Australian Boomers veteran star David Andersen will return to the floor as he looks to prepare for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, signing with French team SIG Basket Strasbourg for the remainder of the 2013/14 season.
The three-time Olympian and Boomers great joins Strasbourg after enjoying the first extended break of his 16-year professional career, following the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championships, where he helped the Boomers take top-billing in the region back in August.
In a coup for the French club, Andersen comes on board in a crucial stage of the season for the team: currently sitting sixth in the league standings but just one game back from top spot, with only two games separating the top nine teams.
There will be plenty of opportunities for Andersen to build his match fitness ahead of the World Cup in late August, with Strasbourg also competing in the Eurocup competition.
In a decorated club and international career, Andersen has become one of Australia’s most successful basketball exports. Since making his debut in the NBL as an 18-year-old for the Wollongong Hawks back in 1998, Andersen has forged a club career that is the envy of many players.
A five-season stay in Italy garnered the first of this three Euroleague titles and two Italian Serie A titles before earning a move to Russian giants CSKA Moscow in 2004. This would prove to be the most successful period of his career, winning a further two Euroleague titles (2006 and 2008) and four consecutive Russian league titles.
Spanish powerhouse Barcelona signed the 212cm forward/centre in 2008, but lasted just one season in Catalunya, with the Houston Rockets bringing the Boomers star to the NBA in 2009. Andersen was originally drafted by the Atlanta Hawks at selection 37 of the 2002 NBA Draft before getting his opportunity with the Rockets.
In two seasons in the NBA, Andersen had stops in Toronto and New Orleans before returning to Europe, with his last stop at Turkish giants Fenerbahce in 2013.
Since winning the Australian Junior International Player of the Year in 1998, Andersen has also become a staple in the Australian national team program, earning the first of his three Olympic selections for the 2004 Athens Games, going on to represent the Boomers at the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 London Games, as well as the 2010 FIBA World Championships.
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