBasket, and the 2017 EuroBasket.

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  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002–03 Golden State 3706.3.253.250.759.8.7.2.11.6
2003–04 Boston 816826.9.428.381.7433.72.31.2.19.2
2004–05 553220.5.428.323.7732.51.5.7.17.5
2004–05 Cleveland 16012.0.235.182.7141.81.2.3.02.9
2005–06 Milwaukee 58214.9.387.286.7471.91.1.6.04.3
Career 24710218.6.403.343.7522.41.5.8.16.1

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 Boston 4426.0.478.2501.0003.02.3.5.08.0
2005–06 Milwaukee 403.8.500.000.750.8.5.3.01.8
Career 8414.9.481.250.9231.91.4.4.04.9

References

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