Toni Kukoch ( Croatian Toni Kukoč ; born September 18, 1968 , Split , Croatia , SFR Yugoslavia ) - Yugoslav and Croatian basketball player . He played mainly in the position of light forward , and also effectively acted in the position of heavy forward . One of the first Europeans to achieve significant success at the National Basketball Association . As part of the Chicago Bulls three times became the champion of the NBA, as part of the BC Split three times became the winner of the Euroleague . He played for the basketball teams of Yugoslavia and Croatia.
| Tony kukoch | |
|---|---|
| Toni Kukoč | |
 Kukoch in the game for Milwaukee Bucks (2005) | |
| Finished his career | |
| Position | Light forward / Heavy forward |
| Growth | 211 cm |
| Weight | 107 kg |
| Citizenship |  Yugoslavia →  Croatia /  USA |
| Date of Birth | September 18, 1968 (aged 50) |
| Place of Birth | Split , SR Croatia , Yugoslavia |
| NBA draft | 29th (2nd round), 1990 , Chicago Bulls |
Content
Biography
Careers in Europe
Tony Kukoch was born and raised in the Croatian city of Split . There he began to engage in basketball, in 1987 he began to professionally play for the local Yugoplastika (now BC Split). In the late 1980s, Kukoch and Dino Raja became the leaders of this team, which won the Yugoslav championship for four consecutive years and won the Euroleague for three consecutive years. In 1988, Kukoch became the silver medalist of the Seoul Olympics with the national team of Yugoslavia , at that time one of the strongest national teams. After the success of the Yugoslav national team, the clubs of the National Basketball Association , where foreigners had not previously achieved great success, showed interest in its leaders. So, in the 1989 NBA draft , Drazen Petrovich , Vlade Divac , Dino Raja were selected, a year later, in the second round of the draft under the general 29th number, Kukocha chose the Chicago Bulls club, by then he had never won the NBA championship and not having wide international fame.
Kukoch did not move to the United States immediately after the draft, but continued to perform in Europe. In 1990, the Yugoslav national team won the world championship held in Argentina, where Kukoch was recognized as the most valuable player. Also in 1989 and 1991, he became a European champion in the Yugoslav national team. In 1991, after the collapse of Yugoslavia , Toni moved to Italy, where he played for the Benetton team from Treviso for two seasons, with whom he won the Italian championship and cup, and also helped to reach the Euroleague final in 1993. As part of the Croatian national team in 1992, Kukoch again became the silver medalist of the Olympic Games , at which the Croats performed with dignity, losing only to the famous Dream team, the US team , made up of NBA stars.
NBA Career
In 1993, Kukoch finally joined the Chicago Bulls . This team won the NBA championship for three years in a row (1991-1993), but in 1993 lost its best player, Michael Jordan , who decided to retire from basketball. Kukoch began his first season at the Bulls as a backup player, replacing light forward Scotti Pippen and heavy forward Horace Grant , although due to his versatility Tony also played as a center and attacking defender . Following his first season, Kukoch was included in the second NBA rookie team . The next season, with the departure of Grant from the team, the Croat got a place in the starting five and was the second in the team in terms of the number of points, rebounds and assists on average per game after Pippen.
In the 1995/1996 season , Michael Jordan returned to Chicago, and the Bulls also included Dennis Rodman , an outstanding defensive player and selection specialist. As a result, Kukoch again became a player leaving the bench, but coach Phil Jackson gave him a lot of playing time, as a result of which Kukoch was the third player in the team in terms of performance after Jordan and Pippen, and in 1996 the Croat was recognized as the best sixth player in the NBA . In 1996, 1997 and 1998, the Bulls won the NBA Championship, and Tony Kukoch was an important part of this team.
In 1998, after the third consecutive championship, the Bulls left Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and coach Phil Jackson. Kukoch was one of the few remaining players in the team and became its main star. In the 1998/1999 season shortened by lockout, he was the best Bulls player in points, rebounds and assists. In the middle of the 1999/2000 season , the Chicago team, who continued the restructuring, exchanged Tony for Philadelphia 76 . A year later, Kukoch ended up at the Atlanta Hawks club, and a year and a half later - at Milwaukee Bucks . He played for Bucks for four seasons.
In 2006, Tony Kukoch completed his basketball career and settled in Highland Park , Illinois .
Statistics
NBA Statistics
| Season | Team | Regular season | Playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | ||
| 1993/94 | Chicago | 75 | eight | 24.1 | 43.1 | 27.1 | 74.3 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 1,1 | 0.4 | 10.9 | ten | 0 | 19,4 | 44.8 | 42.1 | 73.5 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
| 1994/95 | Chicago | 81 | 55 | 31.9 | 50,4 | 31.3 | 74.8 | 5,4 | 4.6 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 15.7 | ten | ten | 37,2 | 47.7 | 43.8 | 69.2 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 1,0 | 0.2 | 13.8 |
| 1995/96 | Chicago | 81 | 20 | 26.0 | 49.0 | 40.3 | 77,2 | 4.0 | 3,5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 13.1 | 15 | five | 29.3 | 39.1 | 19.1 | 83.8 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 10.8 |
| 1996/97 | Chicago | 57 | 15 | 28,2 | 47.1 | 33.1 | 77.0 | 4.6 | 4,5 | 1,1 | 0.5 | 13,2 | nineteen | 0 | 22.3 | 36.0 | 35.8 | 70.7 | 2,8 | 2,8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 7.9 |
| 1997/98 | Chicago | 74 | 53 | 30,2 | 45.5 | 36,2 | 70.8 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 1,0 | 0.5 | 13.3 | 21 | 17 | 30.3 | 48.6 | 37.7 | 64.5 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 1,2 | 0.5 | 13.1 |
| 1998/99 | Chicago | 44 | 44 | 37.6 | 42.0 | 28.5 | 74.0 | 7.0 | 5.3 | 1,1 | 0.3 | 18.8 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 1999/00 | Chicago | 24 | 23 | 36,2 | 38.1 | 23.1 | 76.1 | 5,4 | 5.2 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 18.0 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 1999/00 | Philadelphia | 32 | eight | 28.6 | 43.8 | 28.9 | 67.3 | 4,5 | 4.4 | 1,0 | 0.3 | 12,4 | ten | 0 | 25.7 | 38.7 | 32,4 | 58.8 | 3,7 | 1.7 | 1,0 | 0.3 | 9.3 |
| 2000/01 | Philadelphia | 48 | five | 20,4 | 45.8 | 41.0 | 59.1 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 8.0 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 2000/01 | Atlanta | 17 | 14 | 36,4 | 49.2 | 48.1 | 68.1 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 19.7 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 2001/02 | Atlanta | 59 | 9 | 25.3 | 41.9 | 31,0 | 71.2 | 3,7 | 3,5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 9.9 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 2002/03 | Milwaukee | 63 | 0 | 27.0 | 43,2 | 36.1 | 70.6 | 4.2 | 3,7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 11.6 | 6 | 0 | 30.7 | 49.2 | 37.9 | 70.0 | 4.2 | 3,7 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 14.8 |
| 2003/04 | Milwaukee | 73 | 0 | 20.8 | 41.7 | 29.2 | 72.9 | 3,7 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 8.4 | five | 0 | 21.0 | 50,0 | 33.3 | 50,0 | 2,8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 8.4 |
| 2004/05 | Milwaukee | 53 | 6 | 20.7 | 41.0 | 36,2 | 72.1 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 5,6 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 2005/06 | Milwaukee | 65 | 0 | 15.7 | 38.9 | 30.6 | 71,4 | 2,3 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 4.9 | 3 | 0 | 17.6 | 57.1 | 62.5 | 50,0 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 0,0 | 7.3 |
| Total | 846 | 260 | 26.3 | 44.7 | 33.5 | 72.9 | 4.2 | 3,7 | 1,0 | 0.3 | 11.6 | 99 | 32 | 26.9 | 44.0 | 34.2 | 69.7 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 1,0 | 0.3 | 10.7 | |
| Hover over the abbreviations in the table heading to read their interpretation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements
- Team
- Silver medalist of the 1988 Olympic Games (Yugoslav national team) and 1992 (Croatia national team)
- 1990 World Champion
- 1994 World Championship bronze medalist
- European Champion 1989 and 1991
- Bronze medalist of the European Championships 1987 and 1995
- Champion of Yugoslavia 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991
- Winner of the Yugoslav Cup 1990 and 1991
- Winner of the Euroleague in the seasons 1988/1989 , 1989/1990 , 1990/1991
- Italian champion 1992
- Cup Winner Italy 1993
- NBA champion in the seasons 1995/1996, 1996/1997, 1997/1998
- Personal
- 1996 NBA Best Sixth Player
- Mr. Europe (the best European basketball player according to the Italian magazine Superbasket ) in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1996
- Euroscar prize (the best European basketball player according to the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport ) in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1998
- The most valuable player in the 1990 World Cup
- The most valuable player in the 1991 European Championship
- The most valuable player of the Final Four of the Euroleague 1990, 1991 and 1993
- Included in the second NBA rookie team in 1994