Uwe Blab

Uwe Konstantin Blab (born March 26, 1962) is a German former professional basketball player who had a five-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to his red hair, Blab was nicknamed “Burning Skyscraper”, especially after becoming the first German for many years to join the NBA in North America. [1]

Uwe Blab
Personal information
Born (1962-03-26) March 26, 1962
Munich, West Germany
NationalityGerman
Listed height7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight252 lb (114 kg)
Career information
High schoolEffingham (Effingham, Illinois)
CollegeIndiana (1981–1985)
NBA draft1985: 1st round, 17th overall pick
Selected by the Dallas Mavericks
Playing career1985–1993
PositionCenter
Number33
Career history
1985–1989Dallas Mavericks
1989–1990Golden State Warriors
1990San Antonio Spurs
1990Basket Napoli
1991–1993ALBA Berlin
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

High School and College

Blab attended Effingham High School in Illinois, which won second place in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Basketball tournament in 1980. He played college basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers,[2] averaging 16 points per game in his senior season. He helped IU win the Big Ten championship in 1983 and then advance to the NCAA Tournament's "Elite Eight" the following season.

National team career

Blab was first selected to the West Germany national team for the EuroBasket in 1983.[3] He was also part of the team at the 1984 Summer Olympics, after graduating from Indiana University.[4] A year later, he helped the team to a fifth place finish at EuroBasket 1985.[5] Seven years later, Blab was able to participate in the 1992 Summer Olympics, this time for a unified Germany.[6]

NBA

Drafted 17th overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1985 NBA draft,[7] he never proved to be a significant contributor. His first four seasons were with the Mavericks, and he played for both the Golden State Warriors[8] and the San Antonio Spurs in his final year.[9] He finished with NBA career averages of 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game at the center position. His career high was with the Dallas Mavericks when he scored 14 points in Dallas's road loss against Cleveland on December 22, 1985. Off the court Blab later admitted that he just kind of fell into the basketball world and never really considered it to be a great passion.[10]

European Career

After his stint in the NBA, Blab went back overseas to play for Napoli Basket, then known as Jcoplastic Napoli. He played his best basketball in 1990 for Jcoplastic Napoli averaging 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds. On October 21, 1990, Uwe Blab set his career high in points in a Italy - LBA Serie A game. That day he scored 31 points in Napoli's home win against Torino, 98-85. He also had 15 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals and 2 blocks. He shot 13/16 from two, shooting at 81.3% from the field. He also shot 5/5 from the free-throw line.[11] He finished up his basketball career in his home country playing for the ALBA Berlin during 1991-1993.

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1985–86 Dallas 4808.5.468.5371.9.4.1.32.6
1986–87 Dallas 3005.3.392.4641.2.4.1.31.8
1987–88 Dallas 7319.0.439.7081.8.5.1.42.2
1988–89 Dallas 3705.6.462.8001.2.3.1.41.8
1989–90 Golden State 403312.0.379.5482.5.60.62.1
1989–90 San Antonio 707.1.545.5001.3.10.02.1
Career 235348.4.433.6081.8.4.1.42.1

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1986 Dallas 106.0.667––1.0.0.0.04.0
1987 Dallas 1010.01.000–.2503.0.01.01.03.0
1988 Dallas 302.7.000–1.000.3.3.0.0.7
1990 San Antonio 202.5.000–.5001.0.0.0.01.5
Career 704.1.429–.5001.0.1.1.11.7

References
  1. "Olympedia – Uwe Blab". Olympedia.
  2. "Gophers can't stop Blab; Hoosiers roll". The Tuscaloosa News. February 6, 1983. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  3. "Uwe Blab – EuroBasket 1983 tournament statistics". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  4. "Uwe Blab – 1984 Olympic tournament statistics". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  5. "Uwe Blab – EuroBasket 1985 tournament statistics". Archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  6. Uwe Blab, archived from the original on 2020-04-17, retrieved February 22, 2022
  7. "Wennington in Accord". The New York Times. August 22, 1985. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  8. "Warriors Sign Blab". The New York Times. September 24, 1989. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  9. "Two Decades of Deadline Deals". NBA.com. February 20, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  10. "Top 15 Worst Foreign NBA Players Of All Time". TheSportster. June 29, 2016.
  11. "Uwe Blab, Basketball Player". proballers.
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