Primož Brezec (born October 2, 1979) is a Slovenian retired 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 a 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall

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 ...

. Brezec has played eight seasons in the NBA.

Professional career

Europe/Asia

Brezec grew up in

Sežana Sežana (; it, Sesana) is a town in the Slovenian Littoral region of Slovenia, near the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Sežana. Sežana is located on the Karst Plateau, from Trieste, Italy, and from Ljubljana, the ...

, where he also made his professional debut with the local team Kraski Zidar. During his high school years he was a member of the basketball team and a major star of the ŠKL League, the national high school league. As a professional, he played for the Slovenian Premier A League club Union Olimpija Ljubljana from 1998 until 2001. Brezec spent the next 7 seasons playing in the NBA in the United States and Canada. He returned to Europe on July 20, 2008, when he signed a 2-year contract with Lottomatica Roma of the Italian league. On September 26, 2010, Brezec signed with BC Krasnye Krylya Samara of the

Russian Professional Basketball League The Professional Basketball League (russian: Профессиональная баскетбольная лига (ПБЛ), Professionalʼnaya basketbolʼnaya liga), often abbreviated to the PBL, was the pre-eminent men's professional basketball l ...

. In July 2011, he signed with

Lokomotiv Kuban PBC Lokomotiv Kuban (russian: ПБК «Локомотив Кубань») is a Russian professional basketball team based in Krasnodar. The club participates in the VTB United League. The team is one of the top tier basketball teams in Russia. T ...

for one season, but he was waived in February 2012. In March 2012, he signed with

BC Nizhny Novgorod BC Nizhny Novgorod (russian: БК «Нижний Новгород»), commonly known as simply Nizhny Novgorod, also known as Pari Nizhny Novgorod for sponsorship reasons, is a Russian professional basketball club from the city of Nizhny Novgorod ...

. On February 10, 2015, he signed a two-month deal with

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

of the

Cyprus Basketball Division 1 The Cypriot Basketball Division A is currently the top-tier level men's professional basketball competition of the Cypriot basketball league system. It is run and governed by the Cyprus Basketball Federation. Format At present, six clubs compete ...

. He won the title in Cyprus with AEK Larnaca averaging 14.9 points and 7 rebounds per game. On May 7, 2015, after his contract expired, he signed with Al Kuwait of the

Kuwaiti Division I Basketball League The Kuwaiti Division I Basketball League is the highest professional basketball league in Kuwait. The most decorated team in the league is Kuwait SC, who have won 7 titles. Teams * Al Kuwait SC *Al Arabi * Al Jahraa *Al Nasar *Al Qadsia *Al Sahel ...

. On June 18, 2015, he re-signed with AEK Larnaca. On September 2, 2017, he announced his retirement from professional basketball, and joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as international scout.

NBA

Brezec was chosen by the Indiana Pacers with the 27th overall pick of the 2000 NBA draft. After he spent three years in Indiana with little playing time, he was picked up in the 2004 NBA Expansion Draft by the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populou ...

. As the Bobcats' starting center, Brezec averaged career-highs of 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game during the

2004–05 NBA season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending-champion Detroit Pistons, 4–3, ...

. He also scored the first points, made the first turnover, and hit the first free-throws in the history of the franchise. On December 14, 2007, Brezec, along with Bobcats teammate

Wálter Herrmann Walter Herrmann Heinrich (born June 26, 1979) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. He is listed at 6'9" and 225 lbs. He was a key member of the senior men's Argentine national basketball team that won the gold medal durin ...

, was traded to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

for center

Nazr Mohammed Nazr Tahiru Mohammed ( ; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current ...

. At the 2008 NBA

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...

, which was on February 21, Brezec, along with cash considerations, was traded to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

in exchange for Juan Dixon. During his Raptors debut, he hit all five of his shots and finished with 11 points, three rebounds and a block in 13 minutes off the bench against the New York Knicks in a February 24 win. In August 2009, he returned to the NBA when he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. On February 18, 2010, Brezec was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

along with

Royal Ivey Royal Terence Ivey (born December 20, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also the head coach of the South Sudane ...

in exchange for

Jodie Meeks Orestes Jodie Meeks II (born August 21, 1987) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky. ...

and

Francisco Elson Francisco Marinho Robby Elson (born February 28, 1976, in Rotterdam) is a Dutch retired professional basketball player. Elson was the seventh Dutch player to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Elson served as the captain of the ...

. His final NBA game was played on May 2nd, 2010 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks lost the game 74 - 95, (thus losing the series) with Brezec recording 5 points and 2 rebounds.

National team career

Brezec has also been a member of the senior

Slovenian national basketball team The Slovenia men's national basketball team ( sl, Slovenska košarkarska reprezentanca) represents Slovenia in international basketball competitions, and is managed by the Basketball Federation of Slovenia. Since the independence of Slovenia in ...

. With Slovenia's senior national team, he has played at the 2003 FIBA European Championship, the 2005 FIBA European Championship, 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 ...

, and the

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

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, 22 , , 1 , , 5.0 , , .395 , , .000 , , .600 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 18 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .462 , , .000 , , .667 , , .8 , , .2 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 72 , , 72 , , 31.6 , , .512 , , .000 , , .745 , , 7.4 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .8 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 79 , , 79 , , 27.4 , , .517 , , .000 , , .732 , , 5.6 , , .6 , , .2 , , .4 , , 12.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 58 , , 40 , , 14.4 , , .445 , , .333 , , .632 , , 3.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , .4 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 20 , , 18 , , 13.4 , , .395 , , .000 , , .600 , , 2.2 , , .3 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

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Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, 13 , , 0 , , 8.5 , , .447 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

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Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, 14 , , 0 , , 4.2 , , .538 , , .000 , , .000 , , .9 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , 1.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 342 , , 214 , , 18.1 , , .498 , , .167 , , .701 , , 3.9 , , .5 , , .2 , , .4 , , 7.2

Playoffs

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References

External links

Eurobasket.com Profile

Euroleague.net Profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brezec, Primoz 1979 births Living people BC Krasnye Krylia players BC Nizhny Novgorod players Centers (basketball) Charlotte Bobcats expansion draft picks Charlotte Bobcats players Cleveland Cavaliers scouts Detroit Pistons players Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players KK Olimpija players National Basketball Association players from Slovenia National Basketball Association scouts from Europe Milwaukee Bucks players Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban players People from Sežana Philadelphia 76ers players Slovenian basketball scouts Slovenian expatriate basketball people in Canada Slovenian expatriate basketball people in Italy Slovenian expatriate basketball people in the United States Slovenian men's basketball players Toronto Raptors players 2006 FIBA World Championship players 2010 FIBA World Championship players