Darko Miličić ( sr-cyrl, Дарко Миличић, ; born June 20, 1985) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He is , and played the center position. Miličić played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2003 to 2013. He is the fifth youngest player and the youngest foreign player to have played in the NBA and is the youngest player to have played in an NBA Finals game, and the youngest player to win the NBA championship. Miličić was selected by the Detroit Pistons as the second overall pick in the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

; he was chosen after number one pick LeBron James and ahead of other future NBA stars including Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and

Dwyane Wade Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (; born January 17, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. Wade spent the majority of his 16-year career playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and won three NBA champi ...

. Despite being selected with a high draft pick, Miličić failed to play at the level expected of him in the NBA and is widely regarded as a draft bust. While he won an NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004, Miličić never received significant playing time during his seasons with the team and was traded to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

in 2006. Following stints with the Magic, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

, Miličić was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010 and signed a four-year contract with the team that summer. After being released by Minnesota in 2012, he played one regular-season game for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

later that year before being released. Miličić announced his retirement from the NBA in June 2013; he retired with career averages of 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In international play, Miličić played for the Serbian national team.

Early life

Miličić's parents are Milorad and Zora. During the Yugoslav Wars, when Miličić was not yet 10, he heard a news report in which his father was named as one of several Serbian soldiers killed in action; however, a few minutes later, the newscaster indicated some of the soldiers, including his father, had been incorrectly included as killed. His father ultimately survived the wars. His parents' families hail from Janj near Šipovo in Bosanska Krajina. His sister Tijana is a volleyball player. Miličić played his first youth basketball in BFC Beočin until NATO bombing of Yugoslavia that lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999, when he was forced to take a break. After that, he played for the basketball club Sports World from Novi Sad, which is also a basketball school, where he became a dominant figure and received interest from bigger teams. At the age of 14, Miličić started playing basketball with the Serbian team Hemofarm's junior team. He was later called up from the junior team before being drafted by the NBA's Detroit Pistons in 2003.

NBA career

Detroit Pistons (2003–2006)

The Detroit Pistons chose Miličić with the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Unlike most teams with high draft choices, the Pistons were a good team that had made the Eastern Conference Finals the season before they drafted Miličić. The NBA draft rules had to be changed to allow Miličić to be drafted. The Pistons held the second overall draft pick because of a 1997 trade that had sent

Otis Thorpe Otis Henry Thorpe (born August 5, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 1992 and won an NBA championship with the Houston ...

to the Vancouver Grizzlies. Miličić saw limited playing time during his first season with the Pistons, but did become the youngest player to appear in an NBA Finals game (18 years and 356 days) and won an NBA championship just five days later when the Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the

2004 NBA Finals The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion L ...

. Pistons team president

Joe Dumars Joe Dumars III ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the executive vice president and head of basketball operations of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play either shoo ...

repeatedly stated that Miličić would play a big part in the team's future, but he did not see a large increase in playing time during his second season. Miličić has been quoted on numerous occasions as attributing his slow development on his lack of playing time; "I've said it 10,000 times, the best way for me to improve is to play. All the work in practice and individual workouts can only help me so much". After Larry Brown's departure,

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High schoo ...

was hired as head coach of the Pistons. Under Saunders, Miličić still averaged only 5.6 minutes per game, and received significant playing time only in blowout wins or blowout losses for the Pistons. Miličić's lack of playing time in Detroit was frequently highlighted in publications. In the 96 games he played as a Piston, he only scored a total of 152 points and averaged 1.6 points and 5.8 minutes per game.

Orlando Magic (2006–2007)

On February 15, 2006, just prior to the NBA's All-Star break, Miličić was traded, along with

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

Carlos Arroyo, to the

for

Kelvin Cato Kelvin Tavares Cato (born August 26, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Cato was an obscure player averaging six points and six rebounds at the University of South Alabama in 1992–93. At that time, he ...

and a first-round pick in the 2007 NBA draft (

Rodney Stuckey Rodney Norvell Stuckey (born April 21, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played seven seasons for the Detroit Pistons and three seasons for the Indiana Pacers and played college basketball for Eastern Washington Unive ...

). During a game against the

he played 32 minutes and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. The 13 points and 32 minutes were season highs, and he led the Magic in minutes for that game. Miličić averaged 2.4 blocks per game in his first 20 games as a member of the Magic. In the 2006–07 playoffs, he increased his scoring by four points per game to 12.3 on 58.8% shooting. When his rookie contract expired in the 2007 offseason, Orlando made him a qualifying offer; on July 3, 2007, however, the team withdrew that offer and made Milicic an unrestricted free agent.

Memphis Grizzlies (2007–2009)

On July 12, 2007, the first day of free agency, Miličić was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies to a three-year, $21 million contract. Miličić hurt his Achilles tendon practicing with the Serbian national team in the 2008 offseason but was available to start at the beginning of the season. Miličić began the 2008–09 season starting at power forward but, due to poor play, was moved to the bench. Miličić regained his starting job as his play steadily improved in early December 2008. Miličić's progress was set back by an injury on December 26, 2008 against the Indiana Pacers when he broke a knuckle on his right hand during the game. Miličić's time with the Grizzlies was one of the low points of his career; he did not want to play for the team, he suffered an injury, and the team was not performing well. His wife would recall that he would punch the walls of his house in anger after coming home from games. During a game against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

in early December 2008, he even deliberately ripped his jersey in frustration (the jersey was later autographed by him and sold at an auction).

New York Knicks (2009–2010)

On June 25, 2009, Miličić was traded to the

for

Quentin Richardson Quentin Lamar Richardson (born April 13, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who was formerly the director of player development for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Q-Rich", he p ...

and cash considerations. On December 17, 2009, Miličić said that he planned to leave the NBA and return to playing basketball in Europe the following season.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2010–2012)

On February 17, 2010, Miličić was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves along with cash considerations for

Brian Cardinal Brian Lee Cardinal (born May 2, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 456 games in the NBA between 2000 and 2012, and won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Before his NBA career, he was one o ...

. The Timberwolves agreed to re-sign Milicic for four years and $20 million on July 1, 2010. David Kahn said that Darko was "like manna from heaven." The 2010–11 Minnesota season was Milicic's best statistically; in interviews, he looked back on that time period fondly relative to the rest of his time in the NBA. He averaged 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game, finishing the season fifth in the league in blocks per game. Miličić had his best games on November 19, when he scored 23 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks against the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

; and on December 14, 2010, when he had a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds against the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. Miličić began the 2011-12 season as the Timberwolves' starting center. On January 20, 2012, he scored a season-high 22 points and seven rebounds against the Los Angeles Clippers. However, he would see his playing time diminish as the season went on. On July 12, 2012, Miličić was waived by the Timberwolves under the league's amnesty clause.

Boston Celtics (2012)

In September 2012, Miličić signed with the

. On November 21, 2012, the Celtics released Miličić at his request so that he could attend to personal matters. Miličić' final game ever was on November 2nd, 2012 in a 88 - 99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks where he recorded 1 rebound, 2 turnovers and 1 foul. This was the Celtic's 2nd game of the season and it was the only game that Miličić played during the entire season, playing only five minutes for that game. In June 2013, Miličić announced that he had retired from the NBA. He retired with career averages of 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In September 2014, it was revealed that Miličić had retired from professional basketball in order to pursue a kickboxing career.

Legacy

As of February 2023, Miličić is the fifth youngest player to have played in the NBA. As of February 2023, he is also the youngest foreign player to have played in the NBA, the youngest player to have played in an NBA Finals game, and the youngest NBA champion. After having been selected with the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Miličić failed to play at the level expected of him in the NBA and is known as one of the worst draft choices in the history of the NBA. Miličić himself has questioned whether the Pistons made the right move by drafting him. The Detroit Pistons passed over future NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade to select Miličić. In June 2011, Mark David Smith of

Bleacher Report Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...

wrote, "The Pistons missed a huge opportunity when they picked Darko. Carmelo, Wade or Bosh could’ve helped put Detroit over the hump after the 2004 championship season. The thought of one of these superstars with that Pistons team is scary; it could’ve potentially made them one of the best dynasties in all of sports history".

International basketball career

Miličić played for the FR Yugoslavia U16 national team that won a gold medal at the European Cadet Championships in 2001. In 2006, Miličić led

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

. Serbia and Montenegro had decided to replace their aging superstars—who had led the team to a gold medal finish in the previous

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...

—with young blood. Miličić led the team in rebounds (56) and blocked shots (17) and was second on the team in scoring (16.2 ppg) and assists (11) through six games. In Serbia and Montenegro's sixth and final game against Spain, Miličić matched up against

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

All-Star Pau Gasol and finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks. During an interview following a 68–67 overtime loss to Greece at EuroBasket 2007, Miličić made vulgar remarks to the media in his native language. He referred to the referees with expletives and threatened to engage in various sex acts with their female relatives. He received a $13,770 fine from FIBA and his outburst was heavily criticized by Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace and head coach

Marc Iavaroni Marcus John Iavaroni (born September 15, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player and former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also served as an assistant coach for several ...

Post-NBA activities

Kickboxing career

Miličić had a stint in

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

during 2014. On December 18, 2014, he had his official debut in kickboxing under the WAKO rules in his hometown Novi Sad. He lost that fight by 2nd round

TKO TKO may refer to: Sports * Technical knockout, a professional fighting term * Total Knock Out, a professional wrestling move Music Artists * TKO (band), a rock band from Seattle, Washington * TKO, a pop group led by Katie White Albums * ''TKO ...

from Serbian kickboxer Radovan Radojčin from Senta, Serbia.

Attempt to return from retirement

On 19 May 2015, it was announced that Miličić had agreed to come back from retirement and start playing professional basketball again with Metalac Farmakom of the Basketball League of Serbia and the ABA League after the season was over. The announcement was made by Boško Đukanović, the club's president, and later confirmed by Miličić himself. However, Miličić later changed his mind.

Farming

Miličić works as a farmer in his native Serbia. , he owned and operated an apple orchard of about , with plans to purchase more land and also grow

cherries A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

Amateur basketball career

In September 2019, Miličić joined I Came to Play in his hometown of Novi Sad. He debuted with the team on 6 October in a 78–50 victory against KK Futog, scoring two points and handing out several assists before leaving the game with a minor shoulder injury.

Personal life

On May 23, 2009, Miličić married Zorana Markuš. They have a daughter, Lara, and two sons, Lazar and Luka. His wife is a fashion designer and sister of deceased Serbian criminal Marko Markuš. In 2010, Miličić paid for a trip and treatment in China for five Serbian children suffering from

Batten disease Batten disease is a fatal disease of the nervous system that typically begins in childhood. Onset of symptoms is usually between 5 and 10 years of age. Often, it is autosomal recessive. It is the common name for a group of disorders called the n ...

. Miličić is a supporter of the Ravna Gora movement (''Ravnogorski pokret''), and has tattoos of World War II

Chetnik The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

leaders

Nikola Kalabić Nikola Kalabić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Калабић; 20 December 1906 – 19 January 1946) was a Serbian Chetnik commander during World War II. Early life He was born to father Milan and mother Joka in Podnovlje (municipality of Doboj) in pr ...

and Momčilo Đujić on his stomach, and

Draža Mihailović Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Дража Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...

and Brane Bogunović on his back. In late 2013, he expressed his support for far-right politician and convicted war criminal Vojislav Šešelj. A folk song was made in his honour by the Bosnian Serb duo ''Žare i Goci''.

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , align="left" , Detroit , 34 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .262 , , .000 , , .583 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .2 , , .4 , , 1.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Detroit , 37 , , 2 , , 6.9 , , .329 , , .000 , , .708 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .1 , , .5 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Detroit , 25 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .515 , , .000 , , .375 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , .6 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Orlando , 30 , , 1 , , 20.9 , , .507 , , .000 , , .595 , , 4.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 2.1 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Orlando , 80 , , 16 , , 23.9 , , .454 , , .000 , , .613 , , 5.5 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.8 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 70 , , 64 , , 23.8 , , .438 , , .000 , , .554 , , 6.1 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.6 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 61 , , 15 , , 17.0 , , .515 , , .000 , , .562 , , 4.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , .8 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 8 , , 0 , , 8.9 , , .471 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , .1 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Minnesota , 24 , , 18 , , 25.6 , , .492 , , .000 , , .536 , , 5.5 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 1.4 , , 8.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Minnesota , 69 , , 69 , , 24.4 , , .469 , , .000 , , .557 , , 5.2 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 2.0 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Minnesota , 29 , , 23 , , 16.3 , , .454 , , .000 , , .432 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , .9 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Boston , 1 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 468 , , 208 , , 18.5 , , .460 , , .000 , , .574 , , 4.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , 6.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

† , align="left" , Detroit , 8 , , 0 , , 1.8 , , .000 , , .000 , , .250 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , - , align="left" ,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, align="left" , Detroit , 9 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .286 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , .6 , - , align="left" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, align="left" , Orlando , 4 , , 0 , , 28.8 , , .588 , , .000 , , .529 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 12.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 21 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .489 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.6

Kickboxing record

, - bgcolor="FFBBBB" , 2014-12-18 , , Loss , , align=left, Radovan Radojčin , , SOUL Night of Champions, , Novi Sad, Serbia , , TKO (Cut) , , 2 , , , , 0–1 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

*
Darko Miličić
at draftexpress.com
Darko Miličić
at espn.com *

at nba.com (Prospect Profile) {{DEFAULTSORT:Milicic, Darko 1985 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players KK BFC players KK Hemofarm players Members of the Assembly of KK Crvena zvezda Memphis Grizzlies players Minnesota Timberwolves players National Basketball Association players from Serbia New York Knicks players I Came to Play players Orlando Magic players Power forwards (basketball) Serbia men's national basketball team players Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Serbian farmers Serbian male kickboxers Serbian men's basketball players Serbian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Basketball players from Novi Sad Heavyweight kickboxers