Hlynur Bæringsson

Hlynur Elías Bæringsson (born 6 July 1982) is an Icelandic former basketball player.

Early Career

Bæringsson made his debut in the highest Icelandic Úrvalsdeild karla at the age of 15 for Skallagrímur. Almost two years later, he was awarded as the best young player of the 1998/99 season. However, his club team consistently placed himself in the lower half of the table and usually missed the play-offs for the championship.

Club Career

Bæringsson left Skallagrímur in 2002 and changed to promoter Snæfell, who was located in his home town a few kilometers further north. With Snæfell, he was finally one of the best players in the Icelandic league and, after he had already achieved this once for Skallagrímur, was voted three times in a row among the best five players in the Icelandic league.

In 2005, Bæringsson moved abroad again and played in the Netherlands for Aris from Leeuwarden in the Eredivisie. He scored a double-double on average with just under twelve points and eleven rebounds per game and was invited to the “All-Star Game” of the Dutch league.

Bæringsson rejoined Snæfell after the season and spent the next four seasons there, winning the Icelandic championship for the first time in 2010. He then moved to Sundsvall Dragons in Sweden, where he won the Swedish championship in 2011.

In 2016, Bæringsson signed with Stjarnan of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild and played for the team until his retirement. During his time with Stjarnan, he won several domestic titles, including the Icelandic Super Cup in 2019 and the Icelandic Basketball Cup in 2020.

International Career

Bæringsson made his debut for the Icelandic national basketball team at a young age and went on to play for the team in several international competitions. He took part in the only two European Championship finals in 2015 and 2017, where Iceland qualified until 2017 inclusive.

In 2019, Bæringsson agreed to return to the national team for its games against Portugal and Switzerland in the EuroBasket 2021 qualification due to injuries in the squad. He also became the oldest player to play for the selection nationale at the age of 40+ years old.

Honours

* Icelandic championship: 2010
* Island Basketball Cup: 2008, 2010, 2019, 2020, 2022
* Icelandic Super Cup: 2019, 2020
* Úrvalsdeild Inland Player of the Year: 2008, 2010
* Úrvalsdeild Playoffs MVP: 2010
* Úrvals deilt Defensive Player of The Year: 2008, 2010, 2017
* Úr vals deilt Young Player ofThe Year: 1999
* Úr Vals deil Domestic All-First Team: 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2019

Statistics

* Games played for the national team: 100+ games (as of September 2016)
* Points per game: 10.8 points (average in EuroBasket 2015)
* Rebounds per game: 7 rebounds (average in EuroBasket 2015)