Seppo Kuusela

Seppo Kuusela (25 February 1934 – 16 October 2014)^[1] was a Finnish basketball player, basketball coach, and handball player. At 182 cm tall, he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions, as a basketball player. He was twice voted the Finnish Basketball Player of the Year, in 1959 and 1960, by Finnish sports journalists.

Seppo Kuusela

Personal information
Born	(1934-02-25)25 February 1934 Helsinki, Finland
Died	16 October 2014(2014-10-16) (aged 80)
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position	Point guard / shooting guard
Career history
1952–1963	Pantterit
1963–1969	Tapion Honka
Career highlights
As basketball player: 9× Finnish League champion (1952–1957, 1959, 1968, 1969) Finnish Cup winner (1968) 2× Finnish League Top Scorer (1960, 1961) 2× Finnish Player of the Year (1959, 1960) As basketball coach: 3× Finnish League champion (1970, 1971, 1972)

Club basketball career

Kuusela played in the top-tier level Finnish basketball league, the SM-sarja, winning multiple Finnish League championships during his club career.

National basketball team career

Alongside club competitions, Kuusela also represented the senior Finnish national basketball team, at five EuroBasket tournaments (1955, 1957, 1959, 1961, and 1963).^[2]

Trophies and awards

Basketball player

^[3]

• 9× Finnish League Champion: (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1969)
  • Finnish League Runner-up: (1967)
  • Finnish League 3rd Place: (1973)
• 2× Finnish Player of the Year: (1959, 1960)
• 2× Finnish League Top Scorer: (1960, 1961)
• Finnish Cup Winner: (1968)

Handball player

• 2× Finnish Handball Championship Champion: (1953, 1955)

Basketball coach

• 3× Finnish League Champion: (1970, 1971, 1972)

Other

• Finnish Basketball Hall of Fame inductee 2019^[4]