Stojko Vranković


Stojan "Stojko" Vranković is a Croatian former professional basketball player, who also represented Croatia internationally. He has been the president of the Croatian Basketball Federation since 2016.
A 7 ft 2 in center, he played five seasons in the National Basketball Association, as a member of the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Clippers. He was very popular in Europe, while playing for the Athens-based club Panathinaikos, with whom he won the club's first EuroLeague championship.

Club career

A renowned shot blocker, Vranković made little impact in the NBA, managing small minutes and a low scoring average even though he started 73 out of 170 games played. He did however have a major impact in Europe playing for the Greek League team Panathinaikos. In 1996, he combined with Dominique Wilkins to lead Panathinaikos to a EuroLeague championship - a first for the club. Vranković's defensive contribution was vital, namely his block of Željko Rebrača at the buzzer, in the third game of the quarter-finals against Benetton Treviso, sending Panathinaikos through. In the EuroLeague Finals, his block to deny Barcelona the lead in the last second, gave the game a dramatic end, before falling to the ground in the ensuing hustle and clutching his knee in pain at the buzzer. In an interview at the official EuroLeague Final Four website, Panathinaikos captain Panagiotis Giannakis described the incident as follows:

National team career

Yugoslavia

Vranković earned a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games with the senior Yugoslavian national basketball team.

Croatia (after independence)

At the following 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games, he got the silver medal after Croatia lost to the USA in the men's final against "The Dream Team", while playing for the senior Croatian national team.

Personal life

Vranković was a close friend of the fellow Croatian basketball player Dražen Petrović. He was a coffin bearer at Petrović's funeral in 1993, and has been active in commemorating his memory. In an article at the FIBA website concerning the opening of a museum in Dražen's honour, Vranković was quoted as saying: "I would like to thank all those involved in creating this place, so children would be able to learn more about 'basketball's Amadeus". In the 2016, he was named the 5th president of Croatian Basketball Federation. Vranković and his wife Lovorka have two daughters, Andrea and Matea, and one son, Antonio, who plays on the Duke University men's basketball team.