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Rafael Paulo de Lara Araújo (pronounced [hafa'ɛɰ aɾa'uʒu], or approximately "ha-fa-Ew ah-rah-OO-zhoo") (born August 12, 1980 in Curitiba) is a Brazilian professional basketball player currently with Flamengo of the Novo Basquete Brasil.

College career
After attending Padre Anacleto High School in São Paulo, Araújo went to the United States to play college basketball, attending Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona. In his freshman season (2000-01), he averaged 12.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he tallied 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, leading the Matadors to a 28-3 record and a top ten national ranking among junior colleges. He was named Region Most Valuable Player and 2nd Team NJCAA All-American.
After finishing his junior college career, Araújo moved to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah where as a junior (2002-03), he averaged 12.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game (second in the Mountain West Conference). In his senior season, Araújo led BYU in scoring (18.4 points per game), rebounding (10.1 rebounds per game), steals (43 total), and blocked shots (25). He was named Co-Player of the Year in the Mountain West Conference, sharing the honor with Air Force's Nick Welch. He was named 2nd Team NCAA All-American by Basketball Times.
On December 6, 2003, he scored 32 points and grabbed 17 rebounds against Oklahoma State in BYU's 76-71 victory. He concluded his collegiate career with a 24-point, 12-rebound performance in the Cougars' 80-75 loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.

Controversy
During the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, Araújo tested positive for the steroid nandrolone. He was given a 24-month suspension from international play. He was subsequently found clean during tests while a player at Brigham Young University, and the NBA did not test players for steroid use.
Araújo was involved in an on-court incident during his senior season at BYU. On March 6, 2004, Araújo was issued a public reprimand by the Mountain West Conference (MWC) for punching UNLV guard Jerel Blassingame during a game. He was warned and put on probation for violating the league's sportsmanship policy.Three 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.

Professional career
The Toronto Raptors selected Araújo with the eighth pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, making him the first college senior drafted that year. As a rookie, Araújo averaged 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game. He set a career-high with 14 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings on January 5, 2005. Days later, on January 9, he scored a career-high 14 points against the Golden State Warriors. He later matched that total against the Kings on November 25, 2005.
In the 2005-06 season, he averaged 11.6 minutes a game, 2.3 points, and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 36.6% from the field.
On June 8, 2006, Araújo was traded to the Utah Jazz with an undisclosed amount of money for Kris Humphries and Robert Whaley. With the Jazz, he played in 28 games, averaging 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game in 8.9 minutes per appearance.
Araújo's rookie contract expired after the 2006-07 season. After playing with the Utah Jazz Summer League team, Araújo left the NBA and signed a 1-year, $500,000 contract to play for Spartak St. Petersburg in Russia.
Araújo was in training camp with the Minnesota Timberwolves for 2008 but was not signed for the season.
On January of 2009, Araújo signed with Brazilian club Flamengo for the 2009 season. The details of his contract wasn't revealed. His is expected to become the star of the club's team alongside Marcelo Machado.