Jiří "George" Zídek Jr. (born 2 August 1973), is a Czech retired professional basketball player and

sports commentator In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

. He played college basketball in the United States for the UCLA Bruins from 1991 to 1995. He then became the first Czech player ever drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA), when he was selected by the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

in the first round of the

1995 NBA draft The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouve ...

. He played in the NBA for a total of three seasons and then played professionally in Europe, before retiring in 2006.

Early life

Zídek was born in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia, now Zlín, Czech Republic. His father,

Jiří Zídek Sr. Jiří Zídek Sr. (8 February 1944 – 21 May 2022) was a Czech professional basketball player and coach. At tall, Zídek was a talented center, and is considered by many to be the best Czech basketball player ever. He was named the Best Czech P ...

, was a star for USK Slavia Prague in the 1960s and 1970s, leading them to victory in the European 2nd-tier level 1968–69 season's European Cup Winners' Cup (one of the predecessor league's to today's EuroCup). The Zideks are the first (and as of 2010, the only) father and son ever to reach a EuroLeague Finals game.

College career

In 1991, Zídek relocated to the United States, to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played on the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team from 1991 to 1995. While in America, he became known as George. Zídek was the starting center of UCLA's 1995 NCAA championship team.

Professional career

The 7-foot Zídek was selected by the

in the first round of the

, with the 22nd overall pick. He was the first Czech player ever drafted by an

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 ...

team, and was then followed by

Jiří Welsch Jiří Welsch () (born 27 January 1980) is a Czech former professional basketball player for BK Pardubice of the Czech Republic National Basketball League. He has also represented the senior Czech Republic national basketball team. Welsch has ...

, who was drafted in 2002. Zidek spent three seasons in the NBA, playing for the Hornets, the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, and the Seattle SuperSonics, averaging 3.4 points per game in his NBA career. In 1998, he returned to Europe, joining former UCLA teammate Tyus Edney on the roster of the

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

power Žalgiris. His first season back in Europe saw him lift the EuroLeague championship trophy with Žalgiris, which was the first time a Lithuanian team won the EuroLeague title.Jiří Zídek
euroleague.net He and Edney became the first players to win both an NCAA and a EuroLeague championship. Zidek's European career took him to several other teams before he returned to the Czech Republic, where he helped ČEZ Nymburk to Czech national league titles in 2004 and 2005. He took the 2005–06 season off to recuperate from knee surgery, and served at the end of the season as a

EuroLeague TV EuroLeague TV is an internet specialty channel that covers the primary level European-wide men's professional club basketball league, the EuroLeague, as well as the secondary level European-wide basketball league, the EuroCup. EuroLeague TV is ...

commentator for the EuroLeague Final Four, which was held in Prague. However, due to ongoing health problems, Zídek never returned to the court as a player, and in 2006 he announced his retirement from playing basketball. He subsequently became a

for the EuroLeague, working for

References

External links

Euroleague.net Jiří Zídek profile
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zidek, George 1973 births Living people Alba Berlin players Asseco Gdynia players BC Žalgiris players Centers (basketball) Charlotte Hornets draft picks Charlotte Hornets players Czech men's basketball players Czech expatriate basketball people in Germany Czech expatriate basketball people in Lithuania Czech expatriate basketball people in Spain Czech expatriate basketball people in the United States Denver Nuggets players Liga ACB players Sportspeople from Zlín Real Madrid Baloncesto players Seattle SuperSonics players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players Czechoslovak men's basketball players

Early life

College career

Professional career

See also

References

External links