Primož Brezec

infobox Euroleague Player


name = Primož Brezec
nickname =
position = Center
height_ft = 7 | height_in = 1
weight_lbs = 255
league = Italian League
Euroleague
team = Lottomatica Roma
nationality = Slovenian
birth_date = birth date and age|1979|10|2
birth_place = Postojna, Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
draft = 27th overall
draft_year = 2000
draft_team = Indiana Pacers
career_start = 1998
career_end =
former_teams = KK Union Olimpija (1998–2001)
Indiana Pacers (2001–2004)
Charlotte Bobcats (2004–2007)
Detroit Pistons (2007–2008) Toronto Raptors (2008)
awards =

Primož Brezec (born October 2, 1979 in Postojna, Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian professional basketball center. He currently plays with Lottomatica Roma of Italian League. Previously, Brezec played seven seasons in the NBA.

Pro career

Europe

Brezec grew up in Sežana, where he played for the local team Kraski Zidar in the first national league of Slovenia. During his high school years he was a member of the basketball team and a major star of the ŠKL league (national high school league). As a professional he played for KK Union Olimpija from 1998 until 2001.

Brezec spent the next 7 seasons playing in the NBA in the United States. He returned to Europe on July 20, 2008, Brezec signed a 2 year contract with Lottomatica of Italian League. [ [http://basketboltr.net/2008/07/20/euroleague-primoz-brezec-in-roma/ Brezec signs with Lottomatica.] ] he gets 100 million dollars from roma.

NBA

Brezec was chosen by the Indiana Pacers with the 27th overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft. After three years with little playing time, he was picked up in the 2004 expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats. As their starting center, Brezec averaged career-highs of 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game during the 2004-05 NBA season. He also scored the first points, made the first turnover and the first free-throws in the history of the franchise.

On December 14, 2007, Brezec, along with Bobcats teammate Wálter Herrmann, was traded to the Detroit Pistons for center Nazr Mohammed. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3155460 Bobcats acquire Mohammed from Pistons for Brezec, Herrmann.] ]

On the 2008 NBA trade deadline, February 21, 2008, Brezec, along with cash considerations, was traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Juan Dixon. [ [http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/postedsports/archive/2008/02/21/nba-raptors-deal-juan-dixon.aspx NBA: Raptors deal Dixon.] ] During his Raptor debut he hit all five of his shots and finished with 11 points, three rebounds and a block in 13 minutes off the bench against the New York Knicks in a February 24 win.

In early March, just two weeks after Brezec joined the Raptors, a fan started a website called ReSignPrimoz.com, [ [http://www.resignprimoz.com ReSignPrimoz.com.] ] to convince the Canadian franchise to re-sign the center to a contract-extension in the off season.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

-
align="left" | 2001–02
align="left" | Indiana
22 || 4 || 7.3 || .483 || .000 || .600 || 1.3 || .3 || .0 || .3 || 2.0
-
align="left" | 2002–03
align="left" | Indiana
22 || 1 || 5.0 || .395 || .000 || .600 || 1.0 || .2 || .1 || .2 || 1.9
-
align="left" | 2003–04
align="left" | Indiana
18 || 0 || 4.0 || .462 || .000 || .667 || .8 || .2 || .0 || .2 || 1.6
-
align="left" | 2004–05
align="left" | Charlotte
72 || 72 || 31.6 || .512 || .000 || .745 || 7.4 || 1.2 || .5 || .8 || 13.0
-
align="left" | 2005–06
align="left" | Charlotte
79 || 79 || 27.4 || .517 || .000 || .732 || 5.6 || .6 || .2 || .4 || 12.4
-
align="left" | 2006–07
align="left" | Charlotte
58 || 40 || 14.4 || .445 || .333 || .632 || 3.2 || .4 || .2 || .4 || 5.0
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Charlotte
20 || 18 || 13.4 || .395 || .000 || .600 || 2.2 || .3 || .0 || .2 || 1.9
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Detroit
17 || 0 || 5.8 || .769 || .000 || .500 || 1.1 || .2 || .1 || .1 || 1.6
-
align="left" | 2007–08
align="left" | Toronto
13 || 0 || 8.5 || .447 || .000 || .667 || 1.4 || .1 || .1 || .2 || 3.7
-
align="left" | Career
align="left" |
321 || 214 || 19.0 || .500 || .167 || .706 || 4.1 || .6 || .2 || .4 || 7.6
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Notes

External links

* [http://www.nba.com/playerfile/primoz_brezec/ NBA.com profile - Primož Brezec]
* [http://www.interbasket.net/players/brezec.htm Interbasket player profile]