FIBA Basketball World Cup Legend: Jean-Jacques Conceicao

MADRID (FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Angolans have taken center stage on the African continent for the past quarter century in international basketball.

This summer, Carlos Morais led the national team to the AfroBasket title in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, and was named as the competition's most valuable player.

Joaquim Gomes was the MVP of AfroBasket 2009 in Libya after leading the Angolans to the title.

Others to proudly wear the Angola shirt to make headlines over the years included Miguel Lutonda, Carlos Almeida, Eduardo Mingas and Olimpio Cipriano.

Long before all graced the hardwood in Luanda, however, there was Jean-Jacques Conceicao.

The 2.00m power forward was a dominant figure for Angola and one of the faces of African basketball over two decades ago.

He helped lay the foundation for his country to become the best team on the continent.

Inducted into the 2013 FIBA Hall of Fame, the powerful Conceicao played at three FIBA World Championships.

After averaging more than 17 points at the one staged in Spain in 1986, he poured in an average of 18 per contest four years later in Argentina.

Conceicao also played at the FIBA World Championship in Canada in 1994.

For anyone who watched him play in those events, or at the 1992 Olympics when Angola were the first opponents of the United States 'Dream Team', there is universal agreement that he had a giant presence on the court.

Born in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1964, he shot to fame in the sport as a member of Angolan powerhouse Primeiro de Agosto in Luanda where he played from 1982 to 1988.

For the remainder of his career, which lasted until 2003, Conceicao played in Europe and enjoyed most of his success in Portugal.

From 1988 to 1996, he shone for Benfica in Lisbon, winning seven national league titles, six league cups, five Portuguese Cups and four Portuguese SuperCups.

After spells with Limoges in France and Unicaja Malaga in Spain, he returned to Lisbon to play for Portugal Telecom from 2000 to 2003 and captured three league crowns, two cups and a SuperCup.

He was best known for his performances with Angola, whom he led to seven AfroBasket titles from 1992 to 2003.

Conceicao is revered not only in Angola, but on the African continent.

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of FIBA Africa in 2011, he was named Africa's Most Valuable Basketball Player.

FIBA