Gordan Giriček (born June 20, 1977) is a Croatian 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. Standing at , he played the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

and

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 ...

positions. Over eighteen years of professional basketball, he played in the

NBA 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 ...

for several teams, including

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 Southwest Division of 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 ...

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 ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, and 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 ...

. He also played for several European teams, including Cibona,

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and Fenerbahçe.

Professional career

Early years

Giriček started playing basketball with the youth section of a small local club in Zagreb called Jedinstvo. Later on, he joined the Zagreb-based club Cibona, and while playing there he was selected by the

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 ...

in the second round (40th pick overall) in the

1999 NBA draft The 1999–2000 NBA season, 1999 NBA draft was held on June 30, 1999, at the MCI Center (now Capital One Arena) in Washington, D.C. It was the first draft in which four players from the same college were picked in the first round, with Elton Bran ...

and traded by the Mavericks to the

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

for Leon Smith. However, he never played for the Spurs, who traded his draft rights to the

for a second-round pick in the 2004 NBA draft. He stayed in his native country Croatia until 2001. In the summer of 2001, he signed a contract with the Russian team

, playing the 2001–2002 season there. He had a breakthrough season, averaging 22.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists over 18 games of 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 ...

Memphis Grizzlies (2002–2003)

He came to the United States in 2002. In his

debut game with the

, he scored 29 points. As of the 2023–2024 season, Giriček's 29-point debut marks the highest-scoring debut by any NBA player since 1996. He played a total of 49 regular season games for the Memphis Grizzlies, averaging 11.2 points per game.

Orlando Magic (2003–2004)

On February 19, 2003, day before trade deadline, he was traded by Memphis, with Drew Gooden, to the

for Mike Miller, Ryan Humphrey, a future first-round draft pick and a future second-round draft pick. He ended that season on the NBA's All-Rookie second team.

Utah Jazz (2004–2007)

On February 19, 2004, Giricek was traded by the Orlando Magic to the

for DeShawn Stevenson and a future second-round draft pick. He scored a career-high 33 points against the Phoenix Suns on March 12, 2004. With Utah, his main role was that of a shooting threat off the bench; he was also a part-time starter. While a competent defender, his best asset was his efficient three-point shooting. During the 2007 playoffs, he shot 53.8% from the three point line en route to an appearance in the Western Conference Finals. After their loss to the Spurs in five games,

Deron Williams Deron Michael Williams ( ; born June 26, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball, Illinois Fighting Illini before being drafted third overall in ...

ripped the efforts of Giriček and

Mehmet Okur Mehmet Murat Okur (born 26 May 1979) is a Turkish former professional basketball player. Listed at , he played as a power forward and center. Okur is known for his three-point shooting and ability to space the floor. In his seven seasons with t ...

. Ronnie Brewer was named Utah's starting shooting guard after a strong performance in the 2007–08 preseason, relegating Giriček back to the bench. On December 19, Giriček was sent home from a game in Charlotte after a heated argument with coach

Jerry Sloan Gerald Eugene Sloan (March 28, 1942 – May 22, 2020) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before beginning a 30-year coaching career, 23 of which were spent ...

. Though Giriček and Sloan indicated they moved on from the incident, Utah was reportedly intent on trading him, and the game in Charlotte would indeed be his last with the Jazz.

Philadelphia 76ers (2007–2008)

Giriček was traded from the Jazz to the

on December 26, 2007, in exchange for

Kyle Korver Kyle Elliot Korver (born March 17, 1981) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for ...

and a future first-round draft pick from the Jazz. He played as a Sixer against the Jazz five days later, and was booed in his return to Utah. On February 29, 2008, he was waived by the 76ers, after appearing in 12 games with the team. He was waived in time to allow him to join a playoff team and qualify for their postseason roster.

Phoenix Suns (2008)

On March 4, 2008, the

signed Giriček for the remainder of the season. He was involved in an altercation with Suns 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 ...

, and was choked out.

Fenerbahçe (2008–2010)

In August 2008, 31-year-old Giriček left the NBA and returned to Europe. He signed a 2-year

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

4 million euros

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contract with the Turkish team Fenerbahçe. He was released on May 15, 2010.Giricek ile Yollarımız Ayrıldı

Cibona Zagreb (2010–2011)

In December 2010, he signed a contract with

Cibona Zagreb Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball sports club, club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the ABA League JTD, Adriatic Basketba ...

in his native country of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

until the end of the 2010–11 season. After this season, he retired from professional basketball.

Croatian national basketball team

Giriček was a member of the Croatian national basketball team. With Croatia, he played at 5 consecutive European Championships: the 1997 European Championship, 1999 European Championship, 2001 European Championship, 2003 European Championship, and the 2005 European Championship.

Personal life

In December 2003 Giriček married his long-time girlfriend Nataša Gulan, in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. In February 2004 Nataša gave birth to their first and only child, a girl they named Lara. In July 2004 Giriček signed a contract with the Jazz worth $16 million through 4 years. At that time, Giriček asked his wife to sign a postnuptial agreement. His lawyers drew up the agreement so that in case of a divorce, his wife would get the total salaries that she would have earned had she stayed at VIPnet, the mobile telephony company that she worked for before meeting Giriček. Gulan refused to sign the agreement and, in August 2004, Giriček decided to file for divorce after his wife had left him and moved to her mother's house with their child, with Gulan demanding $1.5 million. In February 2007, a court in Croatia decided that Giriček's wife was to get $102,500. Giriček pays $1,500 per month in child support. During court trial his wife's lawyer wrote to Giriček's present and past clubs, requesting information about the player's earnings but, as such information was not demanded by Croatian courts, it was never disclosed by any of the teams. In July 2007, he decided not to join the Croatian national team for the 2007 European Championship because of dissidence with his ex-wife, as Gulan did not honour a child visitation agreement ordered by court, by which the player was to be with Lara during July, thus arriving on time for national team pre-tournament camp. Gulan argued that she got her holiday at that time and that it was unchangeable, also wanting to spend time with her daughter.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , align="left" , Memphis , 49 , , 35 , , 24.2 , , .433 , , .354 , , .822 , , 2.2 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 11.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, 27 , , 27 , , 35.6 , , .440 , , .328 , , .816 , , 4.8 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 14.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 48 , , 25 , , 29.9 , , .440 , , .407 , , .827 , , 3.4 , , 1.7 , , .9 , , .2 , , 10.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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 ...

, 25 , , 18 , , 24.2 , , .431 , , .359 , , .883 , , 2.5 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .2 , , 13.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 44 , , 20.5 , , .448 , , .362 , , .810 , , 2.2 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 37 , , 36 , , 25.8 , , .433 , , .305 , , .754 , , 1.9 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .1 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 61 , , 6 , , 19.5 , , .462 , , .426 , , .816 , , 2.1 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 22 , , 0 , , 12.7 , , .402 , , .353 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .6 , , .0 , , 4.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 9.2 , , .317 , , .333 , , .750 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , .3 , , .1 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Phoenix , 22 , , 0 , , 20.1 , , .497 , , .380 , , .941 , , 2.3 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 8.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 384 , , 191 , , 23.0 , , .442 , , .368 , , .823 , , 2.5 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .1 , , 9.6

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, align="left" ,

, 7 , , 7 , , 31.9 , , .464 , , .333 , , .818 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , 9.4 , - , align="left" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, align="left" ,

, 17 , , 3 , , 18.1 , , .418 , , .538 , , .875 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , 6.1 , - , align="left" ,

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 ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 5 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .333 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .4 , , .0 , , 3.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 29 , , 10 , , 21.0 , , .424 , , .444 , , .871 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , .2 , , .1 , , 6.4

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;", Cibona , 6 , , 4 , , 27.0 , , .232 , , .129 , , .788 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 10.3 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 17 , , 32.9 , , .528 , , .373 , , .808 , , 3.1 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 22.9 , , 20.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , 5 , , 3 , , 28.1 , , .353 , , .250 , , .842 , , 3.2 , , 1.2 , , 1.6 , , .0 , , 11.4 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , 10 , , 3 , , 21.2 , , .394 , , .367 , , .833 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .3 , , .0 , , 8.2 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 39 , , 27 , , 28.4 , , .446 , , .311 , , .810 , , 3.1 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .0 , , 15.7 , , 12.3

Notes

External links

*
Euroleague.net Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giricek, Gordan 1977 births Living people Croatian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States Croatian expatriate basketball people in Russia Croatian people of Czech descent Croatian men's basketball players Dallas Mavericks draft picks Fenerbahçe men's basketball players KK Cibona players Memphis Grizzlies players NBA players from Croatia Orlando Magic players PBC CSKA Moscow players Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns players Shooting guards Small forwards Basketball players from Zagreb Utah Jazz players