Argentina and Europe At age 17, Oberto went to a trial at
Atenas de Córdoba, one of the most important basketball clubs in Argentina, and was selected to start the following year, and started playing professionally later that year. In 1998, after being chosen
MVP of the finals of the
Argentine league, he transferred to the
Greek League club
Olympiacos, starting his
EuroLeague experience that would take him to the
Spanish League's
Tau Cerámica a year later. After 3 seasons with TAU, he moved to
Pamesa Valencia in 2002. He was selected to play in 4 Argentine All-Star Games (1995–1998), winning the slam dunk contest in 1995.
NBA career In 2005, after voiding his contract with Pamesa, Oberto signed a three-year,
US$7.5 million contract with the
San Antonio Spurs of the
NBA, where he joined fellow
Argentine Manu Ginóbili. He kept with jersey number 7, the same kit number he used with the
Argentina national basketball team. Oberto was the oldest rookie in Spurs history at the age of 31. During his first year in the NBA, Oberto was no longer the key player he had been in Europe, averaging fewer than nine minutes per game. Nonetheless, he was very satisfied with his role on the Spurs, a perennial championship contender. In his second NBA season, Oberto became more of a factor in the Spurs rotation, starting in some games and getting his first double-double on November 8, 2006, when he scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also became a pivotal player for the Spurs during the 2006–07 Western Conference Finals, averaging 31 minutes and 14 points in the first two games of the series. Oberto won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2007. On June 23, 2009, Oberto was traded to the
Detroit Pistons as a part of a three-team trade among Pistons, Spurs and the
Milwaukee Bucks, which included
Richard Jefferson. Then he was immediately waived by the Pistons. On August 11, 2009, he was signed by the Wizards. Since jersey number 7 was already taken by
Andray Blatche, he chose to wear number 21 because of his birth date (March 21) and in honor of one of his idols, former teammate
Tim Duncan. After a single season in which he got limited playing time as the team struggled through the
Gilbert Arenas gun incident and ultimately began to rebuild, he became a free agent once more in the summer of 2010. Oberto was a significant contributor defending
Argentina for its fifth-place finish at the
2010 FIBA World Championship. After his solid play during the World Championship in
Turkey, he received multiple offers from European teams, most notably
Efes Pilsen and
Real Madrid. Oberto held out for an opportunity to sign with an NBA team. He reached an agreement to join the
Portland Trail Blazers for the 2010–11 season. However, on November 4, 2010, after playing five games for Portland, he began experiencing palpitations related to a previous heart condition and decided to retire in order to preserve his health.
Return to activity In January 2013, Oberto signed a contract with his former team, Atenas de Córdoba, returning to the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol after 14 years. Oberto was hired for the remainder of the season as a replacement for
center Julián Aprea, who had been separated from the team by coach Alejandro Lotterio and then dismissed at the end of 2012. ==National team career==