Manuel Raga
 Manolo Raga in 1971. | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Born | March 14, 1944 Aldama, Tamaulipas, Mexico | ||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Mexican | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 1970 / Round: 10 / Pick: 167th overall | ||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Atlanta Hawks | |||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1963–1979 | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1968 | Villa Aldama | ||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1974 | Ignis Varese | ||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1979 | Federale Lugano | ||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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| FIBA Hall of Fame as player | |||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Manuel "Manolo" Raga Navarro (born March 14, 1944) is a retired Mexican professional basketball player. During his playing career, he was nicknamed, "The Flying Mexican",[1] due to his nationality and his one of a kind 43 inch standing (no step) vertical leap.[2] In 2008, he was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. In 2016, he became a FIBA Hall of Fame player.
Club career[]
Raga played professionally for Varese in the Italian League, from 1968 to 1974, and with them, he won three EuroLeague championships. In 1970, he became the first player from an international league to be selected in the NBA Draft,[3] when Atlanta Hawks general manager, Marty Blake, took him with the 167th overall pick. However, Raga never played in the NBA.
National team career[]
Raga was a part of the senior national team of Mexico. He won a gold medal at the 1965 CentroBasket, and a silver medal at the 1967 Pan American Games.[4] He also played with Mexico in three different Summer Olympic Games, at the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1968 Summer Olympics, and the 1976 Summer Olympics. He also played in 3 different FIBA World Cups, at Brazil 1963, at Uruguay 1967, and at Puerto Rico 1974.[5]
Awards and accomplishments[]
Club career[]
- Italian League Champion (3): 1969, 1970, 1971
- Italian Cup Winner (3): 1969, 1970, 1971
- FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) Champion (3): 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73
- FIBA Intercontinental Cup Champion (2): 1970, 1973
- Swiss League Champion (3): 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77
- Swiss Cup Winner: 1974–75
- Best Mexican Player of the 20th Century[6]
- 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors: 2008
- FIBA Hall of Fame: 2016
References[]
External links[]
- Euroleague.net 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors
- FIBA Hall of Fame Profile
- FIBA Profile
- Basketball-Reference.com Profile
- The Flying Mexican
- Manuel Raga, Mexico, InterBasket. Retrieved 20 August 2007.
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- 1944 births
- Living people
- Atlanta Hawks draft picks
- Basketball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1967 Pan American Games
- Basketball players at the 1968 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- Basketball players from Tamaulipas
- FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
- Mexican men's basketball players
- Olympic basketball players of Mexico
- Pallacanestro Varese players
- Pan American Games medalists in basketball
- Pan American Games silver medalists for Mexico
- Shooting guards
- SP Federale Lugano players
- Medalists at the 1967 Pan American Games