Hanno Möttölä

Hanno Aleksanteri Möttölä ( born September 9, 1976 in Helsinki) is a Finnish professional basketball player. The 2.09 m wide power forward was the first and so far the only Finn in the NBA. A total of eight times he was named Finland's basketball player of the year, more than any other player.

Career

In the NCAA Möttölä was active from 1996 to 2000 for the team from the University of Utah, with whom he reached the final of the NCAA tournaments in 1998. He was then in the NBA Draft in 2000 selected by the Atlanta Hawks and contracted. He played in two years, 155 games for the Hawks in the NBA before he returned to Europe. There he was active for as many clubs in six years, reaching 2004 Fortitude Bologna the finals of ULEB Euro League, in 2006, he won the ULEB Cup Dynamo Moscow.

In the Finnish national Möttölä played 100 matches between 1995 and 2008, in which he scored 1403 points. Even as a 18 -year-old, he participated in the European Championships in 1995, but after that the team could not qualify in Möttöläs active time for such a tournament.

On 26 September 2008, he announced to end his career at the club and the national team. On 4 June 2009 Möttölä announced his return to the national team is known with which he first qualify after 16 - year absence for Mr. selection again in 2011 for a final round of the European basketball championship. In the European Championship finals in 2011, the selection immediately reached the round of twelve best teams and was able to repeat this success two years later, when she again placed in the European Championship finals in 2013 among the top ten European national teams. During this tournament, however, Möttölä moved early on his 37th birthday a torn ligament in the knee, so that his return is questionable as a professional player on the pitch.