Samuel Dalembert

Samuel Dalembert is a professional basketball player, playing in the National Basketball Association for the Philadelphia 76ers. Dalembert was born on May 10, 1981, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He moved to Montreal, Canada when he was 14, and as of August 7, 2007, is now a Canadian citizen.

Dalembert played his high school basketball at St. Patrick's High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He went on to play college basketball at Seton Hall where he played for two seasons. As a freshman he ranked 7th in the nation in blocks (3.6) and was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team. He declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft in 2001.

Dalembert was selected with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the 76ers. The 2001 NBA Draft is mainly remembered when the Washington Wizards made a high school player the first overall pick for the first time (Note: the pick was Kwame Brown).

Dalembert is a keen contributor to charities, especially to his home country of Haiti, where throughout his career, he has donated $72,500 to his native land. He also ran a drive called 'Samuel's School Supplies Drive Night' (04/06/2005 versus Charlotte where fans donated almost 1000 school supplies and in return, Dalembert hosted a special meet-and-greet after the game.

Dalembert is 6-11 and plays Center for the 76ers. He signed a contract extension on August 2, 2005 to continue playing for the 76ers. Dalembert has just completed his 8th NBA Season.http://www.nba.com/playerfile/samuel_dalembert/bio.htmlhttp://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3534/career;_ylt=ApdWHE6PcG2d_GuxEI7jU8mePKB4

Dalembert had an average season for the 76ers as he averaged 8.1 points per game, 9.6 rebounds per game, and 1.8 blocks per game in 25.9 minutes of action. Although these numbers are still pretty good, Dalembert is in the prime of his career, and would be looking to improve.

A reason for the relatively modest numbers, would be the addition and improvement of Marreese Speights who also plays center, meaning Dalembert's minutes are not as high as he would like. If Dalembert or Speights have a big season in 2010/11, look for one of the two players to be testing the trading waters.http://www.nba.com/playerfile/samuel_dalembert/career_stats.html

This season was a big disappointment for Dalembert as he saw his minutes decrease from 33.2 minutes to 24.8 minutes per game due to the addition of Speights through the 2008 NBA Draft. As a result of the decreased playing time, Dalembert only managed to average 6.4 points per game, 8.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks.

Although he did have a couple of huge games in this season, one against the Golden State Warriors on March 20 where he scored 15 points and gathered 23 rebounds and on February 5 versus the Indiana Pacers, Dalembert scored 18 points and pulled down 20 boards.

Dalembert started all 82 games for the 76ers for the third consecutive season.http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3534/gamelog;_ylt=AlAraEG_Clc6COJKLKdAhgGePKB4?year=2008

2007/08

Dalembert has had a pretty steady career, with his best season being in 2007/08 where he averaged career highs in minutes and rebounds, and averaged a double-double for the only time in his career. He averaged 10.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game in 33.2 minutes.

2006/07

Another stellar year for Dalembert where he averaged 10.7 points per game, 8.9 boards, and 1.9 blocks in 30.9 minutes of game time.

2001/02 - 2005/06

These four seasons, Dalembert was finding his feet in the league. Not known as a natural scorer, but shotblocker, Dalembert managed to shoot a very high percentage and by the 2004/05 season, had managed to cement a spot in the starting lineup.

He has had a very healthy career to date, and has had no major injuries. http://www.nba.com/playerfile/samuel_dalembert/career_stats.html