Željko Šakić (born April 14, 1988) is a Croatian 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 (appro ...
player currently playing for
Élan Chalon
Élan Sportif Chalonnais, commonly known as Élan Chalon, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The team's main colors are red and white, and their mascot is a moose. The team's home arena is called ...
of the
French League
The French League (: "French League for Purge, purging, mutual aid (politics), mutual aid and European integration, European collaboration") was a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist French movement founded by Pier ...
. Standing at , he plays the
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 and are typi ...
position.
Professional career
Šakić started playing basketball in the
Cibona
Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association, and compete ...
youth systems but never got an opportunity to play for the senior squad. After he almost quit basketball, in 2007 he got an offer from another club from
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
,
Dubrava where he spent the next 3 seasons. After that he spent 3 seasons in the
Bosnian League and then moved to
Sutor Montegranaro of the
Italian League. He spent the
2014–15 season in
Manresa
Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain.
Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...
of the
Spanish League earning the 4th week Player of the Week award.
In August 2015 he moved to the Bulgarian champion
Lukoil Academic
BC Academic Metropol Region () is a reestablished Bulgarian professional basketball club based in the capital Sofia.
In April 2022, Academic has been reborn and rebranded by the new owners, the German-Bulgarian ex-professional basketball players ...
.
On June 29, 2016, Šakić signed with Cibona. After a season spent playing in the
Romanian League for
U-BT Cluj-Napoca
U-Banca Transilvania Cluj-Napoca, commonly known as U-BT Cluj-Napoca, is a professional basketball club based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania that competes domestically in the Liga Națională (men's basketball), Liga Națională de Baschet and internatio ...
, in September 2018 he moved to the Polish side
Stelmet Zielona Góra.
On 10 July 2019, Šakić signed a one-year deal with
Lietkabelis Panevėžys of the
Lithuanian Basketball League
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe
** Lithuanian language
** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region
** L ...
(LKL).
On June 25, 2020, he has signed with
Avtodor of the
VTB United League
The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...
.
In March, 2022, Šakić signed with
UNICS for the rest of the season.
On 24 July 2022, Šakić returned to
Lietkabelis Panevėžys for a second stint, signing a two-year (1+1) deal. On 1 July 2023, he parted ways with the club.
On July 11, 2023, he signed with
TofaÅŸ
TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş (acronym for ''Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Anonim Şirketi''; ''Turkish Automobile Factory Joint-Stock Company'' pronounced ) is a Turkish automobile manufacturer which was established in 1968 by Vehbi Koç, ...
of
Basketbol Süper Ligi
The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...
(BSL).
In September 2024, Šakić signed with
Élan Chalon
Élan Sportif Chalonnais, commonly known as Élan Chalon, is a French professional basketball club that is based in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The team's main colors are red and white, and their mascot is a moose. The team's home arena is called ...
of the
French League
The French League (: "French League for Purge, purging, mutual aid (politics), mutual aid and European integration, European collaboration") was a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist French movement founded by Pier ...
.
Croatian national team
Šakić was part of the
Croatian national team youth selections. He was one of the leading Croatian players at the
2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Greece in 2006.
Final ranking
1. France
2. Lithuania
3. Spain
4. Turkey
5.
6. Greece
7. Italy
8. Bulgaria
9. Russia
10. Croatia
1 ...
and the
2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
The 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the eleventh edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Riga, in Latvia, hosted the tournament. Serbia won their second title.
Bulgaria and Georgia were relegated to Division B.
...
, but to play with the senior team he had to wait for the
2015 EuroBasket
EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...
preparation games. At the age of 27, he was the oldest debutant in the history of the Croatian national basketball team.
References
External links
Željko Šakićat aba-liga.com
Željko Šakićat acb.com
at fiba.com
Željko Šakićat realgm.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakic, Zeljko
Living people
1988 births
21st-century Croatian sportsmen
ABA League players
Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
BÃ squet Manresa players
BC Avtodor players
BC Lietkabelis players
BC UNICS players
Croatian expatriate basketball people in Bulgaria
Croatian expatriate basketball people in France
Croatian expatriate basketball people in Italy
Croatian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania
Croatian expatriate basketball people in Russia
Croatian expatriate basketball people in Spain
Croatian expatriate basketball people in Turkey
Croatian men's basketball players
Élan Chalon players
Forwards (basketball)
HKK Å iroki players
KK Cibona players
KK Dubrava players
Liga ACB players
Olympic basketball players for Croatia
PBC Academic players
Power forwards
Sutor Basket Montegranaro players
TofaÅŸ S.K. players
U-BT Cluj-Napoca players
Zastal Zielona Góra players