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Biography
Igor Rakočević (Serbian Cyrillic: Игор Ракочевић; born 29 March 1978) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player. He currently serves as the vice president of the Basketball Federation of Serbia, in charge of Serbian men's basketball.
At a height of 1.94 m (6'4 ⁄2") tall, he played at both the point guard and shooting guard positions, but he spent the vast majority of his career playing as a shooting guard. During his playing career, Rakočević was a two-time All-EuroLeague Team member, and a three-time Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy winner. He was also a member of the senior FR Yugoslavian national team, which was eventually renamed the Serbian and Montenegrin national team. With FR Yugoslavia, he won gold medals at both the 2001 FIBA EuroBasket and the 2002 FIBA World Championship.
Professional career
Early years
Rakočević played with Crvena zvezda and Budućnost before going to the NBA. With Crvena zvezda, he won the YUBA League championship in the 1997–98 season, and finished second in the FIBA Korać Cup in the same season.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Rakočević was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft. He did not play in the NBA, until the 2002–03 NBA season, in which he totaled 244 minutes of playing time, in 42 games played, and averaged 1.9 points, 0.8 assists, and 0.4 rebounds per game. He was released after the season, and signed by the San Antonio Spurs, who also released him shortly after.
Back to Europe
In October 2003, Rakočević returned to Europe, and signed with Crvena zvezda, where he was the top scorer of the Adriatic League. He was the captain and best player of Crvena zvezda in that 2003–04 season.
He continued his career in Spain, where he played with Pamesa Valencia, Real Madrid and Tau Cerámica. In the EuroLeague 2006–07 season, he won the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy. He was also selected to the All-EuroLeague Second Team of that year's competition. With TAU Cerámica, Rakočević won the Spanish Supercup title in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Spanish King's Cup title in 2009, and the Spanish ACB League championship in 2008. He also won another Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy with TAU, in 2009.
In June 2009, he signed a three-year contract with the Turkish Super League club Efes Pilsen. While playing with Efes, he also won the 2011 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. In June 2011, he left Efes.
In October 2011, Rakočević signed with the Italian League club Montepaschi Siena, for the 2011–12 season.
On 9 August 2012, he signed a two-year contract with Crvena zvezda, which began his third stint with that team. In July 2013, Rakočević decided not to play for Crvena zvezda in the following season, and he made the statement that he would play abroad for one more season, or would retire, and become the sports director of the team.
National team career
Rakočević made his debut with the senior FR Yugoslavian national team at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. After that, he played at the 2001 EuroBasket, in Turkey (where he won a gold medal), and at the 2005 EuroBasket, in Serbia and Montenegro. He was a member of the FR Yugoslavia team that became the FIBA World Champions in Indianapolis, at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, and he was the captain of the Serbia and Montenegro national team in Japan, at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He also played at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.
Post-playing career
In February 2015, Rakočević was elected as the vice-president of the Basketball Federation of Serbia, and put in charge of men's basketball.
Personal life
Rakočević is the son of former Serbian basketball player Goran Rakočević, who played at the point guard position with Crvena zvezda. Due to his authentic looks, he is nicknamed "Gargamel".
Career statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | ||
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating | ||
| Bold | Career high | ||||||
Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.
| Led the league |
EuroLeague
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Budućnost | 11 | 10 | 29.8 | .417 | .222 | .653 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .0 | 12.9 | 9.8 |
| 2001–02 | 14 | 12 | 29.6 | .480 | .345 | .655 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 1.3 | .0 | 17.7 | 14.8 | |
| 2005–06 | Real Madrid | 20 | 9 | 27.2 | .443 | .402 | .893 | 2.9 | 3.0 | .8 | .0 | 14.8 | 14.2 |
| 2006–07 | TAU Cerámica | 22 | 20 | 27.2 | .492 | .475 | .843 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .1 | 16.2 | 14.4 |
| 2007–08 | 22 | 22 | 27.8 | .465 | .396 | .837 | 2.3 | 1.7 | .7 | .0 | 14.9 | 12.7 | |
| 2008–09 | 21 | 21 | 26.5 | .460 | .398 | .895 | 2.3 | 2.0 | .8 | .0 | 18.0 | 16.8 | |
| 2009–10 | Efes Pilsen | 16 | 5 | 20.1 | .353 | .286 | .833 | 1.7 | 2.3 | .4 | .0 | 10.0 | 9.1 |
| 2010–11 | 14 | 14 | 29.9 | .457 | .435 | .877 | 2.3 | 1.7 | .7 | .0 | 17.2 | 15.0 | |
| 2011–12 | Montepaschi | 19 | 5 | 19.7 | .399 | .455 | .780 | 1.9 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | 9.4 | 7.0 |
| Career | 159 | 118 | 26.3 | .449 | .384 | .816 | 2.3 | 2.0 | .8 | .0 | 14.6 | 12.8 |
NBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Minnesota | 42 | 0 | 5.8 | .379 | .417 | .806 | .4 | .8 | .1 | .0 | 1.9 |
| Career | 42 | 0 | 5.8 | .379 | .417 | .806 | .4 | .8 | .1 | .0 | 1.9 |
Awards and accomplishments
Pro career
- Crvena zvezda Belgrade
- FR Yugoslav League (1): 1998
- Serbian Radivoj Korać Cup (2): 2004, 2013
- Budućnost Podgorica
- FR Yugoslav League (1): 2001
- FR Yugoslav Cup (1): 2001
- Valencia Basket
- Valencian League (1): 2005
- Real Madrid
- Community of Madrid Tournament (1): 2006
- TAU Cerámica
- Spanish League (1): 2008
- Spanish Cup (1): 2009
- Spanish Supercup (3): 2006, 2007, 2008
- Efes Istanbul
- Turkish Super Cup (2): 2009, 2010
- Montepaschi Siena
- Italian League (1): 2012
- Italian Cup (1): 2012
Individual
- FR Yugoslavian League Most Improved Player: (1998)
- Adriatic League Final Four Top Scorer: (2004)
- Adriatic League Top Scorer: (2004)
- Spanish ACB League 3 Point Shootout Champion: (2007–08)
- 3× Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy: 2007, 2009, 2011
- All-EuroLeague Second Team: (2007)
- All-EuroLeague First Team: (2009)
- Spanish League Top Scorer: (2009)
- All-Spanish League Team: (2009)
FR Yugoslavian junior national team
- 1996 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship:
Bronze - 1997 Nike Hoop Summit
- 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Cup: Bronze
- 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship:
Gold - 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: MVP
Bronze
GoldFR Yugoslavian senior national team
- 1997 Mediterranean Games: Bronze
- 2001 EuroBasket: Gold
- 2002 FIBA World Championship: Gold