Fabricio Raúl Jesús Oberto (born March 21, 1975 in
Córdoba, Argentina) is an Argentine professional
basketball player, currently playing for the San
Antonio Spurs in the NBA. He is a 6' 10", 245 lb
center/power forward. He has dual Argentine and
Italian citizenship.
At age 17, Oberto went to a trial at AD Atenas de
Córdoba, one of the most important basketball clubs
in Argentina, and was selected to start the
following year, and started playing professionally
later that year. In 1998, after being chosen MVP of
the Argentine league, he transferred to the Greek
Olympiacos, starting his European experience that
would take him to Spain's TAU Cerámica a year later.
After 2 Spanish leagues with TAU, he moved to Pamesa
Valencia in 2002.
He started playing with Argentina shortly before his
20th birthday in 1995, and since then has played 70
matches, and won a number of tournaments including
the 2004 Olympic gold medal match.
In 2005, after voiding his contract with Pamesa,
Oberto signed a 3-year, US$ 7.5 million contract
with the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA, where he
joined fellow Argentinian Emanuel Ginobili. He kept
jersey #7, the same number used with the Argentine
national basketball team.
During the first year of his NBA stint, Oberto was
no longer the key player he had been in Europe,
playing less than 9 minutes per game on average. He
nonetheless was very satisfied with his role on the
Spurs, a perennial championship contender.
In his second NBA season, Oberto became more of a
factor in the Spurs rotation - starting in some
games and getting his first double-double on
November 8 when he scored 22 points (11/11 in
doubles) and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also became
a pivotal player for the Spurs during the 2006-2007
Western Conference Finals, averaging 31 minutes and
14 points in the first two games of the series.
