Toni Kukoč (; born September 18, 1968) 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 who serves as Special Advisor to

Jerry Reinsdorf Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is an American sports executive and businessman who is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Re ...

, the owner of 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 ...

. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of the first established European stars to play in 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). Kukoč played for four NBA teams between 1993 and 2006, winning the

NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year (colloquially known as the 6MOY) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming ...

in 1996. He is a three-time NBA champion, having won championships with the Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Nicknamed "The Waiter” & “the Croatian Sensation," Kukoč is renowned for his versatility and passing ability. Although his natural position was

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 ...

, the Kukoč played multiple positions and demonstrated court vision and an outside shooting touch that were seldom found in players of his height. He also enjoyed success in international play, winning Olympic silver medals in 1988 (playing for Yugoslavia) and 1992 (playing for Croatia). Kukoč and Vassilis Spanoulis are the only players in history to receive the EuroLeague Final Four MVP honor on three occasions. He was elected to the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

in 2017 and the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 2021. In 2023, he was selected to be in the inaugural class of the Chicago Bulls' Ring of Honor.

Early life

Kukoč grew up as a youth in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

, Croatia. His father was devoted to athletics, having played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

in a lower ranked local club. Possessing excellent

motor skill A motor skill is a function that involves specific movements of the motor system, body's muscles to perform a certain task. These tasks could include walking, running, or riding a bike. In order to perform this skill, the body's nervous system, m ...

s, young Toni grew up participating in different sports, including

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

and football. He especially excelled in table tennis as an adolescent, winning different youth category titles. He soon switched to basketball as his sport of choice.

Professional career

Europe

Kukoč began playing for his home town club, KK Jugoplastika, at the age of 17. He achieved significant success during his time with the club, winning the prestigious

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 ...

as the team recorded three winning year seasons consecutively (1989–1991). His team won the Triple Crown in 1990 and 1991. Kukoč was awarded as the EuroLeague Final Four MVP both times. Afterwards, he played for Benetton Treviso and won the Italian League championship in 1992 and the

Italian Cup Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

in 1993. He also played in the EuroLeague final in 1993, winning the EuroLeague Final Four MVP once again. He was nicknamed "the White Magic", "the Spider from Split", "the Pink Panther", "the Waiter", "Euro Magic", and "the Croatian Sensation". Throughout the 1990s, he won several European Basketball Player of the Year Awards.

Chicago Bulls

After being drafted by the NBA's

in 1990, Kukoč continued to play in Europe, until finally reporting to the Bulls in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, when the team had just finished its first three-peat and had lost

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

to retirement. Although disappointed that he could not play with Jordan, Kukoč made his NBA debut on November 5, 1993. The Kukoč came off the bench in 1993–94 behind

Scottie Pippen and

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 ...

Horace Grant. On January 21, 1994, in a game against the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year career in the National Basketball Assoc ...

made a mid-range jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining to give the Pacers a 95–93 lead. Scottie Pippen inbounded the ball to Kukoc, who hit a three-point jumper at the buzzer to give the Bulls the win, 96–95. Kukoč put up a solid rookie season, averaging double-digit scoring and earning a berth on the

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 ...

. On May 13, 1994, at the end of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bulls and the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

were tied at 102 with 1.8 seconds left. Bulls coach Phil Jackson designed the last play for Kukoč, with Scottie Pippen charged with inbounding the basketball. Pippen was so angered by Jackson's decision to not let him take the potential game-winner that he refused to leave the bench and re-enter the game when the timeout was over. Kukoč did hit the game-winner, a 23-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, though the Bulls eventually lost the series in seven games. After Grant left in the offseason, Kukoč moved into the starting lineup and finished the 1994–95 season second on the Bulls in scoring, rebounds and assists, behind Pippen. Furthermore, Michael Jordan would return to the Bulls in March, fulfilling Kukoč's wish to play alongside him. For the 1995–96 season, the Bulls were bolstered by both Jordan's return to full form and the offseason acquisition of exceptional rebounder

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Renowned for his defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forw ...

. With Pippen still at small forward, coach Phil Jackson saw it best to have Kukoč continue to be a bench player. Kukoč was third on the team in scoring (behind Jordan and Pippen) and was rewarded for his efforts with the

. He also assisted the Bulls to a 25-game turnaround and the best record in league history at the time at 72–10 (later surpassed by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors), as well as the fourth championship in team history. Kukoč was the 4th and is currently the last player to win the

and the NBA title in the same year having joined Kevin McHale,

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American basketball player and television Sports commentator, sportscaster. He played college basketball, collegiately for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins an ...

, and Bobby Jones in accomplishing that feat. In 1997 NBA Finals, the Bulls defeated the

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 ...

in six games, during which at the end of Game 6, Kukoč received the ball from Scottie Pippen and sealed the victory with a dunk to make the score 90–86 with just 0.6 seconds left. A year later, the Bulls defeated the Jazz again in the 1998 NBA Finals. In both series, Kukoč came off the bench as the sixth man, and was the team's leading scorer off the bench.

Career ending and retirement

During the 1998–99 offseason, Jordan retired, Pippen was traded to the

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

, and Jackson's contract expired and took a break from coaching, effectively breaking up the Bulls' dynasty. Kukoč was the highest-scoring player from the Bulls' previous season that remained with the team. Toni Kukoc

In the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, he led the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists. On February 16, 2000 as Chicago continued their rebuilding scheme, Kukoč was traded to 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 ...

in a three-team deal involving the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

that sent Bruce Bowen, John Starks and a 2000 first-round pick to the Bulls. The following season, he was dealt to the

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

, along with

Nazr Mohammed Nazr Tahiru Mohammed ( ; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current ...

, Pepe Sánchez, and

Theo Ratliff Theophalus Curtis Ratliff (born April 17, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Born in Alabama, Ratliff played for and graduated from the University of Wyo ...

, in a blockbuster deal that sent

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

and Roshown McLeod to the 76ers. After a short stint with the Hawks, he was traded to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, along with Leon Smith, in a deal for Glenn Robinson. During the 2003 NBA Playoffs, Kukoč averaged postseason career-highs of 14.8 points and 2.2 steals per game during a six game first round loss to the eventual Eastern Conference champion

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 ...

. On September 12, 2006, Kukoč announced that he would retire from professional basketball if he could not be signed by either the

or the

for 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 ...

. Although various NBA teams had shown interest in his services, Kukoč expressed a desire to be close to his residence in the city of

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in southeastern Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipali ...

National team career

Yugoslavia

Kukoč was on the junior Yugoslavian Under-19 national team that won the 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, where he was named the tournament MVP. He was also on the senior men's Yugoslavian national team that got the silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. He was named the MVP of the

1990 FIBA World Championship The 1990 FIBA World Championship was the 11th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Argentina from 8 to 19 August 1990. The final phase of the competition was held at t ...

, where he also won a gold medal. With Yugoslavia, he also won the gold medals at the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and 1991 EuroBaskets, as well as the 1990 Goodwill Games. He was also named the MVP of the 1991 EuroBasket tournament.

Croatia

Kukoč went on to win a silver medal with

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 ...

at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. He also won bronze medals at both the 1994 FIBA World Championship in Canada and at the 1995 EuroBasket in Greece.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 75 , , 8 , , 24.1 , , .431 , , .271 , , .743 , , 4.0 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 55 , , 31.9 , , .504 , , .313 , , .748 , , 5.4 , , 4.6 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 20 , , 26.0 , , .490 , , .403 , , .772 , , 4.0 , , 3.5 , , .8 , , .3 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 15 , , 28.2 , , .471 , , .331 , , .770 , , 4.6 , , 4.5 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 13.2 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , 52 , , 30.2 , , .455 , , .362 , , .708 , , 4.4 , , 4.2 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 44 , , 44 , , 37.6 , , .420 , , .285 , , .740 , , 7.0 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 23 , , 36.2 , , .381 , , .231 , , .761 , , 5.4 , , 5.2 , , 1.8 , , .8 , , 18.0 , - , style="text-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 ...

, 32 , , 8 , , 28.6 , , .438 , , .289 , , .673 , , 4.5 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 48 , , 5 , , 20.4 , , .458 , , .410 , , .591 , , 3.4 , , 1.9 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 17 , , 14 , , 36.4 , , .492 , , .481 , , .681 , , 5.7 , , 6.2 , , .8 , , .3 , , 19.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 9 , , 25.3 , , .419 , , .310 , , .712 , , 3.7 , , 3.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, 63 , , 0 , , 27.0 , , .432 , , .361 , , .706 , , 4.2 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , 11.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 0 , , 20.8 , , .417 , , .292 , , .729 , , 3.7 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , .3 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 53 , , 6 , , 20.7 , , .410 , , .362 , , .721 , , 3.0 , , 3.0 , , .7 , , .2 , , 5.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 0 , , 15.7 , , .389 , , .306 , , .714 , , 2.3 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , 4.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 846 , , 259 , , 26.3 , , .447 , , .335 , , .729 , , 4.2 , , 3.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 11.6

Playoffs

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

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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

, 10 , , 0 , , 19.4 , , .448 , , .421 , , .735 , , 4.0 , , 3.6 , , .5 , , .3 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

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

, 10 , , 10 , , 37.2 , , .477 , , .438 , , .692 , , 6.8 , , 5.7 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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

, 15 , , 5 , , 29.3 , , .391 , , .191 , , .838 , , 4.2 , , 3.9 , , .9 , , .3 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

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

, 19 , , 0 , , 22.3 , , .360 , , .358 , , .707 , , 2.8 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

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

, 21 , , 17 , , 30.3 , , .486 , , .377 , , .645 , , 3.9 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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

, 10 , , 0 , , 25.7 , , .419 , , .324 , , .588 , , 3.1 , , 1.7 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-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 ...

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

, 6 , , 0 , , 30.7 , , .492 , , .379 , , .700 , , 4.2 , , 3.7 , , 2.2 , , .2 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

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

, 5 , , 0 , , 21.0 , , .500 , , .333 , , .500 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 8.4 , - , 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;",

, 3 , , 0 , , 17.7 , , .571 , , .625 , , .500 , , 1.7 , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .0 , , 7.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 99 , , 32 , , 26.9 , , .440 , , .342 , , .697 , , 3.9 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 10.7

Personal life

Kukoč and his wife, Renata, purchased their Highland Park home, just after arriving in

, in 1993. They are both American citizens. After undergoing hip replacement surgery in 2009, he now plays at least one round of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

daily, and won Croatia's national amateur golf championship in 2011. His son, Marin, played for Highland Park High School's varsity

team, and then enrolled at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. His daughter, Stela, played college volleyball at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

Awards and accomplishments

Jugoplastika

* 3× EuroLeague champion: (

–

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

) * 4× National Championship of Yugoslavia champion: (1988–1991) * 2×

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

winner: (1990–1991) * 2× Triple Crown winner: (1990–1991)

Benetton Treviso

* Italian League champion: (1992) *

winner: (1993)

Chicago Bulls

* 3× NBA champion: (–) * 3× Eastern Conference champion: (–) * 3× Central Division champion: (–)

National team

Yugoslavia

* 1985 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship: *

1986 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 1986 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation o ...

: * 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Cup: * EuroBasket 1987: *

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

: * EuroBasket 1989: * 1990 Goodwill Games: *

: * EuroBasket 1991:

Croatia

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

: * 1994 FIBA World Championship: * EuroBasket 1995:

Individual

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

* 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Cup:

* 3× Croatian Sportsman of the Year: (1989–1991) * FIBA World Cup All-Tournament Team: (

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

) * FIBA World Cup MVP: (

) * 5× Euroscar European Player of the Year: (1990–1991, 1994, 1996, 1998) * 4× Mister Europa European Player of the Year: (1990–1992, 1996) * 3× EuroLeague Final Four MVP: (

) * EuroLeague Finals Top Scorer: (1990) * 2× EuroLeague All-Final Four Team: (1991, 1993) * 2× FIBA European Selection: ( 1991 I, 1991 II) * 2×

FIBA EuroBasket All-Tournament Team The FIBA EuroBasket All-Tournament Team, or FIBA EuroBasket All-Star Five, is the FIBA Europe award that is bestowed upon the five best players of each FIBA EuroBasket tournament. Pau Gasol holds the record for the most selections in the All ...

: (

) * FIBA EuroBasket MVP: (

) * FIBA's 50 Greatest Players: (1991) * Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport: (1992) *

: () * NBA Sixth Man of the Year: () *

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural s ...

: (2008) *

: (2017) *

: (2021)
All-Time NBA European Second Team
(2022)

Filmography

* '' Once Brothers'' (2010) * '' 250 Steps'' (2017) * '' The Last Dance'' (2020)
The Waiter - A Toni Kukoc Story
(2021)

References

External links

at Basketball-Reference.com

at FIBA.com (archive)

at FIBAEurope.com
Toni Kukoč
at LegaBasket.it
EuroLeague & International StatisticsToni Kukoč
at NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kukoc, Toni 1968 births Living people 1990 FIBA World Championship players 1994 FIBA World Championship players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Basketball players from Split, Croatia Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games Croatian emigrants to the United States Croatian expatriate basketball people in Italy Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States Croatian men's basketball players Euroscar award winners FIBA EuroBasket–winning players FIBA Hall of Fame inductees FIBA World Championship–winning players Goodwill Games gold medalists Goodwill Games medalists in basketball KK Split players Lega Basket Serie A players Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Milwaukee Bucks players NBA players from Croatia Olympic basketball players for Yugoslavia Olympic silver medalists for Croatia in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Pallacanestro Treviso players Sportspeople from Highland Park, Illinois Naturalized citizens of the United States Philadelphia 76ers players Small forwards Yugoslav men's basketball players