Aleksandar "Saša" Pavlović (

Anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

: Sasha Pavlovic, sr-Cyrl, Александар "Саша" Павловић; born November 15, 1983) is a Serbian-Montenegrin

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 ...

executive and former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), playing for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

and the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

. He also represented the national basketball team of Serbia and Montenegro internationally. Standing at , he played the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

and

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positions.

Professional career

Budućnost Podgorica (2000–2003)

In his first professional season for Budućnost, Pavlović played in 14 games in the

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 ...

and averaged 1.4 points per game. In his second season, Pavlović played in three games in the YUBA League and averaged 6.7 points. Also, Pavlović played two games in the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. In his last season in Podgorica, Pavlović played in 20 games in the YUBA League and averaged 10.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Pavlović averaged 9.6 points on 54% shooting for Budućnost in the EuroLeague, including a season-high 21 points against Tau Ceramica.

Utah Jazz (2003–2004)

Pavlović was selected by the

with the 19th pick in the 2003 NBA draft. His American agent Marc Cornstein issued a clarification in response to a misleading Eurobasket.com biography mixing Aleksandar Pavlović with an 'Aleksander Pavlović' who played college basketball at La Salle University and

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in the Shippensburg, Pennsylvania area. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers' college ...

. In 79 games played (14 starts), Pavlović averaged 4.8 points and 2.0 rebounds. He scored a season-high 18 points on December 3, 2003, against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

and grabbed nine rebounds on two occasions.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2004–2009)

Pavlović was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

on June 22, 2004, and was traded to the

for a 2007 first-round draft pick the next day. In 65 games played (nine starts), Pavlović averaged 4.8 points and 1.1 rebounds. He scored a season high 17 points on two occasions and scored in double digits on nine occasions. In 53 games of the 2005–06 season, he started 19 times and averaged 4.5 points and 1.5 rebounds. He scored a season high 21 points on February 21, 2006, against the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. Pavlović played three minutes over three playoff games and recorded only one rebound. In 67 games played (28 starts) in 2006–07, Pavlović averaged a career-high 9.0 points, along with 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He scored 20 points or more on seven occasions, including a new career-high 25 points on March 13, 2007, against the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. Approximately two weeks later, Pavlović had a career-high six three-point field goals made (of 7 attempts) against the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. After occasional starts in the beginning of 2007, Pavlović was installed as the Cavaliers' starting shooting guard on March 1, 2007, and started the remaining 24 regular season games. As a starter, Pavlović averaged 12.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Pavlović started all 20 of Cavaliers' 2007 playoff games. He had playoff highs of 17 points in a game 2 victory over the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and nine rebounds in a game 5 overtime victory over 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 2007 offseason Pavlović was a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

. On October 30, 2007, after nearly a month's holdout he signed a three-year, $13.7 million extension with the Cavaliers. Pavlović injured his left foot on January 23, 2008, in a game against the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

. He returned against the

on March 12. He started but was held scoreless in 9 minutes of action. On March 14, Pavlović had a season-high 24 points on against the Washington Wizards. He and scored double-digit points in 15 total games. During the 2007–08 season, Pavlović played in 51 games (45 starts) and averaged 7.4 points, a career-high 2.5 rebounds and a career high 1.6 assists. In eight playoff games, he averaged 3.5 points and 1.3 rebounds. In the following 2008–09 season, the Cavaliers were beaten by the

in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, 4 games to 2. Pavlović became trade bait as talks with the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

were rekindled from earlier in the season and on June 25, 2009, he, Ben Wallace, and the 46th overall pick were traded to Phoenix for future teammate

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

. On September 14, 2009, he was bought out by the Suns. While playing for the Cavaliers, he bought a BMW car from

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 the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

. There was an urban legend in Serbia that Pavlović won the car after beating him in one-on-one match, but Pavlović told in an interview that no such match was played. In another interview on January 2, 2020, he revealed that he still owns the car.

Minnesota Timberwolves (2009–2010)

On September 17, 2009, Pavlović signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In 71 games, he averaged 3.7 points per game.

Multiple short stints (2010–2013)

On January 10, 2011, Pavlović signed a 10-day contract with the

. Pavlović started his first game for the Mavericks on the last day of his contract, scoring 11 points in the Mavericks' 109–100 win over the Lakers. On January 20, 2011, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Mavericks. On January 30, 2011, his second 10-day contract expired and the Mavericks did not sign him for the rest of the season. On February 4, 2011, Pavlović signed a 10-day contract with the

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. On February 14, 2011, his contract expired and the Hornets did not sign him to a second 10-day contract. On March 3, 2011, Pavlović signed with the

for the rest of the 2010–11 season. In his first appearance with Boston on March 6, 2011, in a game against 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, he played 12 minutes, going 1-for-2 from three and 1-for-3 field goals overall, recording 3 points and 2 steals. His contract expired following the 2011 playoffs, and he returned to Montenegro to work out for the summer. On December 12, 2011, upon the end of the 2011 NBA lockout, Pavlović re-signed with the Celtics. The

2011–12 NBA season The 2011–12 NBA season was the 66th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to the 2011 NBA lockout, lockout, the regular season was reduced to 66 games for each team, and began on December 25, 2011, coinciding with NBA Christm ...

opened on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

2011 and Pavlović started for an injured

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...

. He played 15 minutes without attempting a shot or scoring a point. In the Celtics' second-last game of the season, a 78–66 win over the Heat, Pavlović scored 16 points off the bench. In 45 games (7 as starter), he averaged 2.7 points in 11.7 minutes per game. On July 20, 2012, Pavlović was traded to the

in a three-team deal. Pavlović' final NBA game was played on April 17, 2013, in an 88–99 loss to 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 Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

where he recorded 6 points and 1 rebound. On July 6, 2013, Pavlović was waived by the Trail Blazers.

Partizan Belgrade (2014–2015)

On February 10, 2014, Pavlović returned to Europe and officially signed with Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade for the rest of the 2013–14 season. Partizan finished season by winning its 13th consecutive domestic title, defeating arch rivals

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

by 3–1 in the final series. In the final series he averaged 11.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. Even though Pavlović was the most experienced player in the roster, it was his first championship win in his professional career. The day after the game, he said that winning a championship with Partizan was his greatest career accomplishment. On December 1, 2014, Pavlović returned to Partizan and signed a contract for the rest of the season. In the

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

debut in the new season, he led his team in an 89–80 victory over Mega Leks by scoring 26 points and having 4 rebounds and assists. Over 19 Adriatic League games, he averaged 11.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Panathinaikos (2015–2016)

On July 9, 2015, Pavlović signed a one-year contract with the Greek club Panathinaikos. On April 21, 2016, he was released by the club.

International career

Pavlović was a member of the Serbia and Montenegro Under-20 national team and played at the 2002 European Under-20 Championships in Lithuania. He was a member of the Serbia and Montenegro national team at the 2004 Olympic Games, playing in four games, averaging 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. Two years later, Montenegro, his native country, declared independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. After that, Pavlović said that he would like to play for the Serbian national team. However, he did not play for the Serbian or the Montenegrin national team. When asked about a possible comeback in February 2014, he responded with: "I'm not thinking about the national team. To me, it became a political matter, not a sports matter. This is why I decided not to commit o the national team"

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 79 , , 14 , , 14.5 , , .396 , , .271 , , .774 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 65 , , 9 , , 13.3 , , .435 , , .385 , , .688 , , 1.1 , , .8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 53 , , 19 , , 15.3 , , .410 , , .365 , , .653 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 67 , , 28 , , 22.9 , , .453 , , .405 , , .794 , , 2.4 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 9.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 51 , , 45 , , 23.3 , , .362 , , .298 , , .688 , , 2.5 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 66 , , 12 , , 16.0 , , .422 , , .410 , , .463 , , 1.9 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

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Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 10 , , 6 , , 16.3 , , .429 , , .438 , , .800 , , 1.2 , , . 7, , .5 , , .3 , , 4.1 , - , align="left" ,

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, 4 , , 1 , , 12.5 , , .182 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , - , align="left" ,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 17 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .462 , , .500 , , .400 , , .8 , , .2 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 45 , , 7 , , 11.7 , , .391 , , .293 , , .375 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 2.7 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Portland , 39 , , 1 , , 13.5 , , .353 , , .300 , , .167 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .6 , , .1 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 567 , , 142 , , 15.7 , , .404 , , .346 , , .673 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.9

Playoffs

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2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

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, 10 , , 0 , , 4.0 , , .333 , , .200 , , .000 , , .5 , , .1 , , .1 , , .1 , , .7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 52 , , 20 , , 16.6 , , .386 , , .333 , , .533 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .5 , , .1 , , 4.6

EuroLeague

, - , align="left" , 2001–02 , align="left" rowspan=2, Budućnost , 2 , , 0 , , 3.1 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , -2.0 , - , align="left" , 2002–03 , 13 , , 5 , , 19.6 , , .463 , , .294 , , .640 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .5 , , 9.7 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , 2013–14 , align="left" , Partizan , 7 , , 4 , , 26.4 , , .395 , , .333 , , .818 , , 3.3 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 11.4 , , 7.1 , - , align="left" , 2015–16 , align="left" , Panathinaikos , 25 , , 17 , , 17.2 , , .397 , , .250 , , .632 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .3 , , 5.6 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 47 , , 26 , , 18.7 , , .415 , , .279 , , .662 , , 2.2 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .3 , , 7.4 , , 5.1

Post-playing career

In December 2018, Pavlović was named a board member of Partizan Belgrade under presidency of Ostoja Mijailović.

Personal life

He is married to Dunja, with whom he has three children—Luka, Minja and Andrej.

References

External links

* *
Aleksandar Pavlović
at draftexpress.com
Aleksandar Pavlović
at ESPN.com *
Aleksandar Pavlović
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pavlovic, Aleksandar 1983 births Living people Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Boston Celtics players Charlotte Bobcats expansion draft picks Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks players KK Budućnost players KK Partizan players Minnesota Timberwolves players Serbia and Montenegro men's basketball players Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in the United States Montenegrin men's basketball players 21st-century Montenegrin sportsmen NBA players from Montenegro New Orleans Hornets players Olympic basketball players for Serbia and Montenegro Panathinaikos B.C. players Sportspeople from Bar, Montenegro Portland Trail Blazers players Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Serbian men's basketball players Serbs of Montenegro Shooting guards Small forwards Utah Jazz draft picks Utah Jazz players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in the United States

Professional career

Budućnost Podgorica (2000–2003)

Utah Jazz (2003–2004)

Cleveland Cavaliers (2004–2009)

Minnesota Timberwolves (2009–2010)

Multiple short stints (2010–2013)

Partizan Belgrade (2014–2015)

Panathinaikos (2015–2016)

International career

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

EuroLeague

Post-playing career

Personal life

See also

References

External links