Vladimir Stepania
Vladimir Stepania (born 8 May 1976) is a retired Georgian professional basketball player. He played at the center position.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 8, 1976 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Georgian / Slovenian |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 236 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Playing career | 1995–2004 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 5, 50, 11 |
| Career history | |
| 1995–1996 | Slovan |
| 1996–1999 | Union Olimpija |
| 1998–2000 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2000–2001 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2001–2003 | Miami Heat |
| 2003–2004 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 1,118 (4.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,180 (4.4 rpg) |
| Blocks | 144 (0.5 bpg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Professional career
After starting to play basketball in his native country, Stepania played several years in Slovenia, namely with Olimpija Ljubljana, partnering with another center, Rasho Nesterović, in his first year.
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics, late in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft, Stepania became the first Georgian player to play in the NBA. For six seasons, in which he was a backup, he represented the Sonics, the New Jersey Nets, the Miami Heat, and the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging 4.1 points (with a total of 1,118 points scored) and 4.4 rebounds per game, in 270 regular season games.
His best season was in 2002–03, with the Heat, in which he averaged 5.6 points and seven rebounds per game, battling for position in a club which had lost Alonzo Mourning for the year, with a kidney ailment; Stepania's career-high in points was 19, coming on 16 November 2001, against the Charlotte Hornets. On 19 November 2002, against the Milwaukee Bucks, he recorded a career-best 15 rebounds (on both occasions he represented the Heat).
In 2004, after a slow year with the Blazers, Stepania retired from playing professional basketball, at only 28.
National team career
Stepania was a member of the senior Georgian national basketball team.[1]
NBA career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | Seattle | 23 | 6 | 13.6 | .424 | .000 | .525 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 5.5 |
| 1999-00 | Seattle | 30 | 1 | 6.7 | .367 | .000 | .472 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.5 |
| 2000-01 | New Jersey | 29 | 0 | 9.7 | .318 | .250 | .735 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.8 |
| 2001-02 | Miami | 67 | 4 | 13.2 | .470 | .500 | .481 | 4.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 4.3 |
| 2002-03 | Miami | 79 | 6 | 20.2 | .433 | .000 | .530 | 7.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 5.6 |
| 2003-04 | Portland | 42 | 2 | 10.8 | .417 | .000 | .611 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.6 |
| Career | 270 | 19 | 13.8 | .425 | .133 | .536 | 4.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 4.1 | |
External links
- Vladimir Stepania @ basketballreference.com
- Vladimir Stepania @ NBA.com
- Vladimir Stepania @fiba.com
- Vladimir Stepania @ fibaeurope.com