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Edon Maxhuni (born May 21, 1998) is a Finnish professional basketball player who plays as a point guard for SIG Strasbourg of the LNB Pro A.[1] He is also part of the Finland national team

Edon Maxhuni
SIG Strasbourg
PositionPoint guard
LeagueLNB Pro A
Personal information
Born (1998-05-21) 21 May 1998 (age 26)
Hyvinkää, Finland
NationalityFinnish / Kosovan
Listed height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Career information
High schoolHelsinki Basketball Academy
(Helsinki, Finland)
CollegeLong Beach State (2017–2019)
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2017HBA-Märsky
2019–2020CB Gran Canaria Claret SAD
2020–2021Pärnu Sadam
2021–2022Heroes Den Bosch
2022–2023Crailsheim Merlins
2023–2024ESSM Le Portel
2024–presentSIG Strasbourg
Career highlights and awards

Youth career

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Maxhuni started playing basketball in a youth team of his hometown club Hyvinkään Ponteva before joining Helsingin NMKY in 2012. Later he was trained at the Helsinki Basketball Academy of the Finnish Basketball Association, and played in the second-tier Koripallon I-divisioona with the academy team HBA-Märsky. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Maxhuni was named the MVP of the Finnish second-tier league.

College career

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He left Finland in 2017,[2] to study and play basketball at Long Beach State University in California, United States. Until 2019, the point guard played a total of 67 games for the college team, averaging 6.7 points per game.[3]

Professional career

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CB Canaria Claret SAD

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In the 2019/20 season, he was under contract with the Spanish third-division LEB Plata team CB Gran Canaria Claret SAD, playing in 24 league games and averaging 13.3 points per game.[4]

Pärnu Sadam

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Maxhuni signed with Estonian club Pärnu Sadam for the 2020–21 season where he became the Estonian vice-champion.[2] In 2021, he was also named in the All-KML Team in Estonian Korvpalli Meistriliiga.

Heroes Den Bosch

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In the 2021–21 season, Maxhuni played for the Heroes Den Bosch in the BNXT League and the FIBA Europe Cup, and in 2022, as the team's top scorer, won the Dutch championship.[5]

Crailsheim Merlins

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In September 2022, Maxhuni accepted an offer from Crailsheim Merlins of the Basketball Bundesliga and the FIBA Europe Cup.[6] During the season, he averaged 11.8 points and 3.9 assists per game.

Le Portel

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On 8 October 2023, Maxhuni signed with ESSM Le Portel of the French LNB Pro A on a short contract as an injury replacement, with an option to extend.[7] Since his arrival, Le Portel managed to change their course and won seven out of ten games played, after having started the season with five losses and only one win. On 22 December 2023, his contract was extended for the rest of the ongoing 2023–24 season.[8] At the end of the season, Maxhuni helped Le Portel to qualify for the LNB Elite Playoffs, for the first time since 2017.[9] He finished his first season in French league averaging 10.9 points and 3.7 assists per game.

SIG Strasbourg

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On 18 July 2024, Maxhuni signed with fellow French team SIG Strasbourg on a two-year deal.[10][11][12]

National team

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Maxhuni received an offer to play for the Kosovo national basketball team but declined,[13] since he was a Finnish youth national player at the time. He participated in events such as the 2014 FIBA U16 EuroBasket and the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in 2015 and 2016.[1]

Since 2020, Maxhuni has been part of the Finland national basketball team. During the EuroBasket 2022, he averaged 8.9 points per game in seven tournament matches.[14] Maxhuni was named in the Finland squad in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, averaging 7.2 points and 3.8 assists per game in five matches.[15][16] Maxhuni played also in the 2024 FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament,[17] averaging 12.7 points and 4.7 assists in three games against Bahamas, Poland and Spain. As of 7 July 2024, Maxhuni has played 53 official games with the senior national team.[18]

Personal life

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Maxhuni's parents are ethnic Albanians from Mitrovica, Kosovo, who moved to Finland in 1992.[13] His father, Besim Maxhuni, played basketball for Trepça and Prishtina,[19] and later became a coach.[20] He is currently the coach of Raiders Basket in the Koripallon I-divisioona in Finnish second-tier.[20]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017–18 Long Beach State 33 15 17.3 .385 .386 .939 1.7 1.0 .4 6.2
2018–19 Long Beach State 34 10 17.0 .386 .408 .875 .9 1.1 .2 7.2
Career 67 25 17.1 .386 .399 .904 1.3 1.0 .3 6.7

National team

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Team Tournament Pos. GP PPG RPG APG
Finland EuroBasket 2022 7th
7
8.9
1.9
3.9
2023 FIBA World Cup 21st
5
7.2
0.8
3.8

References

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  1. ^ a b "Edon Maxhuni profile, FIBA U20 European Championship 2017". FIBA.COM. 2017-07-23. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  2. ^ a b "Pelaaja". Basket.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  3. ^ "Edon Maxhuni - Men's Basketball". Long Beach State University Athletics. 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  4. ^ "Competiciones FEB". competiciones.feb.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  5. ^ "Heroes Den Bosch basketball, News, Roster, Rumors, Stats, Awards, Transactions, Details-eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  6. ^ "Point Guard Edon Maxhuni komplettiert HAKRO Merlins-Kader – Vertrag mit Prince Ali aufgelöst". HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim (in German). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  7. ^ Edon Maxhunin ura jatkuu Ranskan liigassa, 8 October 2023, basket.fi
  8. ^ Edon Maxhuni jatkaa loppukauden Ranskan liigassa, Yle, 22 December 2023
  9. ^ Hyvinkään kasvatti Edon Maxhuni johdatti tehopisteillään joukkueensa Ranskan korisliigan pudotuspeleihin, Aamuposti, 29 April 2024
  10. ^ L’INTERNATIONAL EDON MAXHUNI REJOINT LE PROJET, sigstrasbourg.fr, 18 July 2024
  11. ^ Edon Maxhuni kaksivuotisella sopimuksella SIG Strasbourgiin, basket.fi, 18 July 2024
  12. ^ Susijengistä tuttu Edon Maxhuni Strasbourgiin, Yle, 18 July 2024
  13. ^ a b "Kosovo roots, but a Finnish jersey on his back, Maxhuni faces emotional summer". FIBA.basketball. 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  14. ^ "Edon MAXHUNI at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022". FIBA.basketball. 1998-03-21. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  15. ^ E. Maxhuni, FIBA
  16. ^ "Finland at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  17. ^ Susijengin pelaajatusina olympiakarsintoihin on vahvistettu, basket.fi, 30 June 2024
  18. ^ Edon Maxhuni 50. maaottelussaan: ”Tarkoitus on pelata vielä ainakin sata maaottelua”, Aamuposti, 29 June 2024
  19. ^ "Besim Maxhuni flet për Asistin". asistionline.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  20. ^ a b boldUnderline. llc. "Besim Maxhuni në krye të Raiders Basket". TopSporti.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 2023-08-29.
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