Mitchell Plaat

Mitchell Plaat (born January 3, 1954) is an American-Dutch former professional basketball player. In international competition, he played for the Netherlands men's national basketball team. During his professional career, he played in the Netherlands for Parker Leiden and Nashua Den Bosch and won three national championships. Plaat was also a five-time all-Eredivisie selection.

College career Plaat spent two years at De Anza College, playing for the Mountain Lions’ men’s basketball team. In 1974, he was named De Anza’s Athlete of the Year and earned All-American honorable mention status the same year. He went on to play for the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men's basketball team. In 1976, Plaat was named to the All-CCAA Second Team. He earned a degree in business. Plaat played professional basketball in the Netherlands from 1977 to 1984. During his five-year stint with Parker Leiden (1977-1982), he won the Dutch national championship in 1978. Plaat scored 18.8 points a game in the championship season. He left Leiden in 1982 and joined fellow Dutch league side Nashua Den Bosch. In his two years with the club, Plaat won two Dutch national championships (1983, 1984). At Den Bosch, he scored 18.4 points (1982–83) and 16.7 points (1983-84) per game in the domestic league.

National team career Plaat was a member of the Dutch men’s basketball team, playing a total of 71 games for the Netherlands. He played in the 1979 and 1983 European Championships. In 1983, he was the leading scorer of the Dutch team, averaging 14.2 points a contest. His best performance at the 1983 European Championship came against Germany including players like Detlef Schrempf and Uwe Blab. Plaat scored 24 points against the Germans, leading the Netherlands to a 79-67 win.

Personal After his playing days in the Netherlands had come to an end, Plaat returned to the United States. In Portland, Oregon, he became the vice president of procurement for a Fortune 500 company. He was inducted into the De Anza College Hall of Fame in 2011.