Nenad Krstić ( sr-cyr, Ненад Крстић, born July 25, 1983) is a Serbian

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 ...

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

Basketball Federation of Serbia The Basketball Federation of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашки савез Србије, Košarkaški savez Srbije) is a non-profit organization and the national sports governing body for basketball in Serbia. The organization represents Serbia in ...

, in charge of the men's basketball. Krstić represented and captained the Serbian national basketball team internationally. Standing at 2.12 m (7 ft 0 in), he 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. Krstić was an NBA All-Rookie Second Team member in 2005 and a two-time

All-Euroleague First 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 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 ...

Professional career

Partizan Belgrade

His first professional team was

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...

where he spent four seasons, making his debut in 2000–01. In the 2003–04 season, his last with Partizan, he averaged 13.4 points per game in the Euroleague. With Partizan, he also won three

YUBA League The YUBA League was the top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia and Montenegro (previously FR Yugoslavia). Founded in 1992 and folded in 2006, it was run by the Basketball Federation of Serbia and Montenegro. The name ''YUBA Le ...

championships in a row, and one

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup (Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup f ...

championship in the 2001–02 season. On June 26, 2002, he was drafted with the 24th overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. However, he didn't join the Nets for two seasons, continuing to play with Partizan Belgrade.

New Jersey Nets

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, ...

, Krstić logged an impressive rookie campaign for the New Jersey Nets, averaging 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.84 blocked shots per game. He was honored as part of the All-Rookie NBA second team. In his debut in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

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 ...

, Krstić averaged 18.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game; an exceptional performance for a rookie in the playoffs. This followed a greater trend where Krstić had consistently improved at a great pace as his rookie season progressed. He has a wide skill set for a big man, including refined post moves and a fantastic shooting touch from eighteen feet. Throughout the 2005–06 season, Krstić's play had continued to rapidly improve. Three quarters of the way through the season, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds, and had become an integral part of the Nets offense. In the first round of the 2006 NBA playoffs against Indiana he averaged 18 points per game along with 7.1 rebounds. In 2006–07 despite the rough Nets start, Nenad Krstić was averaging career highs in points (16.6), rebounds (6.8), and assists (1.8) before falling to the ground after tearing his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

in his left knee versus the

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

at Continental Airlines Arena on December 22, 2006. His surgery was successful. Krstić was out for the rest of the

2006–07 NBA season The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association. The San Antonio Spurs were crowned the champions after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The first NBA draft under the ne ...

, but returned ahead of schedule to start the 2007–08 NBA season. His 2007–08 season was a disappointment, as his injury disrupted his play and confidence on the court and he was largely a liability. Krstić later stated in his blog that he felt he let the team down, and vowed to return to his old form at the start of the 08–09 season.

Triumph Lyubertsy

During the 2008 summer off-season, Krstić entered negotiations with the

Russian Super League Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and pe ...

team Triumph Lyubertsy and eventually signed a 2-year contract (with the NBA an opt-out option) worth €6 million euros net income with them on July 29, 2008. He averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in seven games in the Russian Super LeagueTriumph Center Nenad Krstic will play for NBA.
/ref>Триумф (Люберцы, Московская область) » СУММАРНАЯ СТАТИСТИКА.
and 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 6 games in the

EuroChallenge FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

Oklahoma City Thunder

On December 19, 2008, two NBA league sources told ESPN.com that the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

had agreed in principle to sign Krstić to a three-year offer sheet. On December 22, Krstić officially signed the offer sheet. The New Jersey Nets had seven days to match the offer, or Krstić would be free to join the Thunder. The Nets declined to match, and the Thunder waived

Steven Hill Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

to make room for Krstić. He played for the first time in a Thunder uniform on January 7, 2009, versus 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 ...

, scoring six points and blocking 2 shots in 16 minutes.

Boston Celtics

On February 24, 2011, Krstić was traded along with Jeff Green and a 2012 first round pick to the Boston Celtics for

Kendrick Perkins Kendrick Le'Dale "Perk" Perkins (born November 10, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst for ESPN. He entered the NBA directly out of high school and played for the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder ...

and Nate Robinson. In his first game as a Celtic, he recorded 9 points and 6 rebounds in a win 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 ...

on February 26. Krstić's final NBA game was on May 11th, 2011 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the

. Boston would lose that game 87 - 97 (thus losing the series to Miami 4 - 1) with Krstić recording 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks.

CSKA Moscow

On June 22, 2011, Krstić signed a two-year contract with the Russian powerhouse

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 the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

, he averaged 14.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game in the Euroleague. That earned him his first selection for the

. In the

Euroleague Final The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe. Title holders * ......1958 Rīgas ASK * 195 ...

against Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow lost by 61-62 after Georgios Printezis's

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

in the last seconds of the game, securing his team second Euroleague championship in history. After a good season with CSKA Moscow, there were rumors that he was considering a return to the Boston Celtics. However, on July 10, 2012, Krstić signed a new two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, including a team's option to extend him for one more season. At the end of the 2012–13 Euroleague season, Krstić was included for the second-straight time in the All-Euroleague First Team. ;2013–14 season After slow start at the beginning of the 2013–2014 season, caused by some private problems he was having outside basketball, by the time he was improving his performances. In December 2013 it was revealed that he is a candidate for FIBA Europe Player of the Year. Eventually,

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

would go for the second straight award. In loss to his former club

, he played his best game of the season by scoring 27 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. He was named Euroleague MVP for month January, averaging fifth-highest 16.4 points, 6 rebounds and 21.6 in PIR. After beating Panathinaikos in the playoff series, CSKA Moscow lost in the semifinal of the

Euroleague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, f ...

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 ...

. Shortly after failing to win the Euroleague for third straight year, the president of CSKA blamed Krstić and his Serbian teammate

Miloš Teodosić Miloš Teodosić ( sr-cyr, Милош Теодосић, born March 19, 1987) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He also represents the National Basketball ...

for not putting enough effort over the season. Krstić finished his third Euroleague season with CSKA Moscow with the lowest averages of 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds over 29 games. Shortly after the Final 4, CSKA was facing elimination in the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

from Lokomotiv Kuban, travelling by 2-0 without home advantage. Krstić helped CSKA eventually win the series after big comeback and advance to semifinals, answering to previous critics of the club's president. Eventually, CSKA won the VTB United League by sweeping

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

3–0 in the final series. In the late June, CSKA Moscow used option in his contract to part ways and allow him to sign with another team. In July 2014, weeks after signing with Anadolu Efes, he had an interview for '' Večernje novosti''. He stated that

Ettore Messina Ettore Messina (born 30 September 1959) is an Italian professional basketball coach who is the head coach of Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He has won four EuroLeague championships as a head coach. Messina is regarded a ...

, former coach of CSKA Moscow, was "killing him as a player", putting him to play at unnatural to him

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, which affected on his performances over the last two seasons with the club.

Anadolu Efes

On June 26, 2014, Krstić signed a two-year contract with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes. He came in the club just after

Dušan Ivković Dušan "Duda" Ivković ( sr-cyrl, Душан "Дуда" Ивковић; 29 October 1943 – 16 September 2021) was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He served as head coach of the senior Serbian national basketball team from ...

was appointed as new head coach, with whom he worked in the national team for many years. ;2014–15 season On November 2, 2014, he fractured his left forearm, after

flagrant foul In basketball, a flagrant foul is a personal foul that involves excessive or violent contact that could injure the fouled player. A flagrant foul may be unintentional or purposeful; the latter type is also called an "intentional foul" in the Nati ...

by Mutlu Demir, in a game against Pınar Karşıyaka and was estimated to return in 6 to 8 weeks. He returned on the court on December 24, in a game against Darüşşafaka Doğuş and scored 2 points. As the season was reaching to an end, Anadolu Efes cemented second position of the regular season in the Turkish League. However, they were stopped in the Euroleague after the quarter-final series 1–3 loss to the eventual champion Real Madrid. On June 14, 2015, in a Game 3 of the Turkish League final series against Pınar Karşıyaka, he tore ACL on his right knee. The injury will keep him off-the-court for estimated 6 months. Over the season, he averaged 12.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 27 games played of the Turkish League. He also played in 19 Euroleague games, where he averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and a career-high 1.4 assists per game.

Galatasaray Odeabank

On June 30, 2016, Krstić signed with Turkish club Galatasaray Odeabank for the 2016–17 season. On September 9, 2016, he parted ways with Galatasaray.

National team career

Krstić played with the Serbia and Montenegro national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and

EuroBasket 2005 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 ...

. As captain of Serbian national team he played at the

EuroBasket 2009 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 ...

, where he won the silver medal and

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 ...

, where he won the fourth place. In the following year, he played at the

where Serbia was defeated 99–88 by Lithuania in the game for the bronze medal. He represented the national team 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 cha ...

in Lithuania where Serbia finished eighth and at the

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 ...

in Slovenia where Serbia finished seventh and qualified for 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. At the World Cup in Spain, Serbian national team took the silver medal. Shortly after the final game of the tournament, he retired from the national team, after ten years of playing and six years of captaining.

Post-playing career

On August 22, 2019, Krstić was named a director of the youth national basketball teams at the

. On December 14, 2020, Krstić was elected vice-president of the Basketball Federation of Serbia.

Personal life

Krstić is married to his wife Tanja and has one daughter. Krstić, whose nickname is "Curly", was voted the third most eligible bachelor by Serbia's version of ''People'' magazine. On August 19, 2010, in a game against Greece for the Acropolis International Tournament 2010, he participated in a fight between players and threw a chair at Greek

Ioannis Bourousis Giannis Bourousis (Greek: Γιάννης Μπουρούσης; born November 17, 1983) is a former Greek professional basketball player who last played for ASK Karditsa of the Greek A2 Basket League. He is a 7 ft 0.75 in (2.15 m) 270 lb ...

. That resulted in his spending the night at the police station, from where he was released the day after. He stated in his defence that he thought Bourousis was a fan when he threw the chair at him. In the same fight Krstić attacked Greek player Sofoklis Schortsanitis a number of times from behind. After the 2010 Serbia earthquake, Krstić and his

teammates donated $10,000 to help his hometown of

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of � ...

, which was directly affected by the nearby calamity. Krstić owns and operates a distillery.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, 75 , , 57 , , 26.2 , , .493 , , .000 , , .725 , , 5.3 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .8 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 30.9 , , .507 , , .250 , , .698 , , 6.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .8 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 26 , , 32.6 , , .526 , , .000 , , .711 , , 6.8 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .9 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 45 , , 38 , , 18.0 , , .410 , , .000 , , .754 , , 4.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , .4 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, 46 , , 29 , , 24.8 , , .469 , , .000 , , .797 , , 5.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 76 , , 22.9 , , .502 , , .200 , , .717 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .4 , , .6 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 47 , , 47 , , 21.7 , , .498 , , .000 , , .803 , , 4.4 , , .4 , , .4 , , .4 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-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 ...

, 24 , , 20 , , 23.0 , , .537 , , .000 , , .750 , , 5.3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 9.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 419 , , 373 , , 25.2 , , .494 , , .143 , , .730 , , 5.4 , , .8 , , .4 , , .7 , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 38.5 , , .563 , , .000 , , .792 , , 7.5 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .5 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006 , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 33.3 , , .504 , , .000 , , .711 , , 6.8 , , .7 , , .5 , , .9 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010 , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 21.5 , , .405 , , .000 , , .929 , , 5.8 , , .7 , , .5 , , .7 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011 , style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .625 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .0 , , .6 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 28 , , 21 , , 25.2 , , .505 , , .000 , , .767 , , 5.4 , , .8 , , .3 , , .7 , , 10.4

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3, Partizan , 13 , , 8 , , 19.7 , , .385 , , .000 , , .595 , , 4.4 , , .2 , , .5 , , .6 , , 4.8 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , 10 , , 7 , , 30.1 , , .489 , , .000 , , .717 , , 6.2 , , .9 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 12.8 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , 9 , , 7 , , 24.8 , , .600 , , .000 , , .721 , , 2.9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 1.0 , , 13.4 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3,

, 22 , , 18 , , 24.5 , , .629 , , .000 , , .786 , , 5.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , .5 , , 14.2 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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 ...

, 29 , , 7 , , 23.4 , , .613 , , 1.000 , , .738 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .7 , , 13.0 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 29 , , 15 , , 19.4 , , .502 , , .600 , , .630 , , 3.2 , , .8 , , .3 , , .6 , , 9.6 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Anadolu Efes , 19 , , 10 , , 21.5 , , .571 , , .000 , , .808 , , 5.1 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .5 , , 12.8 , , 17.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 131 , , 72 , , 22.7 , , .560 , , .500 , , .732 , , 4.5 , , .8 , , .4 , , .6 , , 11.6 , , 13.9