Sigurður Gunnar Þorsteinsson (born 8 July 1988) is an Icelandic professional basketball player who plays for Úrvalsdeild karla club Tindastóll and the Icelandic national basketball team. Nicknamed Ísafjarðartröllið (English: The Ísafjördur Troll),[1][2][3][4] he has won the Icelandic championship three times, in 2008, 2012 and 2013. Outside of Iceland, Sigurður has played professionally in Greece and Sweden.
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Tindastóll | ||||||||
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Position | Center | |||||||
League | Úrvalsdeild karla | |||||||
Personal information | ||||||||
Born | (1988-07-08) 8 July 1988 (age 34) Ísafjörður, Iceland | |||||||
Nationality | Icelandic | |||||||
Listed height | 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) | |||||||
Listed weight | 110 kg (243 lb) | |||||||
Career information | ||||||||
Playing career | 2001–present | |||||||
Number | 15 | |||||||
Career history | ||||||||
2001–2006 | KFÍ | |||||||
2006–2011 | Keflavík | |||||||
2011–2014 | Grindavík | |||||||
2014–2015 | Solna Vikings | |||||||
2015–2016 | Machites Doxas Pefkon | |||||||
2016–2017 | Gymnastikos Larissa | |||||||
2017–2018 | Grindavík | |||||||
2018–2020 | ÍR | |||||||
2020–2021 | Höttur | |||||||
2021–present | Tindastóll | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | ||||||||
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Medals
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Sigurður was born and raised in Ísafjörður in the Westfjords of Iceland.[5] He played youth basketball with KFÍ before playing for the senior team, first with its B-team in the 2. deild karla and later with the main squad in the top-tier Úrvalsdeild karla.[6]
In September 2015, Sigurður signed with the Greek 2nd Division team Machites Doxas Pefkon,[7] where he averaged 11.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
In August 2016, Sigurður signed with the Greek 2nd Division team A.E.L. 1964.[8]
Sigurður rejoined Grindavík in August 2017.[9][10] For the season he averaged 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds. In July 2018 he left the club.[11]
On 17 August 2018, Sigurður signed with ÍR.[12] On 1 April 2019, he scored 16 points in ÍR's victory in game 5 of its first-round playoff series against second seeded Njarðvík. With the victory, ÍR became the third team in the Úrvalsdeild history to come back from a 0-2 deficit and win a best-of-five series.[13] After helping ÍR reach the Úrvalsdeild finals, where it lost to KR, Sigurður was named to the Úrvalsdeild Domestic All-First Team.[14]
In June 2019, Sigurður signed with BC Orchies of the NM1.[15] Two days before the first game of the season, the French Basketball Federation declared that the Orchies did not fulfill their required financial obligations and as a result Sigurður was released from his contract.[16]
On 23 October 2019, Sigurður returned to ÍR, signing a two year contract.[17] Only 9 minutes into his first game back, he suffered a season ending injury after tearing a cruciate ligament in his knee.[18] After the season, ÍR terminated the contract with Sigurður, leaving him a free agent.[19] In August 2020, Sigurður sued ÍR for missing salary payments and claimed the team owed him over 2 million ISK. ÍR had stopped paying Sigurður his salary after the injury, claiming he was not fulfilling his end of the contract.[20] On 17 November 2020, the District Court of Reykjavík ruled that ÍR owed Sigurður two million ISK in back pays plus penalties.[21]
On 10 June 2020, Sigurður signed with Úrvalsdeild club Höttur.[22] In 22 games, he averaged 12.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Despite his performance, Höttur was relegated after a loss in the last game of the regular season.[23]
On 31 May 2021, Sigurður signed with Tindastóll.[1] On 11 November 2021 he became the 11th player to grab 2,000 career rebounds in the Úrvalsdeild.[24] On 30 April, he had 20 points and 9 rebounds in Tindastóll's game four series deciding victory against Njarðvík in the semi-finals of the Úrvalsdeild playoffs. With the victory, he became the first player to advance to the finals with four different teams.[25] On 9 May, he became the Úrvalsdeild finals all-time leader in blocked shots, breaking Friðrik Erlendur Stefánsson's record of 150 blocks.[26]
Between 2007 and 2019, Sigurður has played 58 games for the Icelandic men's national team.[27] He did not make the 12 man roster for the FIBA Eurobasket in 2015 and 2017.[10] In May 2019, he was called up to the national team for the first time since July 2017, ahead of the Games of the Small States of Europe.[28]