Dušan Šakota ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Шакота, ''Ntousan Sakota'', born 22 April 1986) is a Serbian-Greek former 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. At 6'10 " (2.10 m) tall, he played 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 and was known for his shooting ability. He has won two triple crowns in his career. He was the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

of the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

for five seasons, and with the club, he won the 2018 FIBA Champions League title, the 2018 Greek Cup title, and the

2019 FIBA Intercontinental Cup The 2019 FIBA Intercontinental Cup was the 28th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup. The tournament took place from 15 to 17 February 2019. The tournament was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the Carioca Arena 1. Format The tournament was ...

title.

Early years

Šakota was born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

(now Serbia), but he moved with his family to Greece, at the age of four, when his father,

Dragan Šakota Dragan Šakota (Serbian Cyrillic: Драган Шакота, Greek: Ντράγκαν Σάκοτα; born June 16, 1952) is a Serbian and Greek professional basketball coach, currently coaching AEK Athens of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). Playi ...

, was given the head coaching job with the Greek League club

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. In the early 2000s, he played in the Greek junior league competitions, with the junior teams of

, which was his father's

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

at the time.

Professional career

Panathinaikos and Panionios

In 2003, Šakota signed his first

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

contract, with the Greek club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

, which was coached by

Željko Obradović Željko Obradović ( sr-cyrl, Желимир "Жељко" Обрадовић, ; born 9 March 1960) is a Serbian professional basketball Coach (basketball), coach and former professional player who is the head coach for KK Partizan, Partizan of the ...

at the time. He did not play much, due to his young age. He stayed with Panathinaikos until 2007, and won every possible title with the club, including: the prestigious triple crown in his last year: 4 Greek League championships ( 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07), 3

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

s (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07), and a

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 ...

title ( 2006–07). He was also selected to the All-World Team Roster at the 2005

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demons ...

. In 2007, he was loaned for the whole Greek League 2007–08 season, to

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

, in order to get more playing time. He helped Panionios finish 3rd in the Greek League that season, and thus qualify for a place in the next season's EuroLeague; the first time in 12 years that Panionios had qualified for the European-wide top-tier level basketball competition. In the 2008–09 season, he returned to Panathinaikos, and with them, he won his second triple crown. He got more playing time with Panathinaikos this time, than in his previous time with the club, as he played in 25 games in the Greek League, averaging 5.0 points per game. He also appeared in 9 EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos, during the early stages of the competition, with averages of 8.1 minutes and 3.2 points per game; at the 2009 Berlin EuroLeague Final Four, he was a member of the team's 12 man active roster, but finished both games as an unused substitute.

Victoria Libertas Pesaro and the accident

Seeking more playing time, Šakota joined the Italian League club

Victoria Libertas Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

in 2009. Unfortunately, his season in Italy ended before the conclusion of the 2009–10 Italian League season, in a shocking way. On 25 April 2010, Šakota suffered a superficially light

injury Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with ...

, after contact with

Giuseppe Poeta Giuseppe "Peppe" Poeta (born September 12, 1985) is an Italian former professional basketball player and current head coach of Germani Brescia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). During his professional career, he played the point guard pos ...

in a screen during a game versus

Teramo Teramo (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo. The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines ( Gran Sasso d'Italia) and the Adriatic coast. Th ...

. Following an incorrect initial

medical diagnosis Medical diagnosis (abbreviated Dx, Dx, or Ds) is the process of determining which disease or condition explains a person's symptoms and signs. It is most often referred to as a diagnosis with the medical context being implicit. The information ...

, which led to an equally wrong

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

the next day, he fell into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

, caused by septicæmia. Finally, the doctors managed to save his life, but he had to cease playing basketball for a long period.

Oostende, Enisey, and Pallacanestro Varese

In the summer of 2011, after a year of recovery from severe septicæmia, Šakota joined the

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

club Oostende. His contract with the team was terminated by mutual consent, in December 2011. During the 2011–12 season's winter transfer window, Šakota was released from Oostende. In the following days after he was released by Oostende, he signed a contract with the Russian League club

Enisey The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal and the Krasnoyarsk Dam be ...

. After playing with Enisey, Šakota signed a two-year contract with

Pallacanestro Varese Pallacanestro Varese, also called by its current sponsor's name, the Openjobmetis Varese, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Varese, Lombardy. Founded in 1945, the team plays in the Italian basketball league system, Italian first ...

of the Italian League, on 17 July 2012.

AEK Athens

In September 2014, Šakota signed a contract with the

club

, the club for which he had previously played as a youth player. He became the club's

. On 28 June 2017, Šakota signed a contract extension with AEK Athens, lasting through the 2019–20 season. With AEK, he was named to the European-wide 3rd-tier level

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European sports club, clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the European professional club basketball system ...

's Star Lineup Second Best Team, of the 2016–17 season. With AEK, he won the 2018 Final of the

. He also won the Basketball Champions League championship in 2018.

National team career

Greek junior national team

Šakota holds

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

;

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n (

former Yugoslav , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p1 = State Flag of Serbia (1882-1918).svg , p2 ...

) by birth, and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, because he's been permanently living in Greece, since his young childhood. In 2003, he declared his eligibility to play with Greece's national teams, although, according to the press, his father,

Dragan Dragan (, sr-Cyrl, Драган) is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic masculine given name derived from the common Slavic languages, Slavic element ''-drag, drag'' meaning "dear, beloved". The feminine form is Dragana (given name), Dragana. ...

, preferred for him to play with

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Between 2003 and 2006, he represented Greece at the junior levels, in a total of 59

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, averaging 13.5 points per game. He was a member of the Greek junior national team that won the bronze medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. He also represented Greece at the

World Military Championship The World Military Championships (WMC) are the world championships of the military sports, regularly organized by the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM), covering 25 sports. History CISM had its roots in World War II, with efforts t ...

in 2009.

Greek senior national team

Šakota has also been a member of the senior men's

Greek national basketball team The Greece men's national basketball team () represents Greece in international basketball. They are controlled by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Greece. Greece is currently ranked 13th in the FIBA Wo ...

. He played at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification.

Personal life

Šakota is the son of former professional basketball player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, and the brother of former professional basketball player and coach,

Miloš Šakota Miloš Šakota ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Шакота, , born 11 June 1984) is a Greek–Serbian professional basketball coach and former player who is the assistant coach of AEK Athens. Standing at , he played both small forward and power forward pos ...

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5",

, 2 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , .000 , , .000 , , , , , , .5 , , .5 , , , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , 7 , , 0 , , 7.6 , , .333 , , .364 , , 1.000 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , .1 , , , , 2.3 , , 0.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , 14 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .453 , , .407 , , .667 , , 1.4 , , .2 , , .3 , , , , 4.5 , , 1.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 10 , , 1 , , 9.0 , , .423 , , .300 , , .800 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .6 , , , , 3.2 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2008–09† , 9 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .440 , , .316 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , , , , , 3.2 , , 1.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 42 , , 1 , , 23.1 , , .421 , , .346 , , .786 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , .3 , , , , 3.3 , , 1.5

Domestic Leagues

Regular season

, - , 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 17 , , 8.1 , , .358 , , .280 , , .000 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 0 , , 2.0 , - , 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 12 , , 13.3 , , .527 , , .459 , , .875 , , 1.9 , , 0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 19 , , 11.5 , , .573 , , .500 , , .823 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , .6 , , 0 , , 7.0 , - , 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 20 , , 12.3 , , .373 , , .255 , , .666 , , 1.9 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.8 , - , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 23 , , 29.1 , , .517 , , .440 , , .923 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , 11.3 , - , 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 20 , , 12.0 , , .591 , , .511 , , .666 , , 1.8 , , .2 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.6 , - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

A.E.K. A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Established ...

, align=center , GBL , 25 , , 27.0 , , .446 , , .346 , , .784 , , 3.4 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .2 , , 12.4 , - , 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 24 , , 18.4 , , .473 , , .367 , , .815 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , 7.4 , - , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 24 , , 23.2 , , .503 , , .320 , , .950 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .2 , , 12.3 , - , 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 22 , , 23.5 , , .503 , , .414 , , .896 , , 3.7 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .3 , , 13.1 , - , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 23 , , 20.5 , , .531 , , .412 , , .776 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 10.3

Playoffs

, - , 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 5 , , 12.3 , , .555 , , .461 , , 1.000 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 5.4 , - , 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 1 , , 3.1 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , - , 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 5 , , 7.5 , , .461 , , .375 , , .000 , , .6 , , .6 , , .2 , , 0 , , 3.0 , - , 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 2 , , 7.5 , , .250 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.5 , , .5 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1.5 , - , 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 12 , , 21.5 , , .530 , , .477 , , .600 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .2 , , 8.3 , - , 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 5 , , 7.5 , , .357 , , .200 , , .000 , , 0 , , .2 , , .2 , , 0 , , 2.4 , - , 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 3 , , 25.4 , , .652 , , .454 , , .714 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , 0 , , 15.0 , - , 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 9 , , 20.2 , , .480 , , .467 , , .909 , , 2.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , .7 , , 9.6 , - , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 8 , , 20.2 , , .389 , , .346 , , 1.000 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .3 , , 8.3 , - , 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 2 , , 23.4 , , .429 , , .167 , , .714 , , 3.5 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , 1.5 , , 9.0 , - , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, align=center , GBL , 12 , , 21.0 , , .424 , , .408 , , .855 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 12.1

FIBA Champions League

, - , style="text-align:left;" , 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 16 , , 23.8 , , .514 , , .405 , , .900 , , 4.1 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .4 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;" , 2017–18† , style="text-align:left;" , A.E.K. , 19 , , 25.8 , , .484 , , .400 , , .800 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .4 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 15 , , 24.8 , , .430 , , .304 , , .953 , , 4.3 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .3 , , 11.9

Awards and achievements

Pro career

*5× Greek League Champion: (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) *5×

Winner: (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2018) *2×

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

: (2007, 2009) *2× Triple Crown Champion: (2007, 2009) *2× BCL Star Lineup Second Best Team: (

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, 2018) *

FIBA Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefor ...

Champion: (

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

) *

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, previously known to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs and the FIBA Club World Cup, is an annual international men's basketball competition organised by FIBA, the sport's global governing body. The competit ...

Champion: (

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

)

Greek junior national team

* 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup: *2005

All-World Team *2009

References

External links

NBA.com ProfileEuroleague.net ProfileEurobasket.com ProfileGreek Basket League Profile

Italian League Profile

Draftexpress.com Profile

NBADraft.net ProfileΟutrageous refusal from Dusan Sakota
, newspaper

Eleftherotypia ''Eleftherotypia'' () was a daily national newspaper published in Athens, Greece. Published since 21 July 1975, it was the first newspaper to appear after the fall of the Regime of the Colonels, and for most of its period had been one of the ...

, 11th Feb 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakota, Dusan 1986 births Living people AEK B.C. players BC Enisey players BC Oostende players CB Murcia players Children of basketball players Greek men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Greek people of Serbian descent Liga ACB players Naturalized citizens of Greece Pallacanestro Varese players Panathinaikos B.C. players Panionios B.C. players Power forwards Serbian expatriate basketball people in Belgium Serbian expatriate basketball people in Greece Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy Serbian expatriate basketball people in Russia Serbian men's basketball players Small forwards Basketball players from Belgrade Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro players 21st-century Greek sportsmen