Dino Rađa

The title of this article contains the character đ. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Dino Radja.

Dino Rađa

No. 40, 14
Power forward / Center
Personal information
Date of birth	April 24, 1967 (age 44)
Place of birth	Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Croatian
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft	1989 / Round: 2 / Pick: 40th overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Pro career	1985–2003
Career history
1985–1990	KK Split (Yugoslavia)
1990–1993	Il Messaggero / Virtus Roma (Italy)
1993–1997	Boston Celtics
1997–1999	Panathinaikos (Greece)
1999–2000	KK Zadar (Croatia)
2000–2001	Olympiacos (Greece)
2001–2002	KK Cibona (Croatia)
2002–2003	KK Split (Croatia)
Career highlights and awards
NBA All-Rookie Second Team (1990) Euroleague Final Four MVP (1989)
Career NBA statistics
Points	3,733
Rebounds	1,883
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's Basketball Silver 1988 Seoul Yugoslavia Silver 1992 Barcelona Croatia World Championships Bronze 1994 Canada Croatia European Championships Gold 1989 Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Gold 1991 Italy Yugoslavia Bronze 1987 Greece Yugoslavia Bronze 1993 Germany Croatia Bronze 1995 Greece Croatia

Dino Rađa, transcribed in English as Dino Radja (born April 24, 1967, in Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia), is a retired Croatian basketball player. He was a member of the Jugoplastika (now named KK Split) team of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which he helped in winning two European Championship titles. In the United States he is best known for the three and a half seasons spent with the Boston Celtics of the NBA. Dino Rađa is currently the president of his first professional team KK Split.

Split

Rađa began his basketball life in his native town, as a junior at KK Dalvin. From there he went on to KK Split to polish his professional career. He marvelled with Jugoplastika and POP 84 (two most notable sponsorships borne by KK Split), as he and his friend Toni Kukoč led the team to the pinnacle of European club basketball twice in a row (1989 and 1990). Rađa would not stay in Split for a historic three-peat the club achieved, led by Kukoč, the following year, but would instead leave for Italy; although he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1989 NBA Draft, in 1990 he signed for Virtus Roma, where he spent the next three years.

Rome

Rađa averaged 18.1 points in his first season with Il Messaggero (Virtus Roma enjoyed sponsorship from that popular Roman newspaper at the time). European sports journalists voted him the second best European player that season, shadowed only by his former teammate and friend Kukoč. He improved his scoring average each of the next two seasons with the Roman club, averaging 20.2 and 21.5 points, respectively. In 1992 he led Virtus to a Korać Cup title.

Boston

He joined the Celtics in 1993. In his first season Radja averaged 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds, earning All-NBA Rookie Second Team honors, along with Kukoč, at that time a rookie with the Chicago Bulls. He spent three successful years with the Celtics, averaging 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds. In 1997 a trade that was to send Radja to the Philadelphia 76ers for Clarence Weatherspoon fell through when he failed his physical on June 24, 1997.

Return to Europe

He returned to Europe in 1997, joining Panathinaikos BC. He spent two years there, winning two Greek Championships, but returned in 1999 to his native Croatia to play for KK Zadar. He left Panathinaikos because of an encounter with the club president's son in the locker room after the game. The president's son allegedly cursed at Dino, but at that time Dino didn't know that the person he argued with was the son of the club president.^[1]

In 2000 he returned to Greece, joining Panathinaikos' long-time rivals, Olympiacos BC, in an unsuccessful attempt to regain the Greek Championship.

He returned, once again, to Croatia, joining KK Cibona for the 2001-2002 season. Radja finished his career in 2003, winning the Croatian championship with his first team, KK Split.

National teams

Radja was on the Yugoslavian team that won the silver medal in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. He was also a part of golden Yugoslavian teams at the 1987 FIBA Junior World Championship^[2] in Bormio, Italy, 1989 Eurobasket in Zagreb, and the 1991 Eurobasket in Rome.

Following Croatian independence, Radja became an important part of the Croatian national basketball team, most notably at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where Croatia won the silver medal. Radja was also on the Croatian teams that won the bronze at the 1993 Eurobasket in Germany, 1994 World Championship in Toronto and the 1995 Eurobasket in Athens.

Notes

1. ^ http://www.blog.hr/print/id/1623177546/dezbjego-show-slobodan-subotic.html (Croatian)
2. ^ Since split into separate under-19 and under-21 events.

External links

• Fibaeurope.com Profile
• Dino Rađa Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
• Career basketpedya.com