Dušan Šakota ( sr-cyr, Душан Шакота, el, Ντούσαν Σάκοτα ''Ntousan Sakota'', born 22 April 1986) is a Serbian-Greek former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He is 6'10 " (2.10 m) tall. He is a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

, who possesses the height of a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, and the shooting ability of a shooting guard. He has won two triple crowns in his career. He was the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...

for five seasons, and with the club, he won the 2018 FIBA Champions League title, the 2018 Greek Cup title, and the

2019 FIBA Intercontinental Cup The 2019 FIBA Intercontinental Cup was the 28th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. The tournament took place from 15 to 17 February 2019. The tournament was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Carioca Arena 1. Format The tournament was ...

title.

Early years

Šakota was born in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia (now Serbia), but he moved with his family to Greece, at the age of four, when his father,

Dragan Šakota Dragan Šakota (Serbian Cyrillic: Драган Шакота, Greek: Ντράγκαν Σάκοτα; born June 16, 1952) is a Serbian professional basketball coach, currently with LBa basketball club, Pallacanestro Reggiana. Playing career Šakot ...

, was given the head coaching job with the Greek League club PAOK. In the early 2000s, he played in the Greek junior league competitions, with the junior teams of

, which was his father's

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

at the time.

Professional career

Panathinaikos and Panionios

In 2003, Šakota signed his first

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

contract, with the Greek club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

, which was coached by

Željko Obradović Želimir "Željko" Obradović ( sr-cyr, Желимир "Жељко" Обрадовић, ; born 9 March 1960) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach for Partizan of the ABA League, the Basketba ...

at the time. He did not play much, due to his young age. He stayed with Panathinaikos until 2007, and won every possible title with the club, including: the prestigious

triple crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

in his last year: 4 Greek League championships ( 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07), 3

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

s (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07), and a EuroLeague title ( 2006–07). He was also selected to the All-World Team Roster at the 2005

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international ...

. In 2007, he was loaned for the whole Greek League 2007–08 season, to

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

, in order to get more playing time. He helped Panionios finish 3rd in the Greek League that season, and thus qualify for a place in the next season's EuroLeague; the first time in 12 years that Panionios had qualified for the European-wide top-tier level basketball competition. In the 2008–09 season, he returned to Panathinaikos, and with them, he won his second triple crown. He got more playing time with Panathinaikos this time, than in his previous time with the club, as he played in 25 games in the Greek League, averaging 5.0 points per game. He also appeared in 9 EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos, during the early stages of the competition, with averages of 8.1 minutes and 3.2 points per game; at the 2009 Berlin EuroLeague Final Four, he was a member of the team's 12 man active roster, but finished both games as an unused substitute.

Victoria Libertas Pesaro and the accident

Seeking more playing time, Šakota joined the

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the Tr ...

club

Victoria Libertas Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

in 2009. Unfortunately, his season in Italy ended before the conclusion of the 2009–10 Italian League season, in a shocking way. On 25 April 2010, Šakota suffered a superficially light injury, after contact with Giuseppe Poeta in a screen during a game versus

Teramo Teramo (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Tèreme ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Itali ...

. Following an incorrect initial

medical diagnosis Medical diagnosis (abbreviated Dx, Dx, or Ds) is the process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs. It is most often referred to as diagnosis with the medical context being implicit. The information r ...

, which led to an equally wrong surgery the next day, he fell into a coma, caused by septicæmia. Finally, the doctors managed to save his life, but he had to cease playing basketball for a long period.

Oostende, Enisey, and Pallacanestro Varese

In the summer of 2011, after a year of recovery from severe septicæmia, Šakota joined the

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 Belgian First Division A, 2020 ...

club Oostende. His contract with the team was terminated by mutual consent, in December 2011. During the 2011–12 season's winter transfer window, Šakota was released from Oostende. In the following days after he was released by Oostende, he signed a contract with the Russian League club

Enisey The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...

. After playing with Enisey, Šakota signed a two-year contract with Pallacanestro Varese of the

, on 17 July 2012.

AEK Athens

In September 2014, Šakota signed a contract with the

club

, the club for which he had previously played as a youth player. He became the club's

. On 28 June 2017, Šakota signed a contract extension with AEK Athens, lasting through the 2019–20 season. With AEK, he was named to the European-wide 3rd-tier level

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercont ...

's Star Lineup Second Best Team, of the 2016–17 season. With AEK, he won the 2018 Final of the

. He also won the Basketball Champions League championship in 2018.

National team career

Greek junior national team

Šakota holds

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

;

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

n (

former Yugoslav Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

) by birth, and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, because he's been permanently living in Greece, since his young childhood. In 2003, he declared his eligibility to play with Greece's national teams, although, according to the press, his father,

Dragan Dragan (, sr-Cyrl, Драган) is a popular Serbo-Croatian masculine given name derived from the common Slavic element '' drag'' meaning "dear, beloved". The feminine form is Dragana. People named Dragan include: Politicians and office holde ...

, preferred for him to play with

. Between 2003 and 2006, he represented Greece at the junior levels, in a total of 59 games, averaging 13.5 points per game. He was a member of the Greek junior national team that won the bronze medal at the

2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup The 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: 2003 Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19) was the 7th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship. The men's U19 youth international basketball championship organized by FIBA. I ...

. He also represented Greece at the

World Military Championship The World Military Championships (WMC) are the world championships of the military sports, regularly organized by the Conseil International du Sport Militaire, in each of the 26 disciplines of the sport military. History CISM had its roots in Worl ...

in 2009.

Greek senior national team

Šakota has also been a member of the senior men's

Greek national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team ( el, Eθνική Oμάδα Καλαθοσφαίρισης Ελλάδος) represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for ...

. He played at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification.

Personal life

Šakota is the son of former professional basketball player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and the brother of former professional basketball player and coach,

Miloš Šakota Miloš Šakota ( sr-cyr, Милош Шакота, el, Μίλος Σάκοτα, born 11 June 1984) is a Greek–Serbian professional basketball coach and former player who is the U-16 head coach for the Crvena zvezda youth system. Standing at , h ...

Career statistics

Domestic Leagues

Regular season

, - , 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 17 , , 8.1 , , .358 , , .280 , , .000 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , - , 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 12 , , 13.3 , , .527 , , .459 , , .875 , , 1.9 , , 0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 19 , , 11.5 , , .573 , , .500 , , .823 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .6 , , 0 , , 7.0 , - , 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 20 , , 12.3 , , .373 , , .255 , , .666 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.8 , - , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 23 , , 29.1 , , .517 , , .440 , , .923 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 11.3 , - , 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 20 , , 12.0 , , .591 , , .511 , , .666 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.6 , - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 25 , , 27.0 , , .446 , , .346 , , .784 , , 3.4 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .2 , , 12.4 , - , 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 24 , , 18.4 , , .473 , , .367 , , .815 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.4 , - , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 24 , , 23.2 , , .503 , , .320 , , .950 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .2 , , 12.3 , - , 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 22 , , 23.5 , , .503 , , .414 , , .896 , , 3.7 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .3 , , 13.1 , - , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 23 , , 20.5 , , .531 , , .412 , , .776 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 10.3

Playoffs

, - , 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 5 , , 12.3 , , .555 , , .461 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 5.4 , - , 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 1 , , 3.1 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , - , 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 5 , , 7.5 , , .461 , , .375 , , .000 , , .6 , , .6 , , .2 , , 0 , , 3.0 , - , 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 2 , , 7.5 , , .250 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1.5 , - , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 12 , , 21.5 , , .530 , , .477 , , .600 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .2 , , 8.3 , - , 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 5 , , 7.5 , , .357 , , .200 , , .000 , , 0 , , .2 , , .2 , , 0 , , 2.4 , - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 3 , , 25.4 , , .652 , , .454 , , .714 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , 0 , , 15.0 , - , 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 9 , , 20.2 , , .480 , , .467 , , .909 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , .7 , , 9.6 , - , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 8 , , 20.2 , , .389 , , .346 , , 1.000 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 8.3 , - , 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 2 , , 23.4 , , .429 , , .167 , , .714 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 9.0 , - , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", A.E.K. , align=center , GBL , 12 , , 21.0 , , .424 , , .408 , , .855 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 12.1

FIBA Champions League

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" , A.E.K. , 16 , , 23.8 , , .514 , , .405 , , .900 , , 4.1 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .4 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;" , 2017–18† , style="text-align:left;" , A.E.K. , 19 , , 25.8 , , .484 , , .400 , , .800 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .4 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" , A.E.K. , 15 , , 24.8 , , .430 , , .304 , , .953 , , 4.3 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 11.9

Awards and achievements

Pro career

*5× Greek League Champion: (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) *5×

Winner: (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2018) *2× EuroLeague

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

: (2007, 2009) *2×

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

Champion: (2007, 2009) *2× BCL Star Lineup Second Best Team: (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, 2018) *

FIBA Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

Champion: (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

) *

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, also commonly referred to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs, or the FIBA Club World Cup, is a professional basketball clubs competition that is endorsed by FIBA and the NBA. Historically, its purpose has b ...

Champion: (

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

)

Greek junior national team

: *2005

All-World Team *2009

References

External links

NBA.com ProfileEuroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileGreek Basket League Profile

Italian League Profile

Draftexpress.com ProfileNBADraft.net ProfileΟutrageous refusal from Dusan Sakota
, newspaper

Eleftherotypia ''Eleftherotypia'' ( el, Ελευθεροτυπία, lit=freedom of the press) was a daily national newspaper published in Athens, Greece. Published since 21 July 1975, it was the first newspaper to appear after the fall of the Regime of the ...

, 11th Feb 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakota, Dusan 1986 births Living people AEK B.C. players BC Enisey players BC Oostende players CB Murcia players Greek men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Greek people of Serbian descent Liga ACB players Naturalized citizens of Greece Pallacanestro Varese players Panathinaikos B.C. players Panionios B.C. players Power forwards (basketball) Serbian expatriate basketball people in Belgium Serbian expatriate basketball people in Greece Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy Serbian expatriate basketball people in Russia Serbian men's basketball players Small forwards Basketball players from Belgrade Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players