Nikola Vujčić (born 14 June 1978) is a Croatian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, and the current

team manager A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...

of the Israeli club

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

. During his playing career, at a height of 2.11 m (6' 11") tall, he played at both the

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and

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

positions. As a player, he was a two-time EuroLeague champion (

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 ...

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 ...

), a five-time

All-EuroLeague Team The All-EuroLeague Team is an award for Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 season. During the FIBA era of the EuroLeague, players were honor ...

selection (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), and was voted as a member of the EuroLeague 2000–10 All-Decade Team. He was also the 2006

Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League Finals MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player of the finals of the playoffs of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, whi ...

. Vujčić was the first player in the EuroLeague's current era (2000–present), to achieve a

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

. On 3 November 2005, he helped in Maccabi Tel Aviv's 95–68 win versus the Polish club

Prokom Trefl Sopot Arka Gdynia is a Polish professional basketball team, based in Gdynia. The team plays in the Polish PLK. The club's sponsorship name comes from the company Asseco. Historically the team is one of the most successful in Poland, mainly because of ...

, with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. On 30 November 2006, Vujčić recorded another triple-double, the second in the EuroLeague's current era (2000–present), in Maccabi Tel Aviv's 110–87 win over the Slovenian club

Union Olimpija Košarkarski klub Olimpija ( en, Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They ...

, with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Professional playing career

Vujčić made his professional club debut with the Croatian club

KK Split Košarkaški klub Split ( en, Split Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Split or simply Split, is a men's professional basketball club based in Split, Croatia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Croatian League. History The c ...

, in the 1995–96 season, after coming up through the youth teams of the club. He played with Split through the 2000–01 season. As a member of Split, he wore the number 7 jersey that had once belonged to the former Split star and former

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 ...

player,

Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč, nicknamed ''“The Waiter”'' (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian-American former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful perio ...

. With Split, Vujčić twice appeared in the Croatian League playoff's finals. With the club at the European-wide level, he also played in 28

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

games (2nd European Level), in 23

FIBA SuproLeague The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

games, and in 34 EuroLeague games (1st European level). In 2001, he was signed by the Israeli club

, as a replacement for

Nate Huffman Nate or NATE may refer to: People and fictional characters *Nate (given name) *A nickname for Nathanael *A nickname for Nathaniel Organizations *National Association for the Teaching of English, the UK subject teacher association for all aspects ...

, who was expected to leave the club. At the last moment though, Huffman decided to return to the club for one more season, so Maccabi sent Vujčić on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

to the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

club

ASVEL Villeurbanne ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon ...

. Vujčić helped ASVEL win the French League championship, for the first time in 21 years. He also played in 14 EuroLeague games that season (2 with Maccabi and 12 with ASVEL), in which he averaged 15.7 points and 6.4

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

per game. With Maccabi Tel Aviv, From 2002 to 2008, he won two EuroLeague championships (

and

), five

Israeli Super League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

championships, four Israeli State Cups, and one Israeli League Cup. He was also the 2006

. On 18 June 2008, he signed a two-year contract, worth

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4.5 million

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, with 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 ...

club

Olympiacos Piraeus Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

. On 25 October 2010, he signed a contract with the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

club Efes Pilsen. After playing with

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

, from 2011 to 2013, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.

National team playing career

As a member of the senior Croatian national team, Vujčić played at the

1999 EuroBasket The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

, the

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a b ...

, the

2005 EuroBasket The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...

, and the

2009 EuroBasket The 2009 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2009, was the 36th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September and concluded with the ...

Managerial and player developmental career

After he retired from playing professional basketball, Vujcic opened up his own basketball academy, in his home-town of

Split, Croatia )'' , settlement_type = List of cities and towns in Croatia, City , anthem = ''Marjane, Marjane'' , image_skyline = , imagesize = 267px , image_caption = Top: Nighttime view of ...

, where he would go on to help train young players to improve their basketball skills. Two of the main prospects to have been a part of the academy were

Dragan Bender Dragan Bender (born 17 November 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Monbus Obradoiro of the Spanish Liga ACB. He stands and plays the power forward and center positions. He was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth ...

, who eventually became the number 4 overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft, and

Ante Žižić Ante Toni Žižić (; born 4 January 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the Euroleague. He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft. ...

, who was drafted 23rd overall in the same draft. In the 2013–14 season, Vujčić returned to one of his former clubs from his playing days,

, to work as the team's manager. After he took over that position, Maccabi Tel Aviv went through an historic down period for the club, as at one point, the team had failed to win three consecutive

Israeli national league Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

championships (2015–2017), and at another point, had also failed to reach the EuroLeague's postseason phase four years in a row (2016–2019). Subsequently, many Israeli

sports journalists Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

and basketball analysts claimed that the team's inability to achieve its goals was due to the policies that had been implemented by Vujčić.

Personal life

Vujčić, was born in

Vrgorac Vrgorac (, it, Vergoraz) is a town in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County. Demographics The total population of Vrgorac is 6,572 (census 2011), in the following settlements: * Banja, population 202 * Dragljane, population 52 * Draževiti� ...

, in inland

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Social ...

, in the former

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

. On 17 January 2018, after he had lived in Israel for 10 years, the

Israeli Ministry of Interior The Ministry of Interior ( he, משרד הפנים, ''Misrad HaPnim''; ar, وزارة الداخلية) in the State of Israel is one of the government offices that is responsible for local government, citizenship and residency, identity cards ...

granted a temporary Israeli citizenship to Vujčić and his family, after he had requested it.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",

ASVEL ASVEL Basket, commonly known as ASVEL or sometimes as ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, and also known as LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the city of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, ...

, 14 , , 2 , , 26.2 , , .516 , , .263 , , .714 , , 6.4 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 15.7 , , 19.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 20 , , 16 , , 28.5 , , .551 , , .386 , , .691 , , 7.1 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , 17.6 , , 21.2 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2003–04† , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 21 , , 21 , , 34.9 , , .548 , , .226 , , .800 , , 6.9 , , 3.0 , , .9 , , .8 , , 16.8 , , 20.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2004–05† , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 21 , , 21 , , 26.4 , , .581 , , .391 , , .726 , , 5.6 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 13.9 , , 17.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 24 , , 24 , , 31.2 , , .458 , , .405 , , .656 , , 5.7 , , 3.9 , , .9 , , .9 , , 11.9 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 22 , , 22 , , 31.0 , , .541 , , .467 , , .745 , , 7.6 , , 3.9 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , 14.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 21.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 12 , , 9 , , 21.0 , , .544 , , .400 , , .559 , , 4.3 , , 3.2 , , .7 , , .2 , , 9.6 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, 21 , , 20 , , 22.2 , , .553 , , .250 , , .645 , , 3.8 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .5 , , 11.4 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Olympiacos , 22 , , 1 , , 14.3 , , .584 , , .000 , , .577 , , 2.7 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 7.4 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Efes Pilsen , 15 , , 14 , , 18.1 , , .411 , , .000 , , .697 , , 3.1 , , 2.1 , , .6 , , .2 , , 6.5 , , 6.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 192 , , 150 , , 25.8 , , .532 , , .345 , , .695 , , 5.4 , , 2.7 , , .9 , , .6 , , 12.7 , , 15.9

References

External links

Nikola Vujčić
at basket.co.il
Nikola Vujčić
at euroleague.net

at fiba.archive.com

at fibaeurope.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Vujcic, Nikola 1978 births Living people ABA League players Anadolu Efes S.K. players ASVEL Basket players Basketball executives Basketball players from Split, Croatia Centers (basketball) Croatian men's basketball players Croatian expatriates in France Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Croatian expatriates in Israel Croatian expatriates in Turkey Greek Basket League players Israeli Basketball Premier League players KK Split players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Olympiacos B.C. players Power forwards (basketball)