Boban Janković

Infobox Person
name = Slobodan Janković
birth_date = birth date|1963|12|15|mf=y
birth_place = Lučani, Serbia
death_date = death date and age|2006|6|29|1963|12|15|mf=y
death_place =
occupation = Professional basketball player
children = 2

Slobodan "Boban" Janković (in Serbian: Слободан "Бобан" Јанковић) (December 15, 1963 in Lučani, Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia – June 29, 2006 in Rhodes, Greece) was a Serbian professional basketball player.

Pro career

Janković joined his first professional club Red Star Belgrade of the Serbian League in 1980, still short of his 17th birthday. Over the next 11 seasons he grew into a dependable power forward for the club. In 1991, he transferred to the Serbian League club KK Vojvodina of Novi Sad, but he stayed there for only one season.

Panionios tragedy

In 1992, the head coach of Panionios BC, Vlade Djurovic, Boban's mentor from his Red Star days, was instrumental in bringing him to the Greek League club. During the 1992-93 season, the 29-year-old Janković enjoyed a good run of playing form and success with Panionios. Unfortunately, that came to a sudden, crashing halt on April 28, 1993, when Janković was nearly fatally injured during a Greek League playoff game between Panionios and Panathinaikos BC in Nea Smyrni, Athens, Greece on the home court of Panionios.

The injury occurred eight minutes before the end of a tense playoff match. Janković scored a basket on a drive to the hoop while being guarded by Panathinaikos player Fragiskos Alvertis. However, the referee Koukoulekidis wiped out Janković's basket and instead called him for an offensive foul. It was Janković's 5th foul of the game, which meant that he had to leave the contest due to fouling out.

In reaction to what he believed was a bad call at a crucial moment of a very important playoff game, Janković slammed his head hard against the goal post. The head knock was quite strong and shockingly to all the game's spectators, it caused permanent paralysis of Janković's body. The 29-year-old basketball player had permanently damaged his spinal cord when he hit the goal post with his head and he was unable to walk for the rest of his life from that point on.

Being bound to a wheelchair for the final 13 years of his life, Janković gained weight, which exerted too much stress on his heart and he eventually died of heart failure at the age of 42, on the date of June 29, 2006, while he was on a holiday cruise on the Greek island of Rhodes.

ources

* [http://www.galanissportsdata.com/person_sdates.asp?EventID=2240&PersonID=600 Galanissportsdata.com]
* [http://www.sportime.gr/basket_inside.asp?article_id=22457 Sportime.gr]