Darko Miličić ( sr-cyrl, Дарко Миличић, ; born June 20, 1985) is a Serbian 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 , and played 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. Miličić played in the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA) from 2003 to 2013. He is the fifth youngest player and the youngest foreign player to have played in the NBA and is the youngest player to have played in an NBA Finals game, and the youngest player to win the NBA championship. Miličić was selected by 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 ...

as the second overall pick in the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

; he was chosen after number one pick

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

and ahead of other future NBA stars including

Carmelo Anthony Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team ...

Chris Bosh Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft. Bo ...

and Dwyane Wade. Despite being selected with a high draft pick, Miličić failed to play at the level expected of him in the NBA and is widely regarded as a

draft bust A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team sele ...

. While he won an NBA championship with the Pistons in 2004, Miličić never received significant playing time during his seasons with the team and was traded to the Orlando Magic in 2006. Following stints with the Magic, the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

, and the New York Knicks, Miličić was traded to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

in 2010 and signed a four-year contract with the team that summer. After being released by Minnesota in 2012, he played one regular-season game for the Boston Celtics later that year before being released. Miličić announced his retirement from the NBA in June 2013; he retired with career averages of 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In international play, Miličić played for the Serbian national team.

Early life

Miličić's parents are Milorad and Zora. During the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

, when Miličić was not yet 10, he heard a news report in which his father was named as one of several Serbian soldiers killed in action; however, a few minutes later, the newscaster indicated some of the soldiers, including his father, had been incorrectly included as killed. His father ultimately survived the wars. His parents' families hail from Janj near

Šipovo Šipovo ( sr-cyrl, Шипово) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the southern part of the Bosanska Krajina region. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,293 inhabitant ...

in Bosanska Krajina. His sister Tijana is a volleyball player. Miličić played his first youth basketball in BFC Beočin until

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

that lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999, when he was forced to take a break. After that, he played for the basketball club Sports World from Novi Sad, which is also a basketball school, where he became a dominant figure and received interest from bigger teams. At the age of 14, Miličić started playing basketball with the Serbian team Hemofarm's junior team. He was later called up from the junior team before being drafted by the NBA's Detroit Pistons in 2003.

NBA career

Detroit Pistons (2003–2006)

The Detroit Pistons chose Miličić with the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. Unlike most teams with high draft choices, the Pistons were a good team that had made the Eastern Conference Finals the season before they drafted Miličić. The NBA draft rules had to be changed to allow Miličić to be drafted. The Pistons held the second overall draft pick because of a 1997

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

that had sent Otis Thorpe to the

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

. Miličić saw limited playing time during his first season with the Pistons, but did become the youngest player to appear in an NBA Finals game (18 years and 356 days) and won an NBA championship just five days later when the Pistons defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the

2004 NBA Finals The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003–04 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. This season's NBA Finals was contested between the Western Conference playoff champion ...

. Pistons team president Joe Dumars repeatedly stated that Miličić would play a big part in the team's future, but he did not see a large increase in playing time during his second season. Miličić has been quoted on numerous occasions as attributing his slow development on his lack of playing time; "I've said it 10,000 times, the best way for me to improve is to play. All the work in practice and individual workouts can only help me so much". After Larry Brown's departure,

Flip Saunders Philip Daniel "Flip" Saunders (February 23, 1955 – October 25, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. During his career, he coached the La Crosse Catbirds, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, and Washington Wizards. High schoo ...

was hired as head coach of the Pistons. Under Saunders, Miličić still averaged only 5.6 minutes per game, and received significant playing time only in blowout wins or blowout losses for the Pistons. Miličić's lack of playing time in Detroit was frequently highlighted in publications. In the 96 games he played as a Piston, he only scored a total of 152 points and averaged 1.6 points and 5.8 minutes per game.

Orlando Magic (2006–2007)

On February 15, 2006, just prior to the NBA's All-Star break, Miličić was traded, along with point guard

Carlos Arroyo Carlos Alberto Arroyo Bermúdez (born July 30, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player, and reggaeton singer. Arroyo had previously played in the National Basketball Association with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, ...

, to the Orlando Magic for Kelvin Cato and a first-round pick in the 2007 NBA draft (

Rodney Stuckey Rodney Norvell Stuckey (born April 21, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played seven seasons for the Detroit Pistons and three seasons for the Indiana Pacers and played college basketball for Eastern Washington Unive ...

). During a game against the New York Knicks he played 32 minutes and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. The 13 points and 32 minutes were season highs, and he led the Magic in minutes for that game. Miličić averaged 2.4 blocks per game in his first 20 games as a member of the Magic. In the 2006–07 playoffs, he increased his scoring by four points per game to 12.3 on 58.8% shooting. When his rookie contract expired in the 2007 offseason, Orlando made him a qualifying offer; on July 3, 2007, however, the team withdrew that offer and made Milicic an unrestricted free agent.

Memphis Grizzlies (2007–2009)

On July 12, 2007, the first day of free agency, Miličić was signed by the

to a three-year, $21 million contract. Miličić hurt his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus ( ...

practicing with the Serbian national team in the 2008 offseason but was available to start at the beginning of the season. Miličić began the 2008–09 season starting at power forward but, due to poor play, was moved to the bench. Miličić regained his starting job as his play steadily improved in early December 2008. Miličić's progress was set back by an injury on December 26, 2008 against the Indiana Pacers when he broke a knuckle on his right hand during the game. Miličić's time with the Grizzlies was one of the low points of his career; he did not want to play for the team, he suffered an injury, and the team was not performing well. His wife would recall that he would punch the walls of his house in anger after coming home from games. During a game against the Houston Rockets in early December 2008, he even deliberately ripped his jersey in frustration (the jersey was later autographed by him and sold at an auction).

New York Knicks (2009–2010)

On June 25, 2009, Miličić was traded to the New York Knicks for

Quentin Richardson Quentin Lamar Richardson (born April 13, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who was formerly the director of player development for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Q-Rich", he p ...

and cash considerations. On December 17, 2009, Miličić said that he planned to leave the NBA and return to playing basketball in Europe the following season.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2010–2012)

On February 17, 2010, Miličić was traded to the

along with cash considerations for Brian Cardinal. The Timberwolves agreed to re-sign Milicic for four years and $20 million on July 1, 2010. David Kahn said that Darko was "like manna from heaven." The 2010–11 Minnesota season was Milicic's best statistically; in interviews, he looked back on that time period fondly relative to the rest of his time in the NBA. He averaged 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game, finishing the season fifth in the league in blocks per game. Miličić had his best games on November 19, when he scored 23 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks against the Los Angeles Lakers; and on December 14, 2010, when he had a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds against the Golden State Warriors. Miličić began the 2011-12 season as the Timberwolves' starting center. On January 20, 2012, he scored a season-high 22 points and seven rebounds against the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. However, he would see his playing time diminish as the season went on. On July 12, 2012, Miličić was waived by the Timberwolves under the league's

amnesty clause The NBA salary cap is the limit to the total amount of money that National Basketball Association teams are allowed to pay their players. Like many professional sports leagues, the NBA has a salary cap to control costs and benefit parity, defined b ...

Boston Celtics (2012)

In September 2012, Miličić signed with the Boston Celtics. On November 21, 2012, the Celtics released Miličić at his request so that he could attend to personal matters. Miličić' final game ever was on November 2nd, 2012 in a 88 - 99 loss 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 ...

where he recorded 1 rebound, 2 turnovers and 1 foul. This was the Celtic's 2nd game of the season and it was the only game that Miličić played during the entire season, playing only five minutes for that game. In June 2013, Miličić announced that he had retired from the NBA. He retired with career averages of 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In September 2014, it was revealed that Miličić had retired from professional basketball in order to pursue a kickboxing career.

Legacy

As of February 2023, Miličić is the fifth youngest player to have played in the NBA. As of February 2023, he is also the youngest foreign player to have played in the NBA, the youngest player to have played in an NBA Finals game, and the youngest NBA champion. After having been selected with the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Miličić failed to play at the level expected of him in the NBA and is known as one of the worst draft choices in the history of the NBA. Miličić himself has questioned whether the Pistons made the right move by drafting him. The Detroit Pistons passed over future NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade to select Miličić. In June 2011, Mark David Smith of Bleacher Report wrote, "The Pistons missed a huge opportunity when they picked Darko. Carmelo, Wade or Bosh could’ve helped put Detroit over the hump after the 2004 championship season. The thought of one of these superstars with that Pistons team is scary; it could’ve potentially made them one of the best dynasties in all of sports history".

International basketball career

Miličić played for the FR Yugoslavia U16 national team that won a gold medal at the European Cadet Championships in 2001. In 2006, Miličić led Serbia and Montenegro at 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 ...

. Serbia and Montenegro had decided to replace their aging superstars—who had led the team to a gold medal finish in the previous

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation i ...

—with young blood. Miličić led the team in rebounds (56) and blocked shots (17) and was second on the team in scoring (16.2 ppg) and assists (11) through six games. In Serbia and Montenegro's sixth and final game 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") , i ...

, Miličić matched up against NBA All-Star

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 ...

and finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks. During an interview following a 68–67 overtime loss to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

EuroBasket 2007 The 2007 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2007, was the 35th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2008 Summer Olympics, giving a berth to th ...

, Miličić made vulgar remarks to the media in his native language. He referred to the referees with expletives and threatened to engage in various sex acts with their female relatives. He received a $13,770 fine from

FIBA 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 nam ...

and his outburst was heavily criticized by

general manager

Chris Wallace Christopher Wallace (born October 12, 1947) is an American broadcast journalist. He is known for his tough and wide-ranging interviews, for which he is often compared to his father, ''60 Minutes'' journalist Mike Wallace. Over his 50-year care ...

and head coach

Marc Iavaroni Marcus John Iavaroni (born September 15, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player and former head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also served as an assistant coach for several ...

Post-NBA activities

Kickboxing career

Miličić had a stint in kickboxing during 2014. On December 18, 2014, he had his official debut in kickboxing under the WAKO rules in his hometown Novi Sad. He lost that fight by 2nd round TKO from Serbian kickboxer Radovan Radojčin from Senta, Serbia.

Attempt to return from retirement

On 19 May 2015, it was announced that Miličić had agreed to come back from retirement and start playing professional basketball again with Metalac Farmakom of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...

and the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...

after the season was over. The announcement was made by Boško Đukanović, the club's president, and later confirmed by Miličić himself. However, Miličić later changed his mind.

Farming

Miličić works as a farmer in his native Serbia. , he owned and operated an

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

orchard of about , with plans to purchase more land and also grow cherries.

Amateur basketball career

In September 2019, Miličić joined I Came to Play in his hometown of Novi Sad. He debuted with the team on 6 October in a 78–50 victory against KK Futog, scoring two points and handing out several assists before leaving the game with a minor shoulder injury.

Personal life

On May 23, 2009, Miličić married Zorana Markuš. They have a daughter, Lara, and two sons, Lazar and Luka. His wife is a fashion designer and sister of deceased Serbian criminal Marko Markuš. In 2010, Miličić paid for a trip and treatment in China for five Serbian children suffering from Batten disease. Miličić is a supporter of the Ravna Gora movement (''Ravnogorski pokret''), and has tattoos of World War II Chetnik leaders Nikola Kalabić and

Momčilo Đujić Momčilo Đujić ( sh-Cyrl, Момчилo Ђујић, ; 27 February 1907 – 11 September 1999) was a Serbian Orthodox priest and Chetnik . He led a significant proportion of the Chetniks within the northern Dalmatia and western Bosnia r ...

on his stomach, and Draža Mihailović and Brane Bogunović on his back. In late 2013, he expressed his support for far-right politician and convicted war criminal

Vojislav Šešelj Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal ...

. A folk song was made in his honour by the Bosnian Serb duo ''Žare i Goci''.

Career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , 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 ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 4.7 , , .262 , , .000 , , .583 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .2 , , .4 , , 1.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 37 , , 2 , , 6.9 , , .329 , , .000 , , .708 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , .1 , , .5 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 25 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .515 , , .000 , , .375 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , .6 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, 30 , , 1 , , 20.9 , , .507 , , .000 , , .595 , , 4.1 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 2.1 , , 7.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 80 , , 16 , , 23.9 , , .454 , , .000 , , .613 , , 5.5 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.8 , , 8.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, 70 , , 64 , , 23.8 , , .438 , , .000 , , .554 , , 6.1 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.6 , , 7.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 61 , , 15 , , 17.0 , , .515 , , .000 , , .562 , , 4.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , .8 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , New York , 8 , , 0 , , 8.9 , , .471 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , .1 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 24 , , 18 , , 25.6 , , .492 , , .000 , , .536 , , 5.5 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 1.4 , , 8.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 69 , , 69 , , 24.4 , , .469 , , .000 , , .557 , , 5.2 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , 2.0 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 29 , , 23 , , 16.3 , , .454 , , .000 , , .432 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .3 , , .9 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, 1 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 468 , , 208 , , 18.5 , , .460 , , .000 , , .574 , , 4.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , 6.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2004† , align="left" ,

, 8 , , 0 , , 1.8 , , .000 , , .000 , , .250 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , - , align="left" , 2005 , align="left" ,

, 9 , , 0 , , 2.3 , , .286 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .4 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , .6 , - , align="left" , 2007 , align="left" ,

, 4 , , 0 , , 28.8 , , .588 , , .000 , , .529 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 1.0 , , 12.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 21 , , 0 , , 7.1 , , .489 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.6

Kickboxing record

, - bgcolor="FFBBBB" , 2014-12-18 , , Loss , , align=left, Radovan Radojčin , , SOUL Night of Champions, ,

Novi Sad, Serbia Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

, , TKO (Cut) , , 2 , , , , 0–1 , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

*
Darko Miličić
at draftexpress.com
Darko Miličić
at espn.com *

at nba.com (Prospect Profile) {{DEFAULTSORT:Milicic, Darko 1985 births Living people 2006 FIBA World Championship players Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Detroit Pistons draft picks Detroit Pistons players KK BFC players KK Hemofarm players Members of the Assembly of KK Crvena zvezda Memphis Grizzlies players Minnesota Timberwolves players National Basketball Association players from Serbia New York Knicks players I Came to Play players Orlando Magic players Power forwards (basketball) Serbia men's national basketball team players Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Serbian farmers Serbian male kickboxers Serbian men's basketball players Serbian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Basketball players from Novi Sad Heavyweight kickboxers