Cezary Trybański


Cezary Trybański is a Polish basketball player. He is a 7'2" 235 lb center. He was the first Polish-born player in the NBA.
Born in Warsaw, he is the brother of a Polish triple jumper, Małgorzata Trybańska.

Early career

In Poland, he played for Legia Warszawa in 1997-98 and MKS Pruszkow of PLK league from 1999 to 2002. Previously, he played in Shmoolky, which is, and was in 1990s, one of the best non-professional/amateur clubs in Warsaw.

NBA career

Cezary Trybański signed a 3-year contract worth $4.8 million with the Memphis Grizzlies on July 22, 2002. He became the first Polish-born player to appear in an NBA game on November 15, 2002, in a six-minute debut. He played a total of 22 NBA games with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Phoenix Suns, and the New York Knicks from 2002 to 2004. On August 5, 2004, he was traded to the Chicago Bulls in a six-player trade that sent Jamal Crawford to the New York Knicks. In October 2004, he was waived by the Bulls. In 2005, he was selected 63rd overall in the 2005 NBDL Draft by the Tulsa 66ers. He appeared in 45 games, making 15 starts and put up averages of 3.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and nearly 2 blocks in just 16 minutes. In October 2006, he signed a contract with the Toronto Raptors worth about US$600,000. Soon after signing this deal, Trybanski was released. He was then reacquired by the 66ers. He was waived on November 22, 2006, to rehabilitate an injury, and re-signed on December 1, 2006.