PROFESSIONAL: The Sacramento Kings selected Francisco with the 23rd overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. He averaged 5.6 ppg and 2.8 rpg in 19.5 mpg in 67 games his rookie season. During the 2008-09 season, Francisco registered career-highs in points 12.7, rebounds 3.4, assists 2.3 and minutes 30.4. He missed the first 52 games of the 2009-2010 campaign after undergoing successful surgery to repair a fractured right forearm and ligament damage in the wrist after suffering the injury during a training camp weight lifting session. Considered a veteran on the young Kings roster, Francisco serves as team captain and is a role model to any of his teammates. He finished the 2010-2011 season averaging 9.7 ppg and 2.3 rpg.
INTERNATIONAL: Francisco appeared in six games for the Dominican Republic National Team during the 2009 Tournament of the Americas held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, averaging 15.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.33 spg, and 1.83 bpg in 36.5 mpg before missing the final two contests due to a fractured right ring finger sustained vs. Puerto Rico. He led the Dominican Republic National Team to a bronze metal in the 2008 Centrobasket Tournament in Mexico. Francisco participated in the 2005 FIBA America’s World Championship Qualifying Tournament held in the Dominican Republic as a member of the Dominican Republic National Team. He averaged 18.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.0 apg in 32.3 mpg in seven contests. Francisco posted a game-high 29 points in 36 minutes versus the United States on August 30, 2005. He also won a silver medal in the 2003 Pan American Games.
COLLEGE: Francisco averaged 14.0 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 3.5 apg in 98 games (80 started) with Louisville. He finished his collegiate career ranked fourth in Louisville history in three pointers made (180), third in free throw percentage, eighth in blocked shots (134) and 23rd in points scored (1,413). Francisco was named to 2005 NABC All-America second-team and earned John R. Wooden All-American team honors. He also earned First Team All-Conference USA accolades and was named as a member of the C-USA All-Decade team. Francisco averaged 17.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 3.8 apg and 2.00 bpg in the Cardinals’ five NCAA Tournament games, helping Louisville reach the Final Four.
PHILANTHROPY: Giving back to the community is something Francisco enjoys and takes pride in. One of the most charitable players in Kings history, he received the 2009 Oscar Robertson Triple-Double Award, bestowed annually to a Kings player that personifies excellence on and off the basketball court. During the summer of 2010, he joined fellow NBA players and coaches in Singapore for the first-ever Basketball Without Borders Program (BWB) hosted by an Asian nation. He volunteered to participate in the Blood Source Bone Marrow Registry drive, adding his name to the donor rolls as well as helping increase awareness regarding the importance for minorities to become donors. In April 2010, Francisco attended the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation “Viva La Cure” event, assisting with fundraising efforts and lending support for Diabetes research. He traveled to China in the summer of 2008 and conducted a basketball clinic, delivered gifts and visited with victims of the Sichuan earthquake. Francisco partnered with teammates and Habitat for Humanity to assist in the construction of frameworks for homes that were donated to Hurricane Katrina victims in January 2006. Francisco helped refurbish a Kings Reading and Learning Center at the Stanford Settlement in Sacramento in March of 2006, and hosted a youth summer basketball clinic at Basketball Town. During the holiday season, he donates time and resources to those less fortunate in the Sacramento community, distributing traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinners to Spanish-speaking families and distributing food boxes and Christmas decorations to families in need from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. He continues to host hundreds of local children and families from underserved communities each season at Kings games, donating game tickets as part of the Kings for the Community Program. His charity work includes outreach to the Latino community using the social networking platform “˜Twitter’ to engage with fans, becoming the first NBA player to provide updates in Spanish (@cisco32). He has spoken with ESL students (English as a second language) from American River College about his experiences immigrating to the U.S. from the DR. Every summer Francisco returns to his native Dominican Republic to host a free basketball clinic for teens ages 11-17.
PERSONAL: Francisco Garcia was born on December 31, 1980 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His nickname is “Flaco”. Francisco is the first fluent Spanish-speaking Kings player in the Sacramento-era. He played baseball and basketball in high school. Francisco majored in Communications at Louisville and was twice named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll recognizing athletes with a GPA of 3.0 or better. Francisco enjoys shopping and playing pool.
