Rafael Paulo de Lara Araújo[1] (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁafaˈɛw aɾaˈuʒu]; born August 12, 1980) is a Brazilian former professional basketball player.

[1] As a sophomore, he tallied 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game,[2] leading the Matadors to a 28–3 record and a top ten national ranking among junior colleges.

[2] At the same time Araújo was drafted for the Brazil national basketball team at the 2002 World Championships, as NBA player Nenê could not attend the tournament.

[4] He was named Co-Player of the Year in the Mountain West Conference, sharing the honor with Air Force's Nick Welch.

[9] Araújo explained that the tests went positive because at the time he consumed a dietary supplement containing androstenedione, but he could still play because he was only suspended by FIBA, who does not sanction college basketball.

On March 6, 2004, Araújo was reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference (MWC) for hitting UNLV guard Jerel Blassingame during an 89–88 win.

[5][6] Six days later on March 12, in a 54–51 loss to Utah, Araujo was charged with a technical foul for elbowing the Utes' Andrew Bogut in the head in the MWC Tournament.

In the 2005-06 season, he again struggled through a disappointing year and had trouble getting playing time, averaging 11.6 minutes a game, 2.3 points, and 2.8 rebounds while shooting a dismal 36.6% from the field.

[1] On June 8, 2006, Araújo was traded to the Utah Jazz with an undisclosed amount of money for Kris Humphries and Robert Whaley.

However, he did not fit in well in Utah's offense, which was already set with Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur in the frontcourt,[1] and Araújo played sparingly during the 2006-07 season.

[1] Araújo made headlines in January 2011 by shattering a glass backboard with a powerful dunk during a game in the FIBA Americas League.