- Marko Popović (born 1982)
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Marko Popović 
Nickname(s) Pop Position Point guard Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight 190 lb (86 kg) League Lithuanian Basketball League
Baltic Basketball League
ULEB Euroleague
VTB United LeagueTeam BC Žalgiris Born June 12, 1982
Zadar, Croatia, YugoslaviaNationality Croatian College Southern Idaho (2000-01) Pro career 1998–present Career history Zadar (1998-00, 2001-03)
Valencia (2003-04)
Cibona Zagreb (2004-05)
Efes Pilsen (2005-06)
Žalgiris Kaunas (2006-08)
UNICS Kazan (2008-11)Awards LKL All-Star (2008)
Eurocup Finals MVP 2011Marko Popović (born June 12, 1982) is a Croatian professional basketball player of Serbian descent. He is a 1.85 m (6'1") and 86 kg (190 pound) point guard. He currently plays for the pro club Žalgiris Kaunas.
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Early life
Marko Popović was born in Zadar, the son of Petar Popović,[1] a retired basketball player and a present day coach whose father (Marko's grandfather) had moved to Zadar from Kraljevo, Serbia in 1943.[2] Marko had started training basketball in the youth school of KK Zadar, but in 1991 the family was harassed for their Serbian origin during the Croatian War of Independence and when their cafe "Timeout" was blown up by local Croats, so they moved to Zagreb in 1994 when the father signed with Benston.[2] Marko then entered the youth system of KK Cibona, where he remained in 1997 as his family moved back to Zadar. His cadet team won the national championship and he himself was voted MVP of the tournament.[2]
Pro career
Marko started his career with KK Zadar in 1998. In the 1998/99 season he was in the junior squad but scored an average of 25 points per game, which earned him a spot in the top tier in 1999.[2] In 2000, he competed in the European Junior Basketball Championship in Zadar where Croatia won the second place and Popović was the best assistant with an average of 5.2 assists per game.[2] KK Zadar decided to offer him a seven-year contract at that point, but he refused and went to an American college at the NCAA Division II team Southern Idaho where he stayed for a year.[2] In 2001, he moved back to Croatia and Zadar.[2] In the 2002-03 season, he won the Goodyear League's championship.
In 2003, he moved Pamesa Valencia of the Spanish ACB League for the 2003-04 season, where he stayed for one season until moving back to Croatia again, this time to Cibona Zagreb, with which he won the Croatian Championship in the 2004-05 season.
In 2005, Popović was signed to the Turkish league club Efes Pilsen, and the next year he moved to Žalgiris Kaunas of the Lithuanian League, with which he won the 2006-07 season and the 2007-08 season Lithuanian Championships. He was named the Eurocup Finals MVP in 2011.[3]
In 2011, he returned to Žalgiris.[4]
Croatian national team
Popović played for the Croatian men's junior national basketball teams, where his team won the silver medal at the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. He led the 2002 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship in both scoring and assists.
He joined the senior men's Croatian national basketball team in 2002, and with the senior team he has played at the following EuroBaskets: EuroBasket 2003, EuroBasket 2005, EuroBasket 2007, and EuroBasket 2009. He also played at the 2008 Olympic Basketball Tournament and the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
References
- ^ "Košarkaši strepili za pobjedu i protiv Finaca" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. 2011-08-31. http://web2.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Novosti/Crnakronika/Crnakronika/tabid/70/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/147574/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2011-09-07. "[...] Petar Popović, legenda zadarske košarke, koji je potegnuo do Alytusa pogledati uživo nastupe Hrvatske na Eurobasketu. Otac Marka Popovića, [...]"
- ^ a b c d e f g Dean Sinovčić (2003-04-15). "Obitelj koja je obilježila zadarsku košarku - Bit ću najniži europski igrač u NBA" (in Croatian). Nacional #387. http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/13429/bit-cu-najnizi-europski-igrac-u-nba. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
- ^ Eurocupbasketball.com Eurocup Finals MVP, Marko Popovic of Unics.
- ^ "Kapetan može bezbrižno na Eurobasket: Marko Popović se vraća u Žalgiris!" (in Croatian). Sportske Novosti. 2011-08-14. http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/kapetan-moze-bezbrizno-na-eurobasket--marko-popovic-se-vratio-u-zalgiris-/965815/. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
External links
- Euroleague.net Profile
- Adriatic League Profile
- Spanish League Profile (Spanish)
- 2010 FIBA World Championship Profile
- United League Profile
- Russian League Profile
- Interview-Biography (Russian)
Croatia squad – EuroBasket 2003 – 9th place Croatia squad – EuroBasket 2005 – 7th place Croatia squad – EuroBasket 2007 – 6th place Croatia squad – 2008 Summer Olympics – 6th place Croatia squad – EuroBasket 2009 – 6th place Croatia squad – 2010 FIBA World Championship – 14th place Croatia squad – EuroBasket 2011 – 13th place ULEB Eurocup Finals MVP Categories:- 1982 births
- Living people
- Croatian basketball players
- Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Croatian expatriates in Russia
- Croatian expatriates in Turkey
- Expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania
- Expatriate sportspeople in Russia
- Expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
- KK Cibona players
- BC Žalgiris players
- Anadolu Efes SK players
- Liga ACB players
- KK Zadar players
- Valencia BC players
- Guards (basketball)
- Point guards
- People from Zadar
- Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic basketball players of Croatia
- UNICS Kazan players
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