George Zidek

George Zidek
No. 25, 52
Center
Personal information
Date of birth August 2, 1973 (1973-08-02) (age 38)
Place of birth Zlín, Czech Republic
Nationality Czech
High school Arabska Secondary
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
College UCLA
NBA Draft 1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 22nd overall
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Pro career 1995–2005
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com

Jiří Zídek, Jr., generally referred to in English as George Zidek (born August 2, 1973, in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia (now Zlín, Czech Republic)), is a retired Czech professional basketball player. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1st round (22nd overall) of the 1995 NBA Draft. Zidek played in 3 NBA seasons for the Hornets, Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics, averaging 3.4 ppg in his NBA career. He played collegiately at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and was the starting center of their 1995 NCAA championship team.[1]

In 1998, he returned to Europe, joining former UCLA teammate Tyus Edney on Lithuanian power Žalgiris. His first season back in Europe saw him lift the Euroleague championship trophy with Žalgiris, becoming the first Czech ever to win the Euroleague title. Zidek's European career took him to several other teams before he returned to the Czech Republic, where he helped Nymburk to league titles in 2004 and 2005. He took the 2005-06 season off to recuperate from knee surgery, and served at the end of the season as a Euroleague TV commentator for the Euroleague Final Four, held in Prague. Due to ongoing health problems, he however never returned and in 2006 he announced his retirement.

His father, Jiří Sr., was a star for USK Slavia Prague in the 1960s and 1970s, leading them to victory in the 1969 European Cup Winners' Cup (one of the predecessors to today's Eurocup). The Zideks are the first (and as of 2010, the only) father and son ever to reach Euroleague title games.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Finney, Ryan (2010). "2010–11 UCLA Men's Basketball Media Guide". UCLA Athletic Department. p. 112. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5x5aLpTmX. 

References

5 Cameron Dollar | 11 Tyus Edney | 12 Toby Bailey | 13 Charles O'Bannon | 24 Bob Myers | 25 George Zidek | 31 Ed O'Bannon (MOP) | 35 Ike Nwankwo | 50 Omm'A Givens | 52 J. R. Henderson
Head coach Jim Harrick
Assistant coaches Lorenzo Romar | Mark Gottfried | Steve Lavin
First round
Second round

4 Edney (Final 4 MVP) | 5 M. Žukauskas | 7 Štombergas | 8 Zidek | 9 E. Žukauskas | 10 Adomaitis | 12 Masiulis | 13 Maskoliūnas | 14 Bowie | 15 Šeštokas | Coach Kazlauskas