and competing in every world cup between 2002 and 2019. On August 23, 2006, Varejão committed a controversial foul during a preliminary game of the 2006 FIBA World Championship against Greece, elbowing Greek point guard Nikos Zisis in the face. Player profile Varejão earned the nickname "Wild Thing" because of his wild hair and energetic and relentless style of play. He has been criticized for flopping when trying to draw a charge: Ian Thomsen, a Sports Illustrated columnist, grouped him with fellow foreign players Vlade Divac and Manu Ginóbili as the players who "made [flopping] famous", exaggerating contact on the court the way players dive in association football games. Long-time Cavaliers teammate LeBron James defended him, stating "He's taking physical charges." Personal life Varejão has an older brother, Sandro, who also was a professional basketball player. His niece, Izabel, plays college basketball for the University of Michigan. NBA career statistics Regular season |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 54 || 0 || 16.0 || .513 || .000 || .535 || 4.8 || .5 || .8 || .7 || 4.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 48 || 4 || 15.8 || .527 || .000 || .513 || 4.9 || .4 || .6 || .4 || 4.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 81 || 6 || 23.9 || .476 || .000 || .616 || 6.7 || .9 || .9 || .6 || 6.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 48 || 13 || 27.5 || .461 || .000 || .598 || 8.3 || 1.1 || .8 || .5 || 6.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 81 || 42 || 28.5 || .536 || .000 || .616 || 7.2 || 1.0 || .9 || .8 || 8.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 76 || 7 || 28.5 || .572 || .200 || .663 || 7.6 || 1.1 || .9 || .9 || 8.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 31 || 31 || 32.1 || .528 || .000 || .667 || 9.7 || 1.5 || .9 || 1.2 || 9.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 25 || 25 || 31.4 || .514 || .000 || .672 || 11.5 || 1.7 || 1.4 || .7 || 10.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland | 25 || 25 || 36.0 || .478 || .000 || .755 || 14.4 || 3.4 || 1.5 || .6 || 14.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland