Sergei Alexandrovich Belov ( ; born January 23, 1944 in the village of Nashchyokovo, now in Shegarsky District, Tomsk Oblast ) is a former basketball player, most notably playing for the Soviet Union at the Olympic Games. He trained at Trud Voluntary Sports Society and later at Armed Forces sports society.

Career

At the age of twenty, he made his debut in "Uralmash" team (Sverdlovsk, 1964-67) and then played for CSKA Moscow for twelve years, eleven times becoming the USSR Champion and two times Euroleague Champion (1969, 1971).

International career

He was also a member of the Soviet Union national basketball team for fourteen years (1967-1980), he helped them win a gold medal (1972) and three bronze medals (1968, 1976, 1980) at the Olympic Games, become the World Champions in 1967 and 1974 and European Champions in 1967, 1969, 1971 and 1979. In 1968 he became an Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. Later he became an Honored Trainer of Russia (1995) and the President of the Russian Basketball Federation (1993-98).

Awards

Belov is considered to be one of the best non-American basketball players of all time. He was the first European to be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 11, 1992. In 1991 FIBA named him the "Best European Player Ever". He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.

References

1. Great Russian Encyclopedia (2005), Moscow: Bolshaya Rossiyskaya Entsiklopediya Publisher, vol. 3, p. 227.
2. Sergei Belov FIBA Profile.
3. FIBA Hall of Fame page on Belov.

External links

• Euroleague.net Profile
• Career @ Basketpedya.com