Stojko Vranković

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Stojko Vranković
Position	Center
Height	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Weight	260 lb (118 kg)
Nationality	Croatia
Born	January 22, 1964 Drnis, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Croatia)
Pro career	1986–2001
Former teams	BC Zadar (1986 – 1989) Aris (1989 – 1990) Boston Celtics (1990 – 1992) Panathinaikos (1992 – 1996) Minnesota Timberwolves (1996 – 1997) Los Angeles Clippers (1997 – 1999) Fortitudo Bologna (1999 – 2001)

Men's Basketball
Olympic medal record
Silver	1988 Seoul	Yugoslavia
Silver	1992 Barcelona	Croatia

Stojan "Stojko" Vranković (born January 22, 1964 in Drniš, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian basketball player.

A 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center, he played 5 seasons (1990–1992;1996–1999) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Clippers.

1 Club teams
2 National Team
3 Friendship with Drazen Petrovic
4 External links

[edit] Club teams

A renowned shot blocker, he made little impact in the NBA, managing small minutes and a low scoring average. He did however have a major impact in Europe. In 1996, he combined with Dominique Wilkins to lead Panathinaikos to a Euroleague Final Four - a first for the club and for any Greek side. Vrankovic's defensive contributions were vital with his block of Zeljko Rebraca at the buzzer of the third game of the quarter-finals against Benetton Treviso, seeing Panathinaikos through. In the final, his block to deny Barcelona the lead in the last several seconds, gave the game a dramatic end, before falling to the ground in the ensuing hussle and clutching his knee in pain on the buzzer. In an interview on the official Final Four website, the Panathinaikos captain Panagiotis Giannakis described the incident as follows:

"All that happened at the end of the game is unbelievable, a few seconds that lasted one century! I remember Stojko (Vrankovic) running like...Carl Lewis from one side to the other to stop (José Antonio) Montero. He blocked the layup almost at the buzzer and he sealed the victory."[1]

[edit] National Team

Vrankovic earned a silver medal at 1988 Seoul Olympics with Yugoslavia. But his most memorable moment was with his then newly-independent Croatia, winning silver in the men's final against the American "Dream Team".

[edit] Friendship with Drazen Petrovic

Vrankovic was a close friend of fellow basketball player Drazen Petrovic. Vrankovic was a coffin bearer at Petrovic's funeral in 1993 and has been active in commemorating his memory. In an article on the FIBA website concerning the opening of a museum in Drazen's honour, it quotes Vrankovic:

Drazen's colleague and friend, Stojko Vrankovic, said at the opening of the museum: "I would like to thank all those involved in creating this place, so children would be able to learn more about 'basketball Amadeus'".[2]