Career: Zadar (Yugoslavia-YUBA, 1990-92), Stefanel Trieste (Italy-Lega, 1992-94), Olimpia Milan (Italy-Lega, 1994-96), Real Madrid (Spain-ACB, 1996-98), Panathinaikos Athens (Greece-ESAKE, 1998-02), F.C. Barcelona (Spain-ACB, 2002-05), Lottomatica Roma (Italy-Lega, 2005-…). Drafted in the second round of the 1995 NBA draft (#11), by the Sacramento Kings.
At 32, he is probably playing the last EuroBasket of his unbelievable career with the national team. But giving the list of his trophies, medals or MVP titles wouldn’t even tell you half of Dejan Bodiroga’s impact on European basketball. In Serbia-Montenegro, people just call him “God”. He’s simply the best…
He was called “White Magic” or “Bodi Bond”, and fans in Serbia and Montenegro gave him a very simple name: “God”. These nicknames tell the story of a player who has dominated European basketball for a decade. Of course, we are talking about Dejan Bodiroga. When he was slowly rising to the top, people compared him with Magic Johnson. Actually, he was a white version of the NBA legend. But for the fans, the wizardry of L.A. Lakers legend wasn’t enough. Bodiroga became Mr. Bond. His smooth style is accompanied by ruthless execution, and together they make a deadly weapon. A long time ago, he was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, but decided not to cross the ocean. Instead, he stayed in Europe and ruled the continent. Still, he didn’t miss a chance to take on the NBA’s best players. In the 1996 Olympics and 2002 World championships, he showed the Dream Team guys that they are lucky he is not in the league. “We have a god and his name is Bodiroga”, is a chorus sung by fans in Belgrade every time he brings another gold medal to his country. The collection of club and national team titles, MVP trophies (4 European MVP honours, in 1999, 2000, 02 and 03), All Star games, is huge. The most important are three Euroleague, three EuroBasket, two World Championship titles and one Olympic silver medal. One of the interesting facts is that he was born in Klek, a small village in Serbia. Nothing special, but that same village produced two more great athletes. The Grbic brothers, Vladimir and Nikola, are among the best volleyball players in the world, and have a big collection of European, World and Olympic medals of their own. When the season or any kind of tournament begins, in the bookies list for the MVP, the odds for Dejan are usually 1:1, which means he’s a 100 percent favourite. There was a rule in Europe saying that if you want to win a title you should hire Bodiroga. Now he’s a veteran probably saying goodbye to the national team, wanting to do it in style. But he is still a leader and a great role model to the young ones. He isn’t explosive and fast and you won’t see him dunk or even shoot the three, but his playing technique, dribbling skills, cold blooded attitude and intelligence put him high above competition. Many players are labeled “all-around”, but Bodiroga is probably the only one who can play all five positions on the court when necessary. And for the end a small piece of advice for anyone who enters the court with him: If the game is tied and the clock is ticking away, don’t let him get the ball and don’t, by any means foul him, because when he steps up to the free throw line, you’re history.
