A 6'11" (2.10 m) center, he is the older brother of Anderson Varejão and played college basketball in the United States from 1993 to 1997, initially with Southern Idaho in the NJCAA and then with West Virginia in the NCAA Division I.

After going undrafted in the 1997 NBA draft he started his professional career in Brazil, where he won several titles, among them 4 national championships and a Liga Sudamericana.

Born in Vitória, in the Espírito Santo state of Brazil, Varejão played basketball in high school at Colégio Salesiano Nossa Senhora da Vitória, where he also played volleyball: he won a volleyball national title during his last year of high school.

[3] In his sophomore year at Southern Idaho he improved his averages to 17.8 points and 11 rebounds, and after the 1994–95 season he decided to transfer to West Virginia, in the NCAA Division I.

[11] He then joined Vasco da Gama for the 1999 McDonald's Championship, reaching the tournament finals where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

In 2004 he joined Telemar Rio de Janeiro, and in 2005 he won the national league title (his 4th personal), beating Unitri/Uberlândia in the finals.