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Steve Serio
	Serio in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Steven Dillon Serio
Nickname	Steve
Nationality	United States
Born	September 8, 1987 (age 37); Mineola, New York, U.S.
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm) (2011)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg) (2011)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wheelchair Basketball
College team	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Team	Briantea 84
Turned pro	2010
Medal record
Men's wheelchair basketball
Representing United States
Paralympic Games
World Championships
Parapan American Games

Steven Dillon Serio (born September 8, 1987) is a wheelchair basketball player. As a co-captain of the USA Men's National Wheelchair Basketball Team, he led the American men to their first Paralympic gold medal since 1988 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games^[1] and defended the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.^[2] He currently plays for the New York Rolling Knicks in the NWBA Championship Division.^[3]

Biography

Serio grew up in Westbury, New York and graduated from Carle Place High School in 2005. When he was 11 months old, he had surgery to remove a spinal tumor, resulting in the compression of his spinal cord. Consequently, he was left paralyzed and is classified as an incomplete paraplegic.^[4]

Serio began his wheelchair basketball career as a sophomore in high school with the Long Island Lightning, the only competitive junior wheelchair basketball team in New York State.^[5] He became a tremendous asset to this team, eventually leading to its first National Championship in 2005. Serio himself was named the tournament's Most Valued Player.^[6] That same year, Serio played on a USA U-23 Team participating at the Australian Junior National Games for the Disabled in Sydney.^[6]

Serio also played point guard for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was named a 2nd Team's All-American in both the 2005–6 and 2006–7 seasons at Illinois.^[7] At the National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament held at Oklahoma State University on March 15, 2008, Serio led the Illinois to a NIWBA Championship over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.^[8] Serio took home the Championship Game Player of the Game, NWBA Tournament MVP, and the NWBA 31st NIWBT Player of the Year.^[9] Serio graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2010 with a degree in kinesiology.

He also plays on the U.S. Paralympics Men's Wheelchair Basketball Team, which came in second place at the World Championships in Amsterdam in the summer of 2006.^[10] In the summer of 2007, the U.S. National Team won a gold medal at the Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Serio made his Paralympic debut with the U.S. National Team in 2008 in Beijing.^[11] The team finished in fourth place, just missing a medal. Since that disappointing Paralympics, the U.S. National Team has taken the gold medal at the 2009 America's Cup in Richmond, Canada^[12] and finished third at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham, England.^[13]

Serio is a co-captain of the USA Men's National Wheelchair Basketball Team. He led the American men to their first Paralympic gold medal since 1988 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games.^[1] and defended the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.^[2]

Serio has lived in Germany and played for RSV Lahn-Dill. His contract was extended through the 2016 season.^[14] He currently plays for the New York Rolling Knicks in the NWBA Championship Division.^[3]

Along with sitting volleyball player Nicky Nieves, Serio served as one of two flag bearers for Team USA at the 2024 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony in Paris.^[15]

Major achievements

Juniors

2005: First place - Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships
2005: Tournament MVP - Junior National Wheelchair Basketball Championships
2005: Gold medal - World Junior Basketball Championships

Intercollegiate

2008: National Champion - U.S. Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball
2008: MVP - NWBA College Division

US National Team

2006: Silver medal - IWBF Gold Cup (World Championships), Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2007: Gold medal - Parapan American Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2008: Fourth place - Paralympic Games, Beijing, China
2008: First place - North American Cup, Birmingham, Alabama
2009: First place - America's Cup, Richmond, BC, Canada
2010: Third place - Wheelchair Basketball World Championship, Birmingham, England, UK
2012: Bronze Medal - Paralympic Games, London, UK
2016: Gold Medal - Paralympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2021: Gold Medal - 2020 Summer Paralympics, Tokyo, Japan