Pero Antić ( mk, Перо Антиќ, ; born July 29, 1982), is a North Macedonian

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 ...

executive and former professional player. He currently serves as a president of the

Basketball Federation of North Macedonia The Basketball Federation of North Macedonia (Macedonian: ''Кошаркарска федерација на Северна Македонија'' / ''Košarkarska federacija na Severna Makedonija'') is the governing body of basketball in North M ...

. Antić was a member and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

North Macedonian national basketball team The North Macedonia men's national basketball team ( mk, Кошаркарска репрезентација на Северна Македонија, Košarkarska reprezentacija na Severna Makedonija) represents North Macedonia in internationa ...

. Standing at , he primarily played the

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 ...

position, although he was able to play at the

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 ...

position.

Professional career

Early years

Antić has played with: Rabotnički Skopje,

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 ...

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional Association football, foot ...

, Academic Sofia, Lokomotiv Kuban,

Spartak St. Petersburg BC Spartak Saint Petersburg is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. During the 2016–17 season, the club was named BC Kondrashin Belov (BCKB), after its former player Alexander Belov and its former head ...

and

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 numbe ...

. He won the 2006 Serbia and Montenegro National Cup with

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Be ...

. He was voted the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the 2007–08 season in the Bulgarian National Basketball League, a season in which he averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. In the EuroChallenge 2010–11 season, he helped

reach the EuroChallenge Final Four, averaging 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Olympiacos

After an impressive performance at the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 ch ...

, Antić signed a two year contract on September 26 with Olympiacos Piraeus. With Olympiacos, he won the EuroLeague title two times, in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. He also helped his team to win the 2011–12 Greek League championship.

Atlanta Hawks

On July 25, 2013, Antić signed a two-year contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. In his first pre-season game against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, he played 16 minutes and finished with three points and four rebounds, shooting just 1-8 from the floor and 1-6 from three. Antić scored his first points in an official game on November 1, in a 102-95 home win over the Toronto Raptors. On December 28, at home against 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 popu ...

, Antić scored a game-tying three-pointer off one leg with three seconds left in the game, tying the score and forcing the game into overtime. Atlanta won the game 118-116. On January 3 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 ...

, Antić was in the starting lineup for the first time in his NBA career, due to the injury of starting center

Al Horford Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso (born June 3, 1986) is a Dominican professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Big Al", Horford is a five-time NBA All-Star and is the highest paid L ...

. He responded with a then career-high 16 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 6-9 from the floor, including four three-pointers from six attempts. However, Atlanta was defeated, as

Andre Iguodala Andre Tyler Iguodala ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The swingman was an NBA All-Star in 2012 and has been named to th ...

hit the buzzer-beater from behind the arc to give his team a 101-100 victory over the Hawks. After a series of solid performances as a starter for the Hawks, Antić was selected as a participant in the Rising Stars Challenge game for the NBA All-Star 2014 in New Orleans. However, because of an injury to his right ankle, Antić was forced to miss the All-Star weekend, being replaced by the Phoenix Suns' big man

Miles Plumlee Miles Christian Plumlee (born September 1, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played four years of college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, w ...

. On April 6, 2014, Antić scored a career-high 18 points in a 107-88 win over the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

. The Hawks finished the regular season with a record of 38-44, which was enough for the last playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, pairing them in the first round with the number one seed on the East, the

. Antić was a starter in the first game of the series, tallying 8 points and 7 rebounds in his playoff debut while also successfully guarding All-Star center

Roy Hibbert Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2014. Hibbert was the runner-up for the NBA Defensive Play ...

. The Hawks took a surprising victory 101-93 away from home to take the lead in the series. During the game, Antić got involved in a confrontation with the Pacers' David West, which led to both players receiving technical fouls.

Fenerbahçe

On June 30, 2015, he signed a two-year contract with the option of additional year, with the Turkish team Fenerbahçe. In his first season with the team, Antić won the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas� ...

with a 67–65 win over Darüşşafaka. Fenerbahçe also reached the final game of the 2016 Euroleague Final Four, but fell short of winning the EuroLeague championship, after an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

96–101 loss to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

. Over 23 EuroLeague games, he averaged 8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, Fenerbahçe also won the Tukish League championship.

Crvena zvezda

On September 11, 2017, Antić returned to

, signing a contract for the 2017–18 season.

National team career

Antić was a member and

of the senior men's Republic of Macedonia national team. He was instrumental in his team reaching the semi-finals of

FIBA EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted t ...

in Lithuania. Antić proved his reputation as one of the tournament's best rebounders, having an average of 8.8 rebounds per game, third best in the category. He also averaged 11.5 points per game, with his tournament high coming in the semi-finals against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, where he scored 17 points in a 92-80 defeat. He was among the overall leaders in several other categories. Besides being fourth in average minutes per game (34.5), he also ranked fourth in double-doubles, collecting three, against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

(14 points and 19 rebounds),

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

(15 points and 14 rebounds) and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

(15 points and 10 rebounds). While hardly the revelation of the tournament, he fulfilled his full potential at the EuroBasket, and was the cornerstone of the Macedonian national team's defensive strategy, that propelled them to the top four. Antić captained the Macedonian national team at the

FIBA EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

, although to a much lesser success. Although he scored in double figures in four of the five group matches, averaging 13.8 points and 8 rebounds per game, Macedonia was eliminated in the group stage, after which Antić announced his retirement from the national team.

Player profile

Antić's best offensive attributes are his body strength, jump shot, and dunking ability. He is adept at pick and roll play, which coupled with his excellent three-point shooting accuracy for a player of his position, makes him a scoring threat from all distances. While he's not a prolific scorer, he also possesses decent passing skills, adding to his offensive contribution. The defensive part of the game is considered to be one of his best attributes. Antić's anticipation, positioning, and overall athleticism made him a good rebounder in Europe. Antić demonstrated particular determination and confidence when guarding opposition star players, such as

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

and

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

at the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, 50 , , 26 , , 18.5 , , .418 , , .327 , , .758 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 63 , , 3 , , 16.5 , , .365 , , .301 , , .715 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 113 , , 29 , , 17.4 , , .392 , , .314 , , .730 , , 3.5 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;" ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, 7 , , 7 , , 24.3 , , .167 , , .120 , , .625 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .7 , , .4 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, style="text-align:left;" ,

, 15 , , 1 , , 13.3 , , .320 , , .344 , , .800 , , 2.9 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 22 , , 8 , , 16.8 , , .250 , , .246 , , .758 , , 3.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.9

EuroLeague

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

AEK 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 ...

, 7 , , 1 , , 4.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , .9 , , .1 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 12 , , 3 , , 15.0 , , .395 , , .294 , , .600 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , 4.3 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 3 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .333 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.7 , , .0 , , .3 , , .3 , , 2.3 , , .3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 15 , , 0 , , 11.5 , , .393 , , .333 , , .593 , , 2.9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .4 , , 4.6 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;" , 2011–12† , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 22 , , 18 , , 18.7 , , .350 , , .250 , , .772 , , 4.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , .3 , , 7.2 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;" ,

2012–13 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;" ,

, 31 , , 4 , , 18.1 , , .354 , , .261 , , .659 , , 3.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.0 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" , Fenerbahçe , 23 , , 10 , , 21.1 , , .388 , , .373 , , .769 , , 4.3 , , .7 , , .2 , , .0 , , 8.0 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;" , 2016–17† , style="text-align:left;" , Fenerbahçe , 31 , , 11 , , 13.5 , , .333 , , .338 , , .744 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.2 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 2 , , 18.2 , , .317 , , .274 , , .771 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.2 , , 6.2 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 162 , , 49 , , 16.1 , , .357 , , .299 , , .716 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.6 , , 5.0

Personal life

Antić was born in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

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 Yu ...

(modern-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

). Antić is a supporter of Belgrade club

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. I ...

, where he also played from 2005–2007 and 2017‒2018. Antić married his wife Ružica, who has the same birthday as he does, in 2006. They have a son named Luka. Antić has several tattoos, including ones of his family, Crvena zvezda team supporters (

Delije Delije ( sr-cyr, Делије) is a name referring to the supporters of various sports clubs that compete under the Red Star Belgrade multi-sport club banner. The plural of the singular form ''delija'' (делија)—which in Serbian generall ...

) badge on his right under-arm, and a stylized

flag of Macedonia Flag of Macedonia may refer to: * Flag of Macedonia (Greece) * Flag of North Macedonia {{Short pages monitor