Toni Kukoč
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Position | Small forward |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Croatian Sensation |
| Height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Nationality | Croatian |
| Born | September 18 1968 Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia |
| Draft | 2nd round, 29th overall, 1990 Chicago Bulls |
| Pro career | 1987–2006 |
| Former teams | Jugoplastika Split (1987–1991) Treviso SPA (1991–1993) Chicago Bulls (1993–2000) Philadelphia 76ers (2000–2001) Atlanta Hawks (2001–2002) Milwaukee Bucks (2002–2006) |
| Awards | 1996 NBA Sixth Man of the Year 1990 FIBA World Championship MVP EuroBasket 1991 MVP |
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men's Basketball | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Image:Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg Yugoslavia | |||
| Silver | 1988 Seoul | Team | |
| Competitor for Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia | |||
| Silver | 1992 Barcelona | Team | |
| World Championship | |||
| Gold | 1990 Argentina | Image:Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg Yugoslavia | |
| Bronze | 1994 Canada | Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia | |
| European Championship | |||
| Bronze | 1987 Greece | Image:Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg Yugoslavia | |
| Gold | 1989 Yugoslavia | Image:Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg Yugoslavia | |
| Gold | 1991 Italy | Image:Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg Yugoslavia | |
| Bronze | 1995 Greece | Image:Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia | |
Toni Kukoč (IPA: [ˈkʊkɔtʃ]) (born September 18, 1968 in Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian basketball player. He was renowned for his versatility and passing ability; although his natural position was small forward, he played all five positions on the court with equal prowess and demonstrated court vision that is seldom found in players of his height. Kukoč is one of the first established European stars to play in North America's National Basketball Association (NBA).
Contents |
[edit] European career
Kukoč played for Jugoplastika Split and won the Euroleague with the team three years in a row. Afterwards he played for Benetton Treviso, winning the title of European Player of the Year three times. He has won the Italian Championship in 1992 and Italian Cup in 1993, and played in the European Champions' Cup final in 1993. He has been nicknamed "the white Magic", "the spider from Split", "the Pink Panther", "the waiter", and was known as "the Croatian Sensation" when he played in the NBA. He was also on teams that won the FIBA World Junior Championship (1987 for Yugoslavia), two Olympic silver medals (1988 for Yugoslavia and 1992 for Croatia), and the FIBA World Championship (1990 for Yugoslavia), in which he selected as the tournamnent MVP[1].
[edit] NBA career
Having been drafted by the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1990, he continued to play in Europe, until finally reporting to the Bulls in 1993, when the team had just finished its first three-peat and had lost Michael Jordan to retirement.
The 6'11" (2.11 m) Kukoč came off the bench in 1993-94 behind small forward Scottie Pippen and power forward Horace Grant, though Kukoč could play shooting guard and center as well. Kukoč put up a solid rookie campaign, averaging double-digit scoring and earning a berth on the all-rookie second team. 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.
In the 1995-96 season, Michael Jordan had returned, and the Bulls had acquired an exceptional rebounder, Dennis Rodman, in the offseason. With Pippen still at small forward, coach Phil Jackson saw it best to have Kukoč continue to be a bench player. Toni was third on the team in scoring (behind Jordan and Pippen) and was rewarded for his efforts with the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. He also assisted the Bulls to a 25-game turnaround and the best record in league history at 72–10, as well as the fourth championship in team history.
In 1997 and 1998, Kukoč again came off the bench as sixth man as the Bulls won their fifth and sixth NBA titles. Once again, he was the team's third-leading scorer.
In early 1999, the team was broken up, and Kukoč was one of the only players from their championship years that the Bulls retained. In the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, he led the team in scoring, rebounding, and assists. During the 1999-2000 season as Chicago continued their rebuilding scheme, Kukoč was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for whom he played briefly before he was soon traded again to the Atlanta Hawks. After a short stint with the Hawks, he finally found himself in a more suitable fit with the Milwaukee Bucks via a third trade.
[edit] Retirement
On September 12, 2006, Kukoč intimated that he would retire from professional basketball if he could not be signed by either the Milwaukee Bucks or the Chicago Bulls for the 2006-07 NBA season. Although various NBA teams have shown interest in his services, Kukoč has expressed a desire to be close to his hometown of Highland Park, in Illinois. [2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ 24cec.net Hall of fame - Toni Kukoč
- ^ "All she wrote? Kukoc says 'it looks like I'm done'", ESPN.com, September 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
[edit] External links
- Toni Kukoč Player Info at NBA.com
- Toni Kukoc Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
| Preceded by Dražen Petrović | FIBA World Championship MVP 1990 | Succeeded by Shaquille O'Neal |
| Preceded by Anthony Mason | NBA Sixth Man of the Year 1996 | Succeeded by John Starks |
Chicago Bulls 1995-96 NBA Champions |
|---|
Chicago Bulls 1996-97 NBA Champions |
|---|
Chicago Bulls 1997-98 NBA Champions |
|---|
| Image:Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg | Yugoslavia squad - 1990 FIBA World Championship Champions - Gold medal | Image:Flag of SFR Yugoslavia.svg |
|---|---|---|
|
4 Petrović | 5 Perasović | 6 Ćutura | 7 Kukoč | 8 Paspalj | 9 Zdovć | 10 Obradović | 11 Ćurčić | 12 Divac | 13 Komazec | 14 Jovanović | 15 Savić | Coach: Ivković | ||
| Image:Flag of Croatia.svg | Croatia squad - 1994 FIBA World Championship - Bronze medal | Image:Flag of Croatia.svg |
|---|---|---|
|
4 J.Vranković | 5 Gregov | 6 Komazec | 7 Kukoć | 8 Alanović | 9 Zurić | 10 Pejcinović | 11 S.Vranković | 12 Cvjetičanin | 13 Jurić | 14 Rađa | 15 Mrsić | Coach: Djerdja | ||
Image:Med 2.png 1988 Olympic Silver Medalists Men's Basketball – Yugoslavia Image:Med 2.png |
|---|
Dražen Petrović | Zdravko Radulović | Zoran Čutura | Toni Kukoč | Žarko Paspalj | Željko Obradović | Jurij Zdovc | Stojko Vranković | Vlade Divac | Franjo Arapović | Dino Rađa | Danko Cvjetičanin | Coach: Dušan Ivković |
Image:Med 2.png 1992 Olympic Silver Medalists Men's Basketball – Croatia Image:Med 2.png |
|---|
Dražen Petrović | Velimir Perasović | Danko Cvjetičanin | Toni Kukoč | Vladan Alanović | Franjo Arapović | Žan Tabak | Stojko Vranković | Alan Gregov | Arijan Komazec | Dino Rađa | Aramis Naglić | Coach: Petar Skansi |
ca:Toni Kukoc cs:Toni Kukoč de:Toni Kukoč es:Toni Kukoc fr:Toni Kukoč hr:Toni Kukoč id:Toni Kukoč it:Toni Kukoč he:טוני קוקוץ' lv:Tonijs Kukočs lt:Toni Kukoć hu:Toni Kukoč nl:Toni Kukoč ja:トニー・クーコッチ pl:Toni Kukoč sr:Тони Кукоч zh:托尼·库科奇
Categories: 1968 births | Living people | Atlanta Hawks players | Chicago Bulls players | KK Split players | Yugoslav basketball players | Croatian basketball players | Milwaukee Bucks players | Olympic basketball players of Yugoslavia | Olympic basketball players of Croatia | Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics | Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics | Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia | Olympic silver medalists for Croatia | People from Split | Philadelphia 76ers players | Small forwards
