Stojko Vranković

Stojko Vranković
Personal information
Born (1964-01-22) 22 January 1964
Drniš, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality Croatian
Listed height 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight 260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 1986 / Undrafted
Playing career 1982–2001
Position Center
Career history
1982–1989 KK Zadar
1989–1990 Aris
1990–1992 Boston Celtics
1992–1996 Panathinaikos
1996–1997 Minnesota Timberwolves
1997–1999 Los Angeles Clippers
1999–2001 Fortitudo Bologna
Career highlights and awards

EuroLeague records since the 2000–01 season

  • Most blocks in a game
Medals
Men’s Basketball
Representing  Yugoslavia
Summer Olympic Games
1988 SeoulTeam
FIBA World Cup
1986 Spain Team
FIBA EuroBasket
1987 GreeceTeam
1989 YugoslaviaTeam
Summer Universiade
1987 ZagrebTeam
European Championship for Juniors
1982 BulgariaTeam
Representing  Croatia
Summer Olympic Games
1992 BarcelonaTeam
FIBA World Cup
1994 Canada Team
FIBA EuroBasket
1993 GermanyTeam
1995 GreeceTeam

Stojan "Stojko" Vranković (born 22 January 1964, Drniš, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian professional basketball player, who also represented Croatia internationally. He is currently the president of Croatian Basketball Federation.

A 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center, he played five seasons (1990–1992; 1996–1999) in the National Basketball Association, as a member of the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Clippers. He was very popular in Europe, while playing for the Athens-based club Panathinaikos, with whom he won the club's first EuroLeague championship.

Club career

A renowned shot blocker, Vranković made little impact in the NBA, managing small minutes and a low scoring average even though he started 73 out of 170 games played. He did however have a major impact in Europe playing for the Greek League team Panathinaikos. In 1996, he combined with Dominique Wilkins to lead Panathinaikos to a EuroLeague championship - a first for the club. Vranković's defensive contribution was vital, namely his block of Željko Rebrača at the buzzer, in the third game of the quarter-finals against Benetton Treviso, sending Panathinaikos through. In the EuroLeague Finals, his block to deny Barcelona the lead in the last second, gave the game a dramatic end, before falling to the ground in the ensuing hustle and clutching his knee in pain at the buzzer.[1] In an interview at the official EuroLeague Final Four website, Panathinaikos captain Panagiotis Giannakis described the incident as follows:

"All that happened at the end of the game is unbelievable, a few seconds that lasted one century! I remember Stojko (Vranković) running like...Carl Lewis from one side to the other, to stop (José Antonio) Montero. He blocked the layup, almost at the buzzer, and he sealed the victory."[2]

National team

Yugoslavia

Vranković earned a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games with the senior Yugoslavian national basketball team.

Croatia (after independence)

At the following 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games, he got the silver medal after the men's final against the American "Dream Team", while playing for the senior Croatian national team.

Personal

Vranković was a close friend of fellow Croatian player Dražen Petrović. He was a coffin bearer at Petrović's funeral in 1993, and has been active in commemorating his memory. In an article at the FIBA website concerning the opening of a museum in Dražen's honour, Vranković was quoted as saying: "I would like to thank all those involved in creating this place, so children would be able to learn more about 'basketball's Amadeus'".[3]In the 2016, he was named the 5th President of Croatian Basketball Federation.

References

  1. ↑ Video footage of Vranković's last second block of for Panathinaikos in the 1996 Final Four
  2. ↑ 1996 Final Four: Victory comes to Greece and the Greens Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ CRO - Dražen Petrović memorial, fiba.com; accessed 16 October 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.