Željko Rebrača

Infobox Euroleague Player
name = Željko Rebrača
nickname = Zelly


image_caption =
league =
team =
position = Center
height_ft = 7
height_in = 0
weight_lbs = 265
nationality = Serbian
birth_date = birth date and age|1972|4|9|
birth_place = Prigrevica, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
draft = 2^nd round, 54^th overall
draft_year = 1994
draft_team = Seattle SuperSonics
career_start = 1989
career_end = 2007
former_teams = Partizan Belgrade (1989–1995)
Benetton Treviso (1995–1999)
Panathinaikos (1999–2001)
Detroit Pistons (2001–2003)
Atlanta Hawks (2003–2004)
Los Angeles Clippers (2004–2007)
Pamesa Valencia (2007)
awards = Euroleague Finals Most Valuable Player Award (2000)
2-time Greek League Finals MVP (2000, 2001)

Željko Rebrača ( _sr. Жељко Ребрача; born April 9, 1972 in Prigrevica village near Apatin, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Serbian professional basketball player. Formerly in the NBA, he finished his career with the Spanish ACB League team Pamesa Valencia.

Professional career

Europe

He began his professional career in 1989 with Partizan Belgrade. With Partizan he won the FIBA Champions' Cup in the 1991-1992 season. He played with Partizan through the 1994-1995 season.

In 1995-99 he played in the Italian League for Benetton Treviso, where he won the Italian Championship in 1997 under coach Mike D'Antoni. He followed up that by winning the Saporta Cup in 1999 and the Italian Supercup in 1998, while playing under coach Željko Obradović.

He has played for the European basketball giant Panathinaikos during the 1999-00 and 2000-01 seasons, winning with them 2 Greek Championships and 1 Euroleague Championship at the Final Four in 2000, which was hosted in Thessaloniki. He was awarded with the Euroleague Finals Most Valuable Player Award.

NBA

The 7'0" center was a second round (54th overall) draft pick of the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1994 NBA Draft. The Sonics immediately traded his NBA rights to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who then traded his rights to the Toronto Raptors in 1999, who in turn traded his rights to the Detroit Pistons in 2001.

In the NBA, he has played for the Detroit Pistons (2001-04), the Atlanta Hawks (2004) and the Los Angeles Clippers (2004-06). He was known by his teammates as "Big Z". His most productive season was his rookie year, in which he averaged 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a member of the Detroit Pistons. His career NBA averages are 5.9 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game in 15.3 minutes per game.

Rebrača has been plagued with heart problems. Those problems caused him to miss many games in his NBA career, including most of the first half of the 2005-06 NBA season. Rebrača holds NBA career highs of 24 points (scored on April 10, 2002) and 16 rebounds (set on January 29, 2005).

On April 6, 2007, after being on the injured list through the 2006-07 NBA season, Rebrača was waived by the Clippers, [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=2828497 Clippers waive Rebraca; sign Conroy] , April 6, 2007] and on June 19, 2007, he signed with Pamesa Valencia, in the Spanish basketball league ACB. [ [http://www.acb.com/redaccion.php?id=40628 Pamesa Valencia viste de taronja al pívot serbio Zeljko Rebraca] , June 19, 2007 es icon] On December 17, 2007, Rebraca announced his retirement from the game of basketball. [ [http://www.b92.net/sport/kosarka/kosarka.php?yyyy=2007&mm=12&dd=17&nav_id=276978 Rebrača objavio kraj karijere] December 18, 2007 sr icon] [ [http://www.ulebcup.com/ulebcup/home/news/i/20933/448/two-time-euroleague-champ-rebraca-retires Two-time Euroleague champ Rebraca retires] ]

International career

He was a member of the Yugoslavian national team (where he became one of the Serbian MVPs). He won with his national team the gold medal at both the Eurobasket 1995 and the Eurobasket 1997. With Yugoslavia he also won the silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Basketball Tournament in Atlanta, in the U.S. He also won the gold medal at the 1998 FIBA World Championship.

Personal

Rebrača was one of the founding members of the Group Seven Children's Foundation.

Notes

External links

*NBA-profile|zeljko_rebraca
*basketball-reference|name=Zeljko Rebraca
* [http://clippers.topbuzz.com/modules/gallery/zeljko-rebraca Željko Rebrača Pictures]
* [http://www.euroleague.net/ulebcup/home/news/i/20933/448/item Two-time Euroleague champ Rebraca retires] , ULEBCup.com, December 19, 2007