Many of you probably don’t remember the 6‘11 and 265 lb Brazilian double-double machine, known as “Baby”, taken as the #8 selection by the Toronto Raptors in the 2004 NBA Draft, but his name is Rafael Araujo. It’s ok, I didn’t either, especially since he played in only 139 NBA games and averaged a paltry 2.8 ppg with both Toronto and the Utah Jazz.
But the former BYU standout that averaged a double-double his senior season in college(21 ppg and 10 rebs)and former lottery pick is making a name for himself playing professionally in South America for Flamengo in the Brazilian leagues. While highlights and getting stats from his contests may be hard to come by, footage of his recent shattering a backboard has not, as it is currently making the rounds across sports sites all over the internet.
Team Flamengo is a legendary South American team which once was the home to international superstar Oscar Schmidt and has made it to the Brazilian League Finals in each of the past 3 seasons, taking home the championship in 2008 and 2009.
Araujo has helped his squad into the FIBA America Tournament with the winner receiving an automatic birth into the 2012 Olympics in London, England. Once before he got drafted, Rafael tested positive for a illegal substance and was banned from international competition back in 2002.
International officials may want to test the dunking Brazilian once again after he did this in a game recently:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
