Marko Jarić ( sr-cyr, Марко Јарић, ; ; born 12 October 1978) is a Serbian 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 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in), he mainly played the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

position. He also represented the senior FR Yugoslavian national basketball team internationally. Jarić was an All-EuroLeague First Team member in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Early life

Jarić 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 ...

SR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

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 ...

, the son of Srećko Jarić, a well-known Yugoslav professional basketball player, who played as a

for Radnički Belgrade, and was regarded by

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

basketball coach Dušan Ivković as, the "biggest talent that he ever had under his charge". Jarić began playing basketball with the youth teams of the Serbian club

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 ...

Professional career

Europe

Jarić began his professional career with Radnički Belgrade in the 1995–96 season, before moving to

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 ...

club

Peristeri Peristeri (Greek language, Greek: Περιστέρι, meaning "pigeon/dove" in Greek) is a city and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. With 133,630 inhabitants (2021 census), ...

. With Peristeri, he played two seasons in the European-wide 3rd tier level

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...

. He then spent the next 4 seasons playing in Europe's top-tier level

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 ...

, with the Italian clubs Fortitudo Bologna and Virtus Bologna. He became the first player ever to win back-to-back Italian League championships, on two teams. He won the Italian League championship in 2000, with Fortitudo Bologna, and in 2001, with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

NBA

Jarić was selected as the 30th overall draft pick, by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

, in the 2000 NBA draft. After playing in 3

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 ...

seasons with the Clippers, he was traded to the

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 ...

, on 12 August 2005, along with Lionel Chalmers, by the Clippers, in exchange for

Sam Cassell Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in th ...

and a future first-round draft pick. He was traded to the Grizzlies, on 26 June 2008, in an eight-player deal, involving rookie

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 ...

O. J. Mayo, and rookie

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 ...

Kevin Love. For the

2009–10 NBA season The 2009–10 NBA season was the 64th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 1,230-game regular season (82 games for each of the 30 teams) began on October 27, 2009, and ended on April 14, 2010. The season ended with the Los Ang ...

, Jarić and the Memphis Grizzlies, mutually agreed that Jarić would not attend the team's training camp, or any of their preseason games. Jarić was granted permission to seek a new team, and a possible contract buyout, for the remaining 2 years and $15 million of his contract. Jarić's final NBA game was played on April 15, 2009, in a 98–90 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. In his final game, he played for 23 minutes and recorded 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals but no points.

Back to Europe

After securing his release from the

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 ...

, Jarić then signed with Spanish

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

club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, on 22 December 2009. On 14 January 2011, he signed with the Italian LBA club

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana Basketball Siena, also known as simply Mens Sana, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from spon ...

, through the end of the 2010–11 season.

NBA comeback attempt

In October 2012, Jarić signed with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. However, he was waived on 24 October. In September 2013, he signed with the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

. However, he was waived on 15 October. He then retired from playing professional basketball.

National team career

FR Yugoslavia junior national team

As a junior FR Yugoslavia national team player, Jarić won the gold medal at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship.

FR Yugoslavia senior national team

As a member of the senior FR Yugoslavia national basketball team, Jarić won gold medals at both the 2001 EuroBasket and the 2002 FIBA World Championship. He also played with them at the 2003 EuroBasket and the 2005 EuroBasket. He represented the senior Serbian national basketball team at the 2007 EuroBasket.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 66 , , 12 , , 20.9 , , .401 , , .319 , , .752 , , 2.4 , , 2.9 , , 1.5 , , .2 , , 7.4 , - , align="left" , 2003–04 , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 58 , , 50 , , 30.3 , , .388 , , .340 , , .733 , , 3.0 , , 4.8 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , 8.5 , - , align="left" , 2004–05 , align="left" , L.A. Clippers , 50 , , 41 , , 33.1 , , .414 , , .371 , , .720 , , 3.2 , , 6.1 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , 9.9 , - , align="left" , 2005–06 , 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 ...

, 75 , , 49 , , 28.0 , , .399 , , .301 , , .688 , , 3.1 , , 3.9 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" ,

, 70 , , 13 , , 22.2 , , .418 , , .376 , , .761 , , 2.6 , , 2.1 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

, 75 , , 56 , , 29.2 , , .430 , , .362 , , .742 , , 3.0 , , 4.1 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 8.3 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" , Memphis , 53 , , 0 , , 11.4 , , .331 , , .393 , , .707 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .2 , , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 447 , , 221 , , 25.2 , , .404 , , .344 , , .730 , , 2.7 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 7.1

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2000–01† , style="text-align:left;",

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, 22 , , 16 , , 28.7 , , .439 , , .309 , , .697 , , 3.0 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , .2 , , 10.4 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;",

, 21 , , 20 , , 28.2 , , .482 , , .268 , , .595 , , 4.3 , , 2.5 , , 2.2 , , .1 , , 13.4 , , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 10 , , 25.8 , , .378 , , .440 , , .682 , , 5.2 , , 1.7 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 7.1 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;", Montepaschi , 12 , , 3 , , 12.5 , , .433 , , .158 , , .750 , , 1.4 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , 5.1 , , 3.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 67 , , 49 , , 25.1 , , .448 , , .294 , , .656 , , 3.3 , , 2.1 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , 9.8 , , 10.0

Personal life

Jarić has an older sister named Tamara, and a younger brother named Nikola (b. 1987), who lives and plays basketball in Switzerland. On 12 June 2008, Jarić became engaged to Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima. The couple wed in

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...

, USA, on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

2009. They have two daughters. The couple announced their separation on 2 May 2014, after five years of marriage. The divorce was finalized in March 2016. Jarić also holds Greek citizenship, under the name Marko Latsis (

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 ...

: Μάρκο Λάτσης), which was the name he played basketball under in Greece.

References

nba.com 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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaric, Marko 1978 births Living people 2002 FIBA World Championship players FIBA EuroBasket–winning players FIBA World Championship–winning players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Greek men's basketball players Greek Basket League players Greek people of Serbian descent Naturalised basketball players KK Crvena zvezda (youth) players BKK Radnički players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Los Angeles Clippers players Memphis Grizzlies players Mens Sana Basket players Minnesota Timberwolves players NBA players from Serbia Naturalized citizens of Greece Peristeri B.C. players Point guards Real Madrid Baloncesto players Serbia men's national basketball team players Serbian men's basketball players Serbian expatriate basketball people in Greece Serbian expatriate basketball people in Italy Serbian expatriate basketball people in Spain Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Shooting guards Small forwards Basketball players from Belgrade Virtus Bologna players Yugoslav men's basketball players Serbia and Montenegro men's basketball players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Greece Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Italy Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in the United States Greek expatriate basketball people in Italy Greek expatriate basketball people in Spain Greek expatriate basketball people in the United States