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The title of this article contains the
character đ.
Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented
as Dino Radja.
Dino Rađa, transcribed in English as
Dino Radja (born April 24, 1967, in Split, SR Croatia, SFR
Yugoslavia), is a retired Croatian basketball player. He was a member of the Jugoplastika team of the late
1980s and early 1990s, which he helped to two European Cup titles. In the United States he is
best known for the three and a half seasons spent with the Boston Celtics of
the NBA. Dino Rađa is
currently the president of his first professional team KK Split.
Split
Rađa began his basketball life in his native town, as a junior
at KK Dalvin. From there he went on to KK Split to polish his
professional career. He marvelled with Jugoplastika and POP 84 (two most notable sponsorships borne by
KK Split), as he and his friend Toni Kukoč led the team to the pinnacle of
European club basketball twice
in a row (1989 and 1990). Rađa would not stay in Split for a historic
three-peat the club
achieved, led by Kukoč, the following year, but would instead leave
for Italy; although he was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1989 NBA Draft,
in 1990 he signed for Virtus Roma, where he spent
the next three years.
Rome
Rađa averaged 18.1 points in his first season with Il Messaggero (Virtus Roma
enjoyed sponsorship from that popular Roman newspaper at the time).
European sports journalists voted him the second best European
player that season, shadowed only by his former teammate and friend
Kukoč. He improved his scoring average each of the next two seasons
with the Roman club, averaging 20.2 and 21.5 points, respectively.
In 1992 he led Virtus to a Korać Cup title.
Boston
He joined the Celtics in 1993. In his first season Radja
averaged 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds, earning All-NBA Rookie
Second Team honors, along with Kukoč, at that time a rookie with
the Chicago
Bulls. He spent three successful years with the Celtics,
averaging 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds. In 1997 a trade that was to send Radja to the Philadelphia
76ers for Clarence Weatherspoon fell
through when he failed his physical on June 24, 1997, which was a
likely catalyst in his decision to leave the United States.
Return to
Europe
He returned to Europe in 1997, joining Panathinaikos
BC. He spent two years there, winning two Greek Championships, but returned in 1999 to his native Croatia to play
for KK Zadar. He left
Panathinaikos because of a physical encounter with the club
president's son in the locker room after the game. The
president's son allegedly cursed Dino, but at that time Dino didn't
know that the person he assaulted was the son of the club
president.[1]
In 2000 he returned to Greece, joining Panathinaikos' long-time rivals,
Olympiacos BC, in an unsuccessful attempt
to regain the Greek Championship.
He returned, once again, to Croatia, joining KK Cibona for the 2001-2002 season. Radja finished his career in 2003, winning the Croatian championship with his first team, KK Split.
National
teams
Radja was on the Yugoslavian
team that won the silver medal in the 1988
Olympic Games in Seoul. He
was also a part of golden Yugoslavian teams at the 1987 FIBA Junior World Championship[2] in Bormio, Italy, 1989 Eurobasket in Zagreb, and the 1991 Eurobasket
in Rome.
Following Croatian independence, Radja became an important part
of the Croatian national basketball team, most
notably at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where Croatia
won the silver medal. Radja was also on the Croatian teams that won
the bronze at the 1993 Eurobasket in Germany, 1994 World Championship in Toronto and the 1995 Eurobasket
in Athens.
Notes
- ^
http://www.blog.hr/print/id/1623177546/dezbjego-show-slobodan-subotic.html
(Croatian)
- ^
Since split into separate under-19 and under-21 events.
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