Jan Veselý

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For the Czech cyclist, see Jan Veselý (cyclist).
Jan Veselý

Veselý with the Wizards
No. 24 – Washington Wizards
Position Forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born (1990-04-24) April 24, 1990
Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Nationality Czech
Listed height 7 ft 0 in (213 cm)
Listed weight 242 lb (110 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the Washington Wizards
Pro playing career 2007–present
Career history
2007–2008 Geoplin Slovan (Slovenia)
2008–2011 Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
2011–present Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards

Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Jan Veselý (born April 24, 1990) is a Czech professional basketball player who currently plays for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), 242 lbs. (109.8 kg), Veselý can play both the small forward and power forward positions. After deciding not to enter the 2010 NBA Draft, he was selected sixth in 2011 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.

Personal life

Veselý was born on April 24, 1990 in Ostrava (Czechoslovakia then, Czech Republic now). His father, Jan, is a former basketball player, and his mother a former volleyball player.[1] Veselý's younger sister,[2] and his girlfriend Eva Kodouskova are both basketball players.[3] Reportedly, he is fluent in Czech, Slovenian, Serbian and English.[4]

Professional career

Europe

Veselý began playing basketball with the youth clubs of Příbor and BK Snakes Ostrava in the Czech Republic. He joined Geoplin Slovan in 2007. He then moved to KK Partizan in 2008. He won nine club trophies with the club,[5] and also reached the 2009–10 Euroleague Final Four. In 2010, Veselý was presented the FIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year Award.

NBA

Veselý was drafted in the first round by the Washington Wizards with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.[6][7] Veselý posted his first double digit scoring night in a 98-77 win over the Detroit Pistons. He finished the night with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. After Flip Saunders was fired, Veselý saw more minutes on the court under new coach Randy Wittman, who also said that he wants him to shoot the ball a bit more.[8] On April 9, 2012, he recorded his first double-double, finishing the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds in a win over the Bobcats. Veselý continued his success over the Bobcats on April 23, 2012 when he posted a career high 16 points on 8-8 shooting, pulled down 6 rebounds, and recorded 4 steals. He averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in his first NBA season. However, in his second season with the Wizards, he averaged only 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and shot only 31% from the free throw line.

Czech national team

Veselý has been a member of the senior men's Czech Republic national basketball team, having previously played for the junior national teams. He played at the FIBA EuroBasket 2013.

Playing style

Due to his speed and court movement, Veselý has been compared to European NBA superstars Dirk Nowitzki and Andrei Kirilenko.[9]

Popularity in Serbia

Veselý with Partizan

Veselý was a favorite of the Partizan supporters.[10] He stated he was "surprised by his popularity in Serbia, as no one in Czech Republic knew who he was".[4][11] The Partizan supporters created two joke slogans, "When Jan plays, we are all joyful" (Serbian: "Kad Jan igra, svi smo veseli") and "We are all happy, only Jan is joyful" (Serbian: "Svi smo srećni, samo se Jan Veseli"), as his surname means "joyful" in both Czech and Serbian.[12]

After the end of the 2010–11 season, which had been confirmed to be his last in Partizan, Veselý stated, "My first destination in Europe will always be Belgrade. Partizan, Belgrade and Serbia have given me a great opportunity, which now I can continue in the other place. Serbia has become my second home".[13] He also added he would like to wear number 24 once again and that his wish was to end his career in Partizan.[13][14] Years of life in Serbia left permanent trace on his music taste as he said he likes Serbian music better than American or Czech music.[15]

Honours

Partizan

Individual

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

NBA

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12 Washington 57 20 18.9 .537 .000 .532 4.4 .8 .7 .6 4.7
2012–13 Washington 51 4 11.8 .500 .000 .308 2.4 .5 .3 .3 2.5
Career 108 24 15.5 .524 .000 .446 3.4 .7 .5 .5 3.6

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2008–09 Partizan 17 13 19.9 .517 .056 .538 3.4 .4 .5 .3 4.8 4.2
2009–10 Partizan 22 22 24.8 .550 .400 .625 4.9 1.4 .7 .5 8.4 9.5
2010–11 Partizan 15 14 27.0 .536 .357 .444 3.6 1.1 1.3 .9 10.1 10.3
Career 54 49 23.9 .538 .271 .536 4.0 1.0 .8 0.6 7.7 8.0

Adriatic League

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2007–08 Slovan 21 3 10.4 .554 .375 .667 1.6 .4 .3 .3 4.5 3.3
2008–09 Partizan 26 18 16.3 .517 .150 .674 3.2 1.1 .8 .7 4.8 7.0
2009–10 Partizan 28 25 22.0 .569 .325 .645 3.5 1.0 1.0 .5 8.4 9.8
2010–11 Partizan 26 26 23.3 .611 .282 .542 4.4 1.3 1.1 .7 10.3 12.8
Career 101 72 18.0 .652 .283 .632 3.2 1.0 .8 0.6 7.1 8.5

References

  1. ↑ Sportal.rs: Jan Veseli: Od Duleta sam mnogo naučio (Serbian) (February 7th 2010)
  2. ↑ eKapija.com: Jan Vesely, košarkaš Partizana – veselje se širi na sve strane (Serbian) (May 7th 2010)
  3. ↑ Mondo: Veseli, srećan ti put! (Serbian) (June 16th 2011)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sport: Jan Veseli: U Češkoj ne znaju ko sam (Serbian) (February 15th 2010)
  5. ↑ Mondo: Pitajte Jana Veselog (Serbian) (June 10th 2011)
  6. ↑ "Irving goes No. 1 to Cleveland". NBA.com. Retrieved 31 May 2012. 
  7. ↑ NBA.com Retrieved 3/6/12 12:59 AM EST
  8. ↑ Randy Wittman Wants Jan Vesely To Shoot The Ball (English) (April 6th 2012)
  9. ↑ S Media.com: Ameri kažu da je Jan Veseli Kirilenkov klon (Serbian) (June 2nd 2011)
  10. ↑ Vesti.com: Lepo mu u Beogradu, pa ne žuri u Ameriku (Serbian) (January 9th 2011)
  11. ↑ Press: Jan Veseli: Povešću celu familiju u Pariz (Serbian) (May 5th 2010)
  12. ↑ Kurir: Jan Veseli: Rašić uz Džordana (Serbian) (January 8th 2011)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Mondo: Veseli u Mondu: Iz Amerike – pravac Beograd (Serbian) (June 10th 2011)
  14. ↑ S Media.com: Veseli: Kraj karijere u dresu Partizana (Serbian) (June 10th 2011)
  15. ↑ The Washington Post: Jan Vesely meets the D.C. media (English) (June 27th 2011)

External links

First round
Second round
Czech Republic squad – EuroBasket 2013 – 13th place
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