Thabo Sefolosha

Thabo Sefolosha

Thabo Sefolosha: A Brief Biography

Thabo Patrick Sefolosha is a Swiss professional basketball player who plays for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At the age of 17, Sefolosha was invited to join the junior Swiss national basketball team where he began his professional career with Tege Riviera Basket, in Switzerland's top domestic league.


On a team trip to France, Sefolosha was offered to play premier pro league in France. He spent his first year playing with the junior under-21 squad which traveled alongside the senior club. Earning a rotation spot on the senior club in the 2002-03 season, he averaged 4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1 assist in 30 games. In the following season, he averaged 9.4 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 steal in 30.7 minutes per game as a starter, helping the team finish the French league at the third spot and reach the semi-finals of the playoffs.


Sefolosha was drafted as the 13th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He was instantly traded to the Chicago Bulls for the 16th pick (Rodney Carney), and cash considerations. Just before the end of the trade deadline in 2009, Sefolosha was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Denver's 2009 first-round draft pick. The bulls used that pick to draft Taj Gibson.


Sefolosha was named All-NBA Defensive Second Team for the 2009–10 NBA season. In the 2011-12 season, Sefolosha helped the Oklahoma City Thunder reach the 2012 NBA Finals where they lost to the Miami Heat in 5 games. In 2014, Sefolosha, along with Giorgos Printezisas, was traded to the Atlanta Hawks in a sign-and-trade deal in exchange for Sofoklis Schortsanitis. In 2017, he signed a multi-year deal with the Utah Jazz.