Nikola Peković (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Никола Пековић; born 3 January 1986) is a Montenegrin businessman,

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 who is the current president of the

Basketball Federation of Montenegro The Basketball Federation of Montenegro (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: Košarkaški Savez Crne Gore, KSCG / Кошаркашки Савез Црне Горе, КСЦГ), is the governing body of basketball in Montenegro. It operates the top ...

. He began his playing career in Europe before spending seven years with 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 ...

of the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA). Standing at , he played at the center position. A two-time All-EuroLeague selection, he represented the senior Montenegrin national basketball team.

Professional career

Early years

Peković began playing basketball with a junior team from

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

at the age of 15. In 2003, he moved to

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 ...

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 ...

and signed his first professional contract with

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during the summer.

Partizan (2005–2008)

After two years there, Peković joined the national champions Partizan in July 2005. With Black and Whites, he won three consecutive Basketball League of Serbia titles, two Adriatic League and Radivoj Korać Cup titles. Peković was named the MVP of the Adriatic League Final Four in 2008. The same year, he also earned an All-Euroleague Second Team selection for leading Partizan to the competition's quarterfinals.

Panathinaikos (2008–2010)

In the summer of 2008, Peković joined the Greek champions Panathinaikos. He signed a three-year contract worth

€ 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 ...

4.5 million

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. He averaged 13.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in just over 18 minutes per contest, helping Panathinaikos win the

2008–09 EuroLeague The 2008–09 Euroleague was the 9th season of the professional basketball competition for elite clubs throughout Europe, organised by Euroleague Basketball Company, and it was the 52nd season of the premier competition for European men's clubs ...

title. Peković consequently established himself as one of Europe's elite centers, being voted to the All-EuroLeague First Team. With PAO, he also won two Greek League titles and the 2009

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 ...

Minnesota Timberwolves (2010–2017)

Peković was selected with the 31st overall pick in the

2008 NBA draft The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008, at the The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this NBA draft, draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took t ...

by the

. Many draft experts considered him a top 10 pick, but due to his contract situation with his team in Europe, he was selected much lower. He was considered a lock to be drafted with the first pick of the second round because players selected in the second round are not subject to the rookie scale contracts of the first round. This meant that the team that drafted him would be able to pay him more than those players selected later in the first round. Due to the amount of money Peković was making in Europe already, he likely would not have made the jump to the NBA for the amount of money that could be paid to a late first round player.

Rookie season (2010–2011)

On 30 June 2010, two years after being drafted, Peković signed a three-year, $13 million contract with the Timberwolves. As a rookie in the NBA in 2010–11, Peković averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. On 16 August 2011, Peković signed a contract to play for his former team Partizan until the end of the 2011 NBA lockout. In 7 Euroleague games with Partizan, he led the team averaging 15.4 points and 4.6 rebounds. As the NBA lockout ended on 8 December 2011, he had to return to the United States.

Rise to prominence (2011–2014)

The 2011–12 shortened NBA season started on 25 December 2011. Upon returning to Minnesota, through January 2012, Peković stepped in for an injured Darko Miličić as the starting center for the Timberwolves. He finished the 2011–12 season with 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game. In voting for the Most Improved Player, Peković finished third behind Orlando's Ryan Anderson and Milwaukee's Ersan İlyasova. During the 2012–13 NBA season, Peković cemented his position of starting center and with team's superstar Kevin Love, led the Timberwolves frontcourt. With 31–51 record, it was the first season since

Kevin Garnett Kevin Maurice Garnett ( ; born May 19, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Ticket," Garnett is considered one of the greatest power f ...

's departure that the Timberwolves won more than 30 regular season games. Peković averaged 16.3 points and career-high 8.8 rebounds per game. On 14 August 2013, Peković re-signed with the Timberwolves to a five-year, $60 million deal. On 27 January 2014, he suffered an ankle injury that hindered him for the rest of the season; he played only 10 games until the end of the season. The 2013–14 season for the Timberwolves was even more successful than previous as they managed to win 40 games. Over the season, Peković averaged a career-high 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds over 54 regular season games. In August 2014, the Timberwolves traded Love in a three-team trade receiving Andrew Wiggins, starting the new era of the franchise.

Injury-plagued seasons (2014–2017)

During the 2014–15 season, Peković managed to play only 31 games due to a right ankle injury, averaging 12.5 points per game. On 8 April 2015, Peković had surgery on his right Achilles tendon in hopes of addressing the pain in his bothersome right foot. The departure of Love, Peković's absence from the court and other factors resulted in the worst league record of 16–66 for the Timberwolves. Eventually the Timberwolves won the draft lottery and selected Karl-Anthony Towns with the first overall pick, strengthening their core of young talented players in Wiggins and Zach LaVine. Entering his third season of a new contract, Peković was still enduring chronically sore ankles and Achilles. He made his season debut for the Timberwolves on 6 January 2016, playing for the first time since 11 March 2015. In 16 minutes of action off the bench, he scored 12 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. Over the season, he appeared in just 12 games, averaging career lows of 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. On 25 September 2016, Peković was ruled out for the entire 2016–17 season due to recurring right ankle pain. At the time, it appeared unlikely Peković would ever return to the court with the Timberwolves. On 20 June 2017, following the conclusion of the 2016–17 season, Peković was waived by the Timberwolves.

National team career

Serbia and Montenegro junior national team

While playing with the youth national teams of Serbia and Montenegro, Peković received the bronze medal at the

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 ...

European Under-20 Championship, in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He also won the gold medal with his generation at the 2006 tournament, which was held in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Montenegro national team

Peković represented the senior Montenegrin national team at the EuroBasket 2011, which was held in Lithuania. Over 5 tournament games, he averaged 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, as Montenegro finished the tournament after being eliminated after the first phase.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , align="left" , , 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 ...

, 65 , , 11 , , 13.6 , , .517 , , .000 , , .763 , , 3.0 , , .4 , , .3 , , .5 , , 5.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 47 , , 35 , , 26.9 , , .564 , , .000 , , .743 , , 7.4 , , .7 , , .6 , , .7 , , 13.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 62 , , 62 , , 31.6 , , .520 , , .000 , , .744 , , 8.8 , , .9 , , .7 , , .8 , , 16.3 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 54 , , 54 , , 30.8 , , .541 , , .000 , , .747 , , 8.7 , , .9 , , .6 , , .4 , , 17.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 31 , , 29 , , 26.3 , , .424 , , .000 , , .837 , , 7.5 , , .9 , , .6 , , .4 , , 12.5 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 12 , , 3 , , 13.0 , , .380 , , .000 , , .800 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .1 , , .0 , , 4.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 271 , , 194 , , 24.9 , , .518 , , .000 , , .760 , , 6.7 , , .7 , , .5 , , .6 , , 12.6

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3", Partizan , 14 , , 2 , , 18.0 , , .574 , , .000 , , .677 , , 3.6 , , .3 , , .5 , , .4 , , 7.1 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 20 , , 3 , , 13.5 , , .593 , , .000 , , .714 , , 2.5 , , .2 , , .6 , , .3 , , 4.8 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 23 , , 14 , , 26.5 , , .584 , , .000 , , .773 , , 6.9 , , .8 , , .7 , , .6 , , 16.4 , , 19.6 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2008–09† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Panathinaikos , 21 , , 9 , , 18.1 , , .634 , , .000 , , .775 , , 3.8 , , .3 , , .3 , , .7 , , 13.0 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 13 , , 10 , , 21.6 , , .607 , , .000 , , .727 , , 3.5 , , .5 , , .6 , , .4 , , 14.8 , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Partizan , 7 , , 7 , , 27.2 , , .549 , , .000 , , .811 , , 4.6 , , .7 , , .3 , , .3 , , 15.4 , , 16.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 98 , , 45 , , 20.5 , , .594 , , .000 , , .757 , , 4.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , .5 , , 11.7 , , 12.3

Executive career

KK Partizan

In September 2015, Peković accepted an offer by the

KK Partizan Košarkaški klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Партизан, lit=Basketball Club Partizan), commonly known as Partizan Belgrade, or as Partizan Mozzart Bet for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball Sports cl ...

board of directors of becoming the club's new president, following the late August 2015 resignation of Sasha Danilović. Soon after taking the position, he hired Petar Božić to be the club's new

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, thus not offering

Duško Vujošević Duško Vujošević ( sr-Cyrl, Душко Вујошевић; born 3 March 1959) is a Serbian former basketball Coach (basketball), coach. He is currently active as coach consultant of the Montenegrin ABA League club KK Studentski centar, Studen ...

a new contract. On 14 June 2017, he resigned from the position.

Montenegrin Basketball Federation (KSCG)

In January 2020, Peković became a team manager for the

Montenegro national basketball team The Montenegro men's national basketball team () represents Montenegro in international basketball tournaments. The supervising body is the Basketball Federation of Montenegro. Montenegro joined FIBA in 2006, following the restoration of 2006 ...

, while on 26 April 2020 he was named the president of the

. Few hours prior to being named on this position, Peković met with

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Dritan Abazović, with the two holding a meeting about the future of basketball in Montenegro. In June 2022,

Zlatibor Zlatibor ( sr-cyr, Златибoр ) is a List of mountains of Serbia, mountainous region in western Serbia. Among the most popular places in Serbia for tourism, Zlatibor's main attractions include health tourism, skiing, and hiking and the lo ...

added Peković as a member of their managing board.

Personal life

Peković is an ethnic Serb and a Serbian Orthodox Christian. He spends his off-seasons in Serbia, (particularly in

), where he has built an apartment house, as well as in

. He has several Serb-themed tattoos, including the

Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad I. It was one of the largest battles of the Late Middl ...

and the Serbian cross. Peković is connected to several underworld figures, most notably Montenegrin drug lord Darko Šarić who has been held in custody since 2011. Peković has numerous business investments with Šarić in Serbia and Montenegro. In October 2018, Peković took over a 1.15-million-euro debt from Šarić's brother. On 10 October 2020, Peković was reported to have been hospitalized after being infected by

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

References

External links

Nikola Peković
at aba-league.com
Nikola Peković
at euroleague.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pekovic, Nikola 1986 births Living people ABA League players Basketball executives Centers (basketball) Greek Basket League players KK Avala Ada players KK Beopetrol/Atlas Beograd players KK Partizan players KK Partizan presidents Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Minnesota Timberwolves players Montenegrin businesspeople Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in Greece Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in Serbia Montenegrin expatriate basketball people in the United States Montenegrin men's basketball players 21st-century Montenegrin sportsmen NBA players from Montenegro Panathinaikos B.C. players Serbia and Montenegro men's basketball players Serbs of Montenegro Sportspeople from Bijelo Polje