Nikola Peković | |
|---|---|
 Peković with the Timberwolves in 2011 | |
| President of theBasketball Federation of Montenegro | |
| Assumed office 26 April 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Veselin Barović |
| President ofKK Partizan | |
| In office 8 September 2015 – 14 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Predrag Danilović |
| Succeeded by | Ostoja Mijailović |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1986-01-03)3 January 1986 (age 39) |
| Basketball career | |
| Personal information | |
| Listed height | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) |
| Listed weight | 307 lb (139 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2008: 2nd round, 31st overall pick |
| Drafted by | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Playing career | 2003–2017 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 14 |
| Career history | |
| 2003–2005 | Atlas |
| 2004–2005 | →Avala Ada |
| 2005–2008 | Partizan |
| 2008–2010 | Panathinaikos |
| 2010–2017 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2011 | Partizan |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Nikola Peković (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Пековић; born 3 January 1986) is a Montenegrin businessman,basketball executive and former professional player who is the current president of theBasketball Federation of Montenegro. He began his playing career in Europe before spending seven years with theMinnesota Timberwolves of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m), he played at thecenter position. A two-timeAll-EuroLeague selection, he represented the seniorMontenegrin national basketball team.
Peković began playing basketball with a junior team fromPodgorica at the age of 15.[1] In 2003, he moved toBelgrade,Serbia and signed his first professional contract withAtlas during the summer.
After two years there, Peković joined the national champions Partizan in July 2005. With Black and Whites, he won three consecutive Basketball League of Serbia titles, two Adriatic League and Radivoj Korać Cup titles. Peković was named the MVP of the Adriatic League Final Four in 2008. The same year, he also earned an All-Euroleague Second Team selection for leading Partizan to the competition's quarterfinals.
In the summer of 2008, Peković joined the Greek championsPanathinaikos.[2] He signed a three-year contract worth€4.5 millionnet income. He averaged 13.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in just over 18 minutes per contest, helping Panathinaikos win the2008–09 EuroLeague title. Peković consequently established himself as one of Europe's elite centers, being voted to theAll-EuroLeague First Team.[3] With PAO, he also won twoGreek League titles and the 2009Greek Cup.
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Peković was selected with the 31st overall pick in the2008 NBA draft by theMinnesota Timberwolves. Many draft experts considered him a top 10 pick, but due to his contract situation with his team in Europe, he was selected much lower. He was considered a lock to be drafted with the first pick of the second round because players selected in the second round are not subject to the rookie scale contracts of the first round. This meant that the team that drafted him would be able to pay him more than those players selected later in the first round. Due to the amount of money Peković was making in Europe already, he likely would not have made the jump to the NBA for the amount of money that could be paid to a late first round player.[citation needed]
On 30 June 2010, two years after being drafted, Peković signed a three-year, $13 million contract with the Timberwolves.[4] As a rookie in the NBA in 2010–11, Peković averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
On 16 August 2011, Peković signed a contract to play for his former team Partizan until the end of the2011 NBA lockout.[5] In 7 Euroleague games with Partizan, he led the team averaging 15.4 points and 4.6 rebounds. As the NBA lockout ended on 8 December 2011, he had to return to the United States.
The 2011–12 shortened NBA season started on 25 December 2011. Upon returning to Minnesota, through January 2012, Peković stepped in for an injuredDarko Miličić as the starting center for the Timberwolves. He finished the 2011–12 season with 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game. In voting for theMost Improved Player, Peković finished third behind Orlando'sRyan Anderson and Milwaukee'sErsan İlyasova.
During the 2012–13 NBA season, Peković cemented his position of starting center and with team's superstarKevin Love, led the Timberwolves frontcourt. With 31–51 record, it was the first season sinceKevin Garnett's departure that the Timberwolves won more than 30 regular season games. Peković averaged 16.3 points and career-high 8.8 rebounds per game.
On 14 August 2013, Peković re-signed with the Timberwolves to a five-year, $60 million deal.[6][7] On 27 January 2014, he suffered an ankle injury that hindered him for the rest of the season; he played only 10 games until the end of the season. The 2013–14 season for the Timberwolves was even more successful than previous as they managed to win 40 games. Over the season, Peković averaged a career-high 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds over 54 regular season games.
In August 2014, the Timberwolves traded Love in a three-team trade receivingAndrew Wiggins, starting the new era of the franchise.
During the 2014–15 season, Peković managed to play only 31 games due to a right ankle injury, averaging 12.5 points per game.[8] On 8 April 2015, Peković had surgery on his right Achilles tendon in hopes of addressing the pain in his bothersome right foot.[9] The departure of Love, Peković's absence from the court and other factors resulted in the worst league record of 16–66 for the Timberwolves. Eventually the Timberwolves won thedraft lottery and selectedKarl-Anthony Towns with the first overall pick, strengthening their core of young talented players in Wiggins andZach LaVine.
Entering his third season of a new contract, Peković was still enduring chronically sore ankles and Achilles. He made his season debut for the Timberwolves on 6 January 2016, playing for the first time since 11 March 2015. In 16 minutes of action off the bench, he scored 12 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.[10] Over the season, he appeared in just 12 games, averaging career lows of 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds.
On 25 September 2016, Peković was ruled out for the entire 2016–17 season due to recurring right ankle pain.[11] At the time, it appeared unlikely Peković would ever return to the court with the Timberwolves.[12] On 20 June 2017, following the conclusion of the 2016–17 season, Peković was waived by the Timberwolves.[13][14]
While playing with the youth national teams of Serbia and Montenegro, Peković received the bronze medal at the2005European Under-20 Championship, inRussia. He also won the gold medal with his generation at the2006 tournament, which was held inTurkey.
Peković represented the seniorMontenegrin national team at theEuroBasket 2011, which was held in Lithuania. Over 5 tournament games, he averaged 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, as Montenegro finished the tournament after being eliminated after the first phase.
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Minnesota | 65 | 11 | 13.6 | .517 | .000 | .763 | 3.0 | .4 | .3 | .5 | 5.5 |
| 2011–12 | Minnesota | 47 | 35 | 26.9 | .564 | .000 | .743 | 7.4 | .7 | .6 | .7 | 13.9 |
| 2012–13 | Minnesota | 62 | 62 | 31.6 | .520 | .000 | .744 | 8.8 | .9 | .7 | .8 | 16.3 |
| 2013–14 | Minnesota | 54 | 54 | 30.8 | .541 | .000 | .747 | 8.7 | .9 | .6 | .4 | 17.5 |
| 2014–15 | Minnesota | 31 | 29 | 26.3 | .424 | .000 | .837 | 7.5 | .9 | .6 | .4 | 12.5 |
| 2015–16 | Minnesota | 12 | 3 | 13.0 | .380 | .000 | .800 | 1.8 | .9 | .1 | .0 | 4.5 |
| Career | 271 | 194 | 24.9 | .518 | .000 | .760 | 6.7 | .7 | .5 | .6 | 12.6 | |
| † | Denotes seasons in which Peković won theEuroLeague |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | Partizan | 14 | 2 | 18.0 | .574 | .000 | .677 | 3.6 | .3 | .5 | .4 | 7.1 | 5.9 |
| 2006–07 | 20 | 3 | 13.5 | .593 | .000 | .714 | 2.5 | .2 | .6 | .3 | 4.8 | 3.3 | |
| 2007–08 | 23 | 14 | 26.5 | .584 | .000 | .773 | 6.9 | .8 | .7 | .6 | 16.4 | 19.6 | |
| 2008–09† | Panathinaikos | 21 | 9 | 18.1 | .634 | .000 | .775 | 3.8 | .3 | .3 | .7 | 13.0 | 14.0 |
| 2009–10 | 13 | 10 | 21.6 | .607 | .000 | .727 | 3.5 | .5 | .6 | .4 | 14.8 | 14.9 | |
| 2011–12 | Partizan | 7 | 7 | 27.2 | .549 | .000 | .811 | 4.6 | .7 | .3 | .3 | 15.4 | 16.7 |
| Career | 98 | 45 | 20.5 | .594 | .000 | .757 | 4.3 | .5 | .5 | .5 | 11.7 | 12.3 | |
In September 2015, Peković accepted an offer by theKK Partizan board of directors of becoming the club's new president, following the late August 2015 resignation ofSasha Danilović.[15] Soon after taking the position, he hiredPetar Božić to be the club's newhead coach, thus not offeringDuško Vujošević a new contract.[16]
On 14 June 2017, he resigned from the position.[17]
In January 2020, Peković became a team manager for theMontenegro national basketball team,[18] while on 26 April 2020 he was named the president of theBasketball Federation of Montenegro.[19] Few hours prior to being named on this position, Peković met withDeputy Prime MinisterDritan Abazović, with the two holding a meeting about the future of basketball in Montenegro.[20]
In June 2022,Zlatibor added Peković as a member of their managing board.[21]
Peković is an ethnicSerb and aSerbian Orthodox Christian.[22] He spends his off-seasons in Serbia, (particularly inZlatibor), where he has built an apartment house, as well as inBelgrade.[23] He has several Serb-themed tattoos, including theBattle of Kosovo[24] and theSerbian cross.[22]
Peković is connected to several underworld figures, most notably Montenegrin drug lordDarko Šarić who has been held in custody since 2011.[25] Peković has numerous business investments with Šarić in Serbia and Montenegro.[25] In October 2018, Peković took over a 1.15-million-euro debt from Šarić's brother.[26]
On 10 October 2020, Peković was reported to have been hospitalized after being infected bycoronavirus.[27]
