.JPG) Vujčić in 2015 | |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv | |
|---|---|
| Title | Team manager |
| League | Israeli Premier League EuroLeague |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1978-06-14)14 June 1978 (age 47) |
| Nationality | Croatian |
| Listed height | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) |
| Listed weight | 113 kg (249 lb) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2000:undrafted |
| Playing career | 1995–2013 |
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Number | 7 |
| Career history | |
| 1995–2001 | Split |
| 2001–2008 | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| 2001–2002 | →ASVEL |
| 2008–2010 | Olympiacos |
| 2010–2011 | Efes Pilsen |
| 2011–2013 | Split |
| Career highlights | |
As player
| |
Nikola Vujčić (born 14 June 1978) is a Croatian former professionalbasketball player, and the currentteam manager of the Israeli clubMaccabi Tel Aviv. During his playing career, he played at both thecenter andpower forward positions. As a player, he was a two-timeEuroLeague champion (2004,2005), a five-timeAll-EuroLeague Team selection (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), and was voted as a member of theEuroLeague 2000–2010 All-Decade Team. He was also the 2006Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP.
The 6-foot-11 inches tall Vujčić was the first player in theEuroLeague'scurrent era (2000–present), to achieve atriple-double. On 3 November 2005, he helped in Maccabi Tel Aviv's 95–68 win versus the Polish clubProkom Trefl Sopot, with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.[1] On 30 November 2006, Vujčić recorded another triple-double, the second in the EuroLeague's current era (2000–present), in Maccabi Tel Aviv's 110–87 win over the Slovenian clubUnion Olimpija, with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.[2] He was named aEuroLeague Legend in 2022.
Vujčić made his professional club debut with the Croatian clubKK Split, in the 1995–96 season, after coming up through the youth teams of the club. He played with Split through the 2000–01 season. As a member of Split, he wore the number 7 jersey that had once belonged to the former Split star and formerNBA player,Toni Kukoč. With Split, Vujčić twice appeared in theCroatian League playoff's finals. With the club at the European-wide level, he also played in 28FIBA Saporta Cup games (2nd European Level), in 23FIBA SuproLeague games, and in 34EuroLeague games (1st European level).
In 2001, he was signed by the Israeli clubMaccabi Tel Aviv, as a replacement forNate Huffman, who was expected to leave the club. At the last moment though, Huffman decided to return to the club for one more season, so Maccabi sent Vujčić onloan to theFrench clubASVEL Villeurbanne. Vujčić helped ASVEL win theFrench League championship, for the first time in 21 years. He also played in 14 EuroLeague games that season (2 with Maccabi and 12 with ASVEL), in which he averaged 15.7 points and 6.4rebounds per game.[3]
With Maccabi Tel Aviv, From 2002 to 2008, he won twoEuroLeague championships (2004 and2005), fiveIsraeli Super League championships, fourIsraeli State Cups, and oneIsraeli League Cup. He was also the 2006Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP.
On 18 June 2008, he signed a two-year contract,[4] worth€4.5 millionnet income, with theGreek Basket League clubOlympiacos Piraeus. On 25 October 2010, he signed a contract with theTurkish Super League clubEfes Pilsen.[5] After playing withSplit, from 2011 to 2013, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.
As a member of the seniorCroatian national team, Vujčić played at the1999 EuroBasket, the2001 EuroBasket, the2005 EuroBasket, and the2009 EuroBasket.
After he retired from playing professional basketball, Vujcic opened up his own basketball academy, in his home-town ofSplit, Croatia, where he would go on to help train young players to improve their basketball skills. Two of the main prospects to have been a part of the academy wereDragan Bender, who eventually became the number 4 overall pick of the2016 NBA draft, andAnte Žižić, who was drafted 23rd overall in the same draft.
In the 2013–14 season, Vujčić returned to one of his former clubs from his playing days,Maccabi Tel Aviv, to work as theteam's manager. After he took over that position, Maccabi Tel Aviv went through an historic down period for the club, as at one point, the team had failed to win three consecutiveIsraeli national league championships (2015–2017), and at another point, had also failed to reach theEuroLeague's postseason phase four years in a row (2016–2019). Subsequently, many Israelisports journalists and basketball analysts claimed that the team's inability to achieve its goals was due to the policies that had been implemented by Vujčić.
Vujčić, was born inVrgorac, in inlandDalmatia,SR Croatia, in the formerSFR Yugoslavia. On 17 January 2018, after he had lived in Israel for 10 years, theIsraeli Ministry of Interior granted a temporary Israeli citizenship to Vujčić and his family, after he had requested it.[6]
| 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 |
| † | Denotes season in which Vujčić won theEuroLeague |
| * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Maccabi | 2 | 0 | 6.0 | .667 | .000 | — | .5 | — | 1.0 | — | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| ASVEL | 12 | 2 | 29.6 | .520 | .278 | .714 | 7.4 | 1.9 | 1.5 | .8 | 18.0 | 22.3 | |
| 2002–03 | Maccabi | 20 | 16 | 28.5 | .551 | .386 | .691 | 7.1 | 1.8 | 1.4 | .8 | 17.6 | 21.2 |
| 2003–04† | 21 | 21 | 34.9 | .548 | .226 | .800 | 6.9 | 3.0 | .9 | .8 | 16.8 | 20.0 | |
| 2004–05† | 21 | 21 | 26.4 | .581 | .391 | .726 | 5.6 | 3.0 | 1.1 | .8 | 13.9 | 17.9 | |
| 2005–06 | 24 | 24 | 31.2 | .458 | .405 | .656 | 5.7 | 3.9 | .9 | .9 | 11.9 | 15.4 | |
| 2006–07 | 22 | 22 | 31.0 | .541 | .467 | .745 | 7.6 | 3.9 | 1.1 | .8 | 14.9 | 21.7* | |
| 2007–08 | 12 | 9 | 21.0 | .544 | .400 | .559 | 4.3 | 3.2 | .7 | .2 | 9.6 | 11.3 | |
| 2008–09 | Olympiacos | 21 | 20 | 22.2 | .553 | .250 | .645 | 3.8 | 2.6 | .8 | .5 | 11.4 | 13.9 |
| 2009–10 | 22* | 1 | 14.3 | .584 | .000 | .577 | 2.7 | 1.7 | .5 | .3 | 7.4 | 8.3 | |
| 2010–11 | Efes | 15 | 14 | 18.1 | .411 | .000 | .697 | 3.1 | 2.1 | .6 | .2 | 6.5 | 6.7 |
| Career | 192 | 150 | 25.8 | .532 | .345 | .695 | 5.4 | 2.7 | .9 | .6 | 12.7 | 15.9 | |
