Igor Rakočević

Igor Rakočević (Serbian Cyrillic: Игор Ракочевић; born 29 March 1978) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player.

Igor Rakočević
Rakočević playing with Crvena zvezda in 2013.
Personal information
Born (1978-03-29) 29 March 1978
Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
NationalitySerbian
Listed height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight86 kg (190 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2000: 2nd round, 51st overall pick
Selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves
Playing career1994–2013
PositionShooting guard
Number6, 7, 8, 11, 36
Career history
1994–2000Crvena zvezda
2000–2002Budućnost
2002–2003Minnesota Timberwolves
2003–2004Crvena zvezda
2004–2005Valencia
2005–2006Real Madrid
2006–2009TAU Cerámica
2009–2011Efes Pilsen
2011–2012Siena
2012–2013Crvena zvezda
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing Federal Republic of Yugoslavia FR Yugoslavia
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2002 Indianapolis
EuroBasket
Gold medal – first place 2001 Turkey
Mediterranean Games
Bronze medal – third place1997 Bari
'22 & under' World Championship
Bronze medal – third place1997 AustraliaUnder-21 Team
'22 & under' European Championship
Gold medal – first place1998 ItalyUnder-20 Team
European Championship for Juniors
Bronze medal – third place1996 FranceUnder-18 Team

At a height of 1.94 m (6'4 1⁄2") tall,[1] 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 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.

Professional career

Early years

Rakočević played with Crvena zvezda and Budućnost before going to the NBA. With Crvena zvezda, he won the YUBA League championship in the 1997–98 season, and finished second in the FIBA Korać Cup 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, in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2000 NBA draft.[2] He did not play in the NBA, until the 2002–03 NBA season, 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, 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 6, 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,[3] where he was the top scorer of the Adriatic League. He was the captain and best player of Crvena zvezda in that 2003–04 season.

He continued his career in Spain, where he played with Pamesa Valencia, Real Madrid and Tau Cerámica. In the EuroLeague 2006–07 season, he won the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy.[4] He was also selected to the All-EuroLeague Second Team of that year's competition.[5] With TAU Cerámica, Rakočević won the Spanish Supercup title in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Spanish King's Cup title in 2009, and the Spanish ACB League 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 club Efes Pilsen.[6][7] While playing with Efes, he also won the 2011 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy.[8][9] In June 2011, he left Efes.[10]

In October 2011, Rakočević signed with the Italian League club Montepaschi Siena, for the 2011–12 season.[11]

On 9 August 2012, he signed a two-year contract with Crvena zvezda, which began his third stint with that team.[12][13] 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.[14][15]

National team career

Rakočević made his debut with the senior FR Yugoslavian national team at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. After that, he played at the 2001 EuroBasket, in Turkey (where he won a gold medal), and at the 2005 EuroBasket, in Serbia and Montenegro. He was a member of the FR Yugoslavia team that became the FIBA World Champions in Indianapolis, at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, and he was the captain of the Serbia and Montenegro national team in Japan, at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. 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.[16] In December 2020, he was not sought for re-election.[17]

Rakočević was elected on 5-year term as a member of the Assembly of the KK Crvena zvezda on 27 December 2021.[18][19]

Personal life

Rakočević is the son of former Serbian basketball player Goran Rakočević, who played at the point guard position with Crvena zvezda.[20]

Since retiring from professional basketball, Rakočević has taken up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and in December 2021 was promoted to black belt in the art after a little over nine years of training.[21]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high
Led the league

EuroLeague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2000–01 Budućnost 111029.8.417.222.6532.71.81.4.012.99.8
2001–02 141229.6.480.345.6551.62.11.3.017.714.8
2005–06 Real Madrid 20927.2.443.402.8932.93.0.8.014.814.2
2006–07 TAU Cerámica 222027.2.492.475.8432.41.71.4.116.214.4
2007–08 222227.8.465.396.8372.31.7.7.014.912.7
2008–09 212126.5.460.398.8952.32.0.8.018.016.8
2009–10 Efes Pilsen 16520.1.353.286.8331.72.3.4.010.09.1
2010–11 141429.9.457.435.8772.31.7.7.017.215.0
2011–12 Montepaschi 19519.7.399.455.7801.91.6.3.19.47.0
Career 15911826.3.449.384.8162.32.0.8.014.612.8

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2002–03 Minnesota 4205.8.379.417.806.4.8.1.01.9
Career 4205.8.379.417.806.4.8.1.01.9

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career
Crvena zvezda Belgrade
Budućnost Podgorica
Valencia Basket
Real Madrid
TAU Cerámica
Efes Istanbul
Montepaschi Siena

Individual

FR Yugoslavian junior national team

FR Yugoslavian senior national team

See also

References and notes
  1. Official Olympic height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 ½ in). Archived 2011-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. NBA Draft history: 2000 Draft
  3. Rakočević potpisao ugovor sa Crvenom zvezdom (Serbian)
  4. Tau's Rakocevic wins race for Alphonso Ford Trophy
  5. All-Euroleague team, MVP announced
  6. B92.net Rakočević u Efesu! (Serbian)
  7. Euroleague.net Top scorer Rakocevic joins Turkish champs.
  8. Rakocevic is Ford Trophy winner again.
  9. Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy: Igor Rakocevic, Efes Pilsen
  10. Igor Rakocevic leaves Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
  11. Montepaschi Siena bags scoring champ Rakocevic.
  12. Carchia, E. "Red Star brings Igor Rakocevic back home". Sportando. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  13. Vunulović, B. "Rakočević u Zvezdi po treći put, ugovor potpisan na dve godine". Blic Sport (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  14. "Igor Rakocevic won't play for Red Star next season". Sportando. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  15. "CZ bez Rakočevića naredne sezone". B92.net (in Serbian). 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  16. "Igor Rakočević novi potpredsednik KSS-a: Velika čast i odgovornost". sport.blic.rs. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  17. ""POSAO SAM RADIO POŠTENO, SAVESNO I POSVEĆENO" Igor Rakočević napustio KSS, a evo KO DOLAZI na njegovo mesto". sport.blic.rs. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  18. "Čović još pet godina na čelu Zvezde, najveći saziv Skupštine u istoriji kluba". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  19. "Čoviću novi mandat, u Skupštini Vučević, Miličić, sportisti, glumci..." b92.net. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  20. Euroleague - Vladimir Stanković: The excitement starts here.
  21. "NBA Player Igor Rakocevic Promoted to BJJ Black Belt". 15 December 2021.
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