Igor Rakočević ( sr-cyrl, Игор Ракочевић; born 29 March 1978) is a Serbian professional

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 player. At a height of 1.94 m (6'4 ") tall, he played at both the point guard and shooting guard positions, but he spent the vast majority of his career playing as a shooting guard. During his playing career, Rakočević was a two-time

All-EuroLeague 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 hono ...

member, and a three-time Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy winner. He was also a member of the senior FR Yugoslavian national team, which was eventually renamed the Serbian and Montenegrin national team. With FR Yugoslavia, he won gold medals at both the 2001 FIBA EuroBasket and the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation i ...

Professional career

Early years

Rakočević played with Crvena zvezda and Budućnost before going to the

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

. With Crvena zvezda, he won 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 ...

championship in the 1997–98 season, and finished second in the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

in the same season. In 2000, after getting drafted in the NBA, he signed a three-year contract with KK Budućnost, with an NBA exit clause along with a set transfer fee should he decide to exercise the clause.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Rakočević was selected by 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 ...

, in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft. He did not play in the

, until the

2002–03 NBA season The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the 2003 NBA Finals. This would be Michael Jordan's last season in the NBA ...

, in which he totaled 244 minutes of playing time, in 42 games played, and averaged 1.9 points, 0.8 assists, and 0.4 rebounds per game. He was released after the season, and signed by 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 league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

, who also released him shortly after. The 2002 - 2003 season ended up being his only season in the NBA, with his final game being a 97 - 78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on April 6th, 2003. In his final game, Rakočević played for 1 minute and recorded 1 assist and no other stats.

Back to Europe

In October 2003, Rakočević returned to Europe, and signed with Crvena zvezda, where he was the top scorer of the Adriatic League. He was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and best player of Crvena zvezda in that 2003–04 season. He continued his career in Spain, where he played with

Pamesa Valencia Valencia Basket Club S.A.D., commonly known as Valencia Basket (), is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, with home games played at the Fuente de San Luis. The club is spons ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

and Tau Cerámica. In the EuroLeague 2006–07 season, he won the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy. He was also selected to the All-EuroLeague Second Team of that year's competition. With TAU Cerámica, Rakočević won the Spanish Supercup title in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Spanish King's Cup title in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, and the

Spanish ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

championship in 2008. He also won another Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy with TAU, in 2009. In June 2009, he signed a three-year contract with the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

club Efes Pilsen. While playing with Efes, he also won the 2011 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. In June 2011, he left Efes. In October 2011, Rakočević signed with the Italian League club Montepaschi Siena, for the 2011–12 season. On 9 August 2012, he signed a two-year contract with Crvena zvezda, which began his third stint with that team. In July 2013, Rakočević decided not to play for Crvena zvezda in the following season, and he made the statement that he would play abroad for one more season, or would retire, and become the sports director of the team.

National team career

Rakočević made his debut with the senior FR Yugoslavian national team at the

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. After that, he played at the

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a b ...

, in Turkey (where he won a gold medal), and at the

2005 EuroBasket 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 ...

, in

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

. He was a member of the FR Yugoslavia team that became the FIBA World Champions in Indianapolis, at the

, and he was the

of the Serbia and Montenegro national team in Japan, at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised ...

. He also played at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.

Post-playing career

In February 2015, Rakočević was elected as the vice-president of the Basketball Federation of Serbia, and put in charge of men's basketball. In December 2020, he was not sought for re-election. Rakočević was elected on 5-year term as a member of the Assembly of the

KK Crvena zvezda Košarkaški klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Црвена звезда, ), commonly referred to as KK Crvena zvezda mts for sponsorship reasons or simply Crvena zvezda, is a men's professional basketball club based i ...

on 27 December 2021.

Personal life

Rakočević is the son of former Serbian basketball player Goran Rakočević, who played at the point guard position with Crvena zvezda. Since retiring from professional basketball, Rakočević has taken up

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

and in December 2021 was promoted to black belt in the art after a little over nine years of training.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Budućnost , 11 , , 10 , , 29.8 , , .417 , , .222 , , .653 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , 12.9 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , 14 , , 12 , , 29.6 , , .480 , , .345 , , .655 , , 1.6 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 17.7 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 9 , , 27.2 , , .443 , , .402 , , .893 , , 2.9 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , 14.8 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3, TAU Cerámica , 22 , , 20 , , 27.2 , , .492 , , .475 , , .843 , , 2.4 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 16.2 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 22 , , 22 , , 27.8 , , .465 , , .396 , , .837 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .0 , , 14.9 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 21 , , 21 , , 26.5 , , .460 , , .398 , , .895 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 18.0 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, Efes Pilsen , 16 , , 5 , , 20.1 , , .353 , , .286 , , .833 , , 1.7 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , .0 , , 10.0 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , 14 , , 14 , , 29.9 , , .457 , , .435 , , .877 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .0 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 17.2 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Montepaschi , 19 , , 5 , , 19.7 , , .399 , , .455 , , .780 , , 1.9 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 9.4 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 159 , , 118 , , 26.3 , , .449 , , .384 , , .816 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , 14.6 , , 12.8

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, 42 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .379 , , .417 , , .806 , , .4 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 42 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .379 , , .417 , , .806 , , .4 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.9

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career

;Crvena zvezda Belgrade * FR Yugoslav League (1): 1998 * Serbian Radivoj Korać Cup (2): 2004, 2013 ;Budućnost Podgorica * FR Yugoslav League (1): 2001 * FR Yugoslav Cup (1): 2001 ;Valencia Basket * Valencian League (1): 2005 ;Real Madrid * Community of Madrid Tournament (1): 2006 ;TAU Cerámica * Spanish League (1): 2008 *

Spanish Cup The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

(1): 2009 * Spanish Supercup (3): 2006, 2007, 2008 ;Efes Istanbul *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup (Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known as ...

(2): 2009, 2010 ;Montepaschi Siena * Italian League (1): 2012 * Italian Cup (1): 2012

Individual

* FR Yugoslavian League Most Improved Player: (1998) *

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mac ...

Final Four Top Scorer: (2004) * Adriatic League Top Scorer: (2004) *

3 Point Shootout Champion: (2007–08) * 3× Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, 2011 * All-EuroLeague Second Team: (2007) * All-EuroLeague First Team: (2009) * Spanish League Top Scorer: (2009) * All-Spanish League Team: (2009)

FR Yugoslavian junior national team

1996 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 1996 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in France in 1996. Final ranking 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Awards External linksFIBA Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:FIBA ...

: * 1997

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of internationa ...

* 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Cup: *

1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 1998 European Championship for Men '22 and Under') was the fourth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Trapani, in Italy, hosted the tournament. Yugoslavia ...

: *

: MVP

FR Yugoslavian senior national team

1997 Mediterranean Games The XIII Mediterranean Games, commonly known as the 1997 Mediterranean Games, were the 13th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Bari, Italy, from 13 to 25 June 1997, where 2,956 athletes (2,166 men and 790 women) from 21 country, countrie ...

: *