Career: Avtodor Saratov (Russia-Superleague, 1999-2000), Pau-Orthez (France-Pro A, 2000-05).

Artur Drozdov is a pure talent but injuries and fierce competition among his club squad have prevented him from totally blossoming… His story is quite original as Drozdov came to Pau because his parents owned a restaurant there called La Tzarina. He practiced with the French powerhouse in the summer of 1999 and the club kept him a roster spot for the next season, while he was gaining experience in Russia with Avtodor Saratov… This extremely athletic small forward first played in the U20 league being named MVP in 2001. He battled future NBA players Mickaël Pietrus and Boris Diaw for playing time and won three French championships and two French cups along the road… His statistics have kept on getting better each year and he broke the double figure scoring barrier this year in Pro A (11.3 ppg).