Career: Pau-Orthez (France-Pro A, 1998-2004), Unicaja Malaga (Spain-ACB, 2004-07).

At the beginning of Florent Pietrus’ career, not too many basketball experts were upbeat about his chances to become a top level player. But with a great heart, unbelievable leaping ability and relentless defensive effort, “Flo” has proved everybody wrong. According to his various coaches, Florent Pietrus (older brother of Mickael) is one of the best defensive players in Europe. He may not have that many moves, but his quickness and desire enable him to get his fair share of “garbage” points. Pietrus has been a bit lost in Unicaja Malaga in his first two seasons outside France, especially since he plays behind star Jorge Garbajosa. Since the 26-year-old can’t really shoot from the outside, he sometimes looked useless and the departure of Garbajosa did not help his playing time much either.  As far as National Team goes, "Flo" has always stepped up. Last year in Japan, he averaged 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest.