Nenad Krstić ( sr-Cyrl, Ненад Крстић, born July 25, 1983) is a Serbian

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 player. Krstić represented and captained the Serbian national basketball team internationally. Standing at 2.12 m (7 ft 0 in), he played the center position. Krstić was an

NBA All-Rookie Second Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for play ...

member in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and a two-time All-Euroleague First Team selection in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Professional career

Partizan Belgrade

His first professional team was Partizan Belgrade where he spent four seasons, making his debut in 2000–01. In the 2003–04 season, his last with Partizan, he averaged 13.4 points per game 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 ...

. With Partizan, he also won three

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 ...

championships in a row, and one

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

championship in the 2001–02 season. On June 26, 2002, he was drafted with the 24th overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft by 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 ...

. However, he didn't join the Nets for two seasons, continuing to play with Partizan Belgrade.

New Jersey Nets

During the 2004–05 NBA season, Krstić logged an impressive rookie campaign for the New Jersey Nets, averaging 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.84 blocked shots per game. He was honored as part of the All-Rookie NBA second team. In his debut in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

against the

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

, Krstić averaged 18.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game; an exceptional performance for a rookie in the playoffs. This followed a greater trend where Krstić had consistently improved at a great pace as his rookie season progressed. He showed a wide skill set for a big man, including refined post moves and a shooting touch from eighteen feet. Throughout the 2005–06 season, Krstić's play had continued to rapidly improve. Three quarters of the way through the season, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 rebounds, and had become an integral part of the Nets offense. In the first round of the 2006 NBA playoffs against Indiana he averaged 18 points per game along with 7.1 rebounds. In 2006–07 despite the rough Nets start, Krstić was averaging career-highs in points (16.6), rebounds (6.8), and assists (1.8) before falling to the ground after tearing his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in his left knee versus the L.A. Lakers at Continental Airlines Arena on December 22, 2006. His surgery was successful. Krstić was out for the rest of the

2006–07 NBA season The 2006–07 NBA season was the 61st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The San Antonio Spurs were crowned the champions after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The first NBA draft und ...

, but returned ahead of schedule to start the 2007–08 NBA season. His 2007–08 season was a disappointment, as his injury disrupted his play and confidence on the court and he was largely a liability. Krstić later stated in his blog that he felt he let the team down, and vowed to return to his old form at the start of the 08–09 season.

Triumph Lyubertsy

During the 2008 summer off-season, Krstić entered negotiations with the Russian Super League team Triumph Lyubertsy and eventually signed a 2-year contract (with 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 ...

an opt-out option) worth €6 million euros

net income In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

with them on July 29, 2008. He averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in seven games in the Russian Super LeagueTriumph Center Nenad Krstic will play for NBA.
/ref>Триумф (Люберцы, Московская область) » СУММАРНАЯ СТАТИСТИКА.
and 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 6 games in the EuroChallenge.

Oklahoma City Thunder

On December 19, 2008, two NBA league sources told ESPN.com that the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

had agreed in principle to sign Krstić to a three-year offer sheet. On December 22, Krstić officially signed the offer sheet. The New Jersey Nets had seven days to match the offer, or Krstić would be free to join the Thunder. The Nets declined to match, and the Thunder waived Steven Hill to make room for Krstić. He played for the first time in a Thunder uniform on January 7, 2009, versus 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 ...

, scoring six points and blocking 2 shots in 16 minutes.

Boston Celtics

On February 24, 2011, Krstić was traded along with Jeff Green and a 2012 first-round pick to the

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), ...

for Kendrick Perkins and

Nate Robinson Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Seattle, Robinson played college basketball for the University of Washington in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the 2005 NBA draft. ...

. In his first game as a Celtic, he recorded 9 points and 6 rebounds in a win against 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 ...

on February 26. Krstić's final NBA game was on May 11, 2011, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the

. Boston would lose that game 87 - 97 (thus losing the series to Miami 4 - 1) with Krstić recording 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks.

CSKA Moscow

On June 22, 2011, Krstić signed a two-year contract with the Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow. Over the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, he averaged 14.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game in the

. That earned him his first selection for the All-Euroleague First Team. In the Euroleague Final against Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow lost by 61–62 after Georgios Printezis's

buzzer beater In timed sports, a buzzer beater is a successful shot made as the clock expires at the end of a period or at the end of the game, leaving zero seconds remaining. A buzzer sounds whenever a game clock expires, hence the name "buzzer beater." In b ...

in the last seconds of the game, securing his team second Euroleague championship in history. After a good season with CSKA Moscow, there were rumors that he was considering a return to the

. However, on July 10, 2012, Krstić signed a new two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, including a team's option to extend him for one more season. At the end of the 2012–13 Euroleague season, Krstić was included for the second-straight time in the All-Euroleague First Team. ;2013–14 season After slow start at the beginning of the 2013–2014 season, caused by some private problems he was having outside basketball, by the time he was improving his performances. In December 2013 it was revealed that he is a candidate for FIBA Europe Player of the Year. Eventually,

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket, LDLC ASVEL of the LNB Élite and the EuroLeague. The son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career ...

would go for the second straight award. In loss to his former club Partizan Belgrade, he played his best game of the season by scoring 27 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. He was named

MVP for month January, averaging fifth-highest 16.4 points, 6 rebounds and 21.6 in PIR. After beating Panathinaikos in the playoff series, CSKA Moscow lost in the semifinal of the Euroleague Final Four to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Shortly after failing to win the Euroleague for third straight year, the president of CSKA blamed Krstić and his Serbian teammate Miloš Teodosić for not putting enough effort over the season. Krstić finished his third Euroleague season with CSKA Moscow with the lowest averages of 9.6 points and 3.2 rebounds over 29 games. Shortly after the Final 4, CSKA was facing elimination in the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

from Lokomotiv Kuban, travelling by 2-0 without home advantage. Krstić helped CSKA eventually win the series after big comeback and advance to semifinals, answering to previous critics of the club's president. Eventually, CSKA won the VTB United League by sweeping

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

3–0 in the final series. In the late June, CSKA Moscow used option in his contract to part ways and allow him to sign with another team. In July 2014, weeks after signing with Anadolu Efes, he had an interview for '' Večernje novosti''. He stated that Ettore Messina, former coach of CSKA Moscow, was "killing him as a player", putting him to play at unnatural to him

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, which affected on his performances over the last two seasons with the club.

Anadolu Efes

On June 26, 2014, Krstić signed a two-year contract with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes. He came in the club just after Dušan Ivković was appointed as new head coach, with whom he worked in the national team for many years. ;2014–15 season On November 2, 2014, he fractured his left forearm, after flagrant foul by Mutlu Demir, in a game against Pınar Karşıyaka and was estimated to return in 6 to 8 weeks. He returned on the court on December 24, in a game against Darüşşafaka Doğuş and scored 2 points. As the season was reaching to an end, Anadolu Efes cemented second position of the regular season in the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

. However, they were stopped in the

after the quarter-final series 1–3 loss to the eventual champion

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 June 14, 2015, in a Game 3 of the Turkish League final series against Pınar Karşıyaka, he tore ACL on his right knee. The injury will keep him off-the-court for estimated 6 months. Over the season, he averaged 12.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 27 games played of the Turkish League. He also played in 19 Euroleague games, where he averaged 12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and a career-high 1.4 assists per game.

Galatasaray Odeabank

On June 30, 2016, Krstić signed with Turkish club Galatasaray Odeabank for the 2016–17 season. On September 9, 2016, he parted ways with Galatasaray.

National team career

Krstić played with the Serbia and Montenegro national team at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

and EuroBasket 2005. As captain of Serbian national team he played at the EuroBasket 2009, where he won the silver medal and 2010 FIBA World Championship, where he won the fourth place. In the following year, he played at the 2010 FIBA World Championship where Serbia was defeated 99–88 by

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in the game for the bronze medal. He represented the national team at the EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania where Serbia finished eighth and at the EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia where Serbia finished seventh and qualified for 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. At the World Cup in Spain, Serbian national team took the silver medal. Shortly after the final game of the tournament, he retired from the national team, after ten years of playing and six years of captaining.

Post-playing career

On August 22, 2019, Krstić was named a director of the youth national basketball teams at the Basketball Federation of Serbia (KSS). On December 14, 2020, Krstić was elected vice-president of the Basketball Federation of Serbia. After stepping down from his position at Basketball Federation of Serbia, Krstić was named the president of his hometown team KK Sloga Kraljevo.

Personal life

Krstić is married to his wife Tanja and has one daughter. Krstić, whose nickname is "Curly", was voted the third most eligible bachelor by Serbia's version of ''People'' magazine. On August 19, 2010, in a game against Greece for the Acropolis International Tournament 2010, he participated in a fight between players and threw a chair at Greek Ioannis Bourousis. That resulted in his spending the night at the police station, from where he was released the day after. He stated in his defence that he thought Bourousis was a fan when he threw the chair at him. In the same fight Krstić attacked Greek player Sofoklis Schortsanitis a number of times from behind. After the 2010 Serbia earthquake, Krstić and his

teammates donated $10,000 to help his hometown of

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-Cyrl, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of ...

, which was directly affected by the nearby calamity. Krstić owns and operates a

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 75 , , 57 , , 26.2 , , .493 , , .000 , , .725 , , 5.3 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .8 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 30.9 , , .507 , , .250 , , .698 , , 6.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .8 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 26 , , 32.6 , , .526 , , .000 , , .711 , , 6.8 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .9 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 45 , , 38 , , 18.0 , , .410 , , .000 , , .754 , , 4.4 , , .6 , , .2 , , .4 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, 46 , , 29 , , 24.8 , , .469 , , .000 , , .797 , , 5.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 76 , , 22.9 , , .502 , , .200 , , .717 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .4 , , .6 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 47 , , 47 , , 21.7 , , .498 , , .000 , , .803 , , 4.4 , , .4 , , .4 , , .4 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-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 ...

, 24 , , 20 , , 23.0 , , .537 , , .000 , , .750 , , 5.3 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 9.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 419 , , 373 , , 25.2 , , .494 , , .143 , , .730 , , 5.4 , , .8 , , .4 , , .7 , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 38.5 , , .563 , , .000 , , .792 , , 7.5 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .5 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 11 , , 33.3 , , .504 , , .000 , , .711 , , 6.8 , , .7 , , .5 , , .9 , , 14.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 21.5 , , .405 , , .000 , , .929 , , 5.8 , , .7 , , .5 , , .7 , , 7.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .625 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .0 , , .6 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 28 , , 21 , , 25.2 , , .505 , , .000 , , .767 , , 5.4 , , .8 , , .3 , , .7 , , 10.4

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3, Partizan , 13 , , 8 , , 19.7 , , .385 , , .000 , , .595 , , 4.4 , , .2 , , .5 , , .6 , , 4.8 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , 10 , , 7 , , 30.1 , , .489 , , .000 , , .717 , , 6.2 , , .9 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 12.8 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , 9 , , 7 , , 24.8 , , .600 , , .000 , , .721 , , 2.9 , , .6 , , .2 , , 1.0 , , 13.4 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3, CSKA Moscow , 22 , , 18 , , 24.5 , , .629 , , .000 , , .786 , , 5.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , .5 , , 14.2 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , 29 , , 7 , , 23.4 , , .613 , , 1.000 , , .738 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .7 , , 13.0 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 29 , , 15 , , 19.4 , , .502 , , .600 , , .630 , , 3.2 , , .8 , , .3 , , .6 , , 9.6 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;", Anadolu Efes , 19 , , 10 , , 21.5 , , .571 , , .000 , , .808 , , 5.1 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .5 , , 12.8 , , 17.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 131 , , 72 , , 22.7 , , .560 , , .500 , , .732 , , 4.5 , , .8 , , .4 , , .6 , , 11.6 , , 13.9

Professional career

Partizan Belgrade

New Jersey Nets

Triumph Lyubertsy

Oklahoma City Thunder

Boston Celtics

CSKA Moscow

Anadolu Efes

Galatasaray Odeabank

National team career

Post-playing career

Personal life

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

Euroleague

See also

References

External links