Luis Scola, a retired Argentine professional basketball player, has accumulated a net worth of $30 million, and his career spans multiple leagues and teams, including the NBA and international competitions. He has won numerous awards and medals, including gold medals at the Olympic Games and FIBA championships.
Luis Scola is a retired Argentine professional basketball player with an estimated net worth of $30 million. Born as Luis Alberto Scola Balvoa on April 30, 1980, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he stands at 6'9″ and initially played as a power forward for Ferro Carril Oeste in Argentina from 1995 to 1998. Scola then moved to Spain, where he played for Tau Cermamica from 1998 to 2007 and Gijon Baloncesto from 1998 to 2000. During his time in Spain, he earned the Spanish League Rookie of the Year award in 2000 and the Spanish Supercup MVP award in 2005. He was also a two-time Spanish League MVP and a two-time All-Euroleague First Team selection. In the 2002 NBA Draft, Scola was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 56th overall pick but chose to remain in Spain. In the NBA, Scola played for several teams, including the Houston Rockets from 2007 to 2012, the Phoenix Suns from 2012 to 2013, the Indiana Pacers from 2013 to 2015, the Toronto Raptors from 2015 to 2016, and the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2017. He was selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2008. Scola has also represented Argentina in international competitions, winning gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball, and the 2001 FIBA Americas Championship. He was named the FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship MVP in 2000 and is a four-time FIBA Americas Championship MVP. Scola began his basketball career with Ferro Carril Oeste's youth teams and joined the club's professional team during the 1995-1996 season at the age of 15. After the 1997-1998 season, he moved to the Spanish League, joining Saski Baskonia, which loaned him to the Spanish League Second Division club Gijón Baloncesto. Scola helped the team get promoted to the Spanish League First Division. He was loaned back to Gijón Baloncesto for the 1999-2000 season and then spent seven seasons playing for Saski Baskonia. With Saski Baskonia, Scola played in the EuroLeague Finals for the 2000-2001 season and in the EuroLeague Final Fours in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2002, Scola was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs, and in 2005, the team negotiated with Baskonia to buy out his contract. The teams agreed on an amount exceeding $3 million, but due to the NBA's rule limiting teams to paying $500,000 or less of a player's buyout, Scola would have had to pay $2.5 million to Baskonia, so the deal fell through. In July 2007, the Spurs traded their rights to Scola to the Houston Rockets, and he signed a three-year, $9.5 million contract with the team. Scola was selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team and placed third in the Rookie of the Year Award voting for that season. In July 2012, the Rockets waived Scola using the NBA's amnesty clause for salary cap relief, and he became a member of the Phoenix Suns. He was traded to the Indiana Pacers a year later and signed with the Toronto Raptors in July 2015. The Raptors made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time after Scola joined the team. In July 2016, he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Nets and played his final NBA game on February 13, 2017. After his NBA career ended, Scola played for the Chinese Basketball Association teams the Shanxi Brave Dragons from 2017 to 2018 and the Shanghai Sharks from 2018 to 2019, followed by the Italian teams Olimpia Milano from 2019 to 2020 and Varese from 2020 to 2021. On November 3, 2023, Saski Baskonia held a jersey retirement ceremony in his honor. While playing for Argentina's junior national teams, Scola won gold medals at the 1995 South American Cadet Championship, 1996 South American Junior Championship, and 2000 FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship, as well as a bronze medal at the 2001 FIBA Under-21 World Cup. After joining the senior Argentina national team, Scola won gold medals at the 2001 FIBA Americas Championship, 2004 Summer Olympics, and 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, silver medals at the 1999 South American Championship, 2002 FIBA World Championship, 2003 FIBA Americas Championship, and 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, and bronze medals at the 1999 FIBA Americas Championship, 2008 Summer Olympics, 2009 FIBA Americas Championship, and 2013 FIBA Americas Championship. Scola married Pamela Rocchetti on May 26, 2009, and they have four children together. In July 2017, he was named an ambassador for the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics, which took place in Buenos Aires. Throughout his career, Scola has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Spanish League Rookie of the Year award in 2000, the FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship MVP award in 2000, and the Spanish Supercup MVP award in 2005. He was also selected for the All-Spanish League Team in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, the All-Euroleague First Team in 2006 and 2007, and the All-Euroleague Second Team in 2005. Scola was named the Spanish League MVP in 2005 and 2007 and was selected for the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2008. After signing with the Raptors, Scola put his 9,171-square-foot Indiana home on the market for $1.4 million in September 2015. In late 2017, he listed two Texas homes for sale, with the smaller one measuring 3,900 square feet and including four bedrooms and four bathrooms, listed for $379,000, and the larger one measuring 4,916 square feet and including four bedrooms and five bathrooms, listed for $580,000.