Darko Milicic speaking about his days as an NBA player in an interview on Serbian TV

[BHF]

A Serbian nationalist and a cetnik has zero respect from me.

[HEKTOR]

Just a Serbian nationalist or any nationalist?

[dhsilv2]

His touch around the rim was terrible, I dont get wheres that talent everybodys talking about when talking Darko. He had psysical tools but no skills, basically Bogut with much lower bb IQ

Bogut if he could have played more minutes and stayed healthy was one of the best defensive players in the league. How is being bogut a bad thing? That's a really weird way to dog a guy by comparing him to a DPOY level defender with an injury history.

But completely disagree with him not having a touch but more to that he had good handles for his size, he had a shot that he needed to work on but was workable, and he actually had a decent touch. Given the guy clearly just didn't put ANY work in.... I seriously don't think people realize how little effort he put in while still being a clear legit nba player. I'm not even sure by the end if he was even sober in those games...he was upset teams kept paying him to play.

Bogut without much smarts is nothing amazing. I agree that Milicic had potential as defensive player, but I never saw big offensive talent there.

DPOY guy who scores at will on smaller guys, can step out to 15, can handle against bigger guys...a solid 15 a game kinda of guy. That's a hall of famer.

[UcanUwill]

Bogut if he could have played more minutes and stayed healthy was one of the best defensive players in the league. How is being bogut a bad thing? That's a really weird way to dog a guy by comparing him to a DPOY level defender with an injury history.

But completely disagree with him not having a touch but more to that he had good handles for his size, he had a shot that he needed to work on but was workable, and he actually had a decent touch. Given the guy clearly just didn't put ANY work in.... I seriously don't think people realize how little effort he put in while still being a clear legit nba player. I'm not even sure by the end if he was even sober in those games...he was upset teams kept paying him to play.

Bogut without much smarts is nothing amazing. I agree that Milicic had potential as defensive player, but I never saw big offensive talent there.

DPOY guy who scores at will on smaller guys, can step out to 15, can handle against bigger guys...a solid 15 a game kinda of guy. That's a hall of famer.

Yeah, and Darko cant do any of those things. Serbia and Montenegro tried to make him into a focal point back in 2006 and they fell on their face with Darko barely cracking one point per shot mark. Thats was first real look at Darko and he looked like garbage and after that it was obvious why hes buried on the Pistons bench.

[dhsilv2]

Bogut without much smarts is nothing amazing. I agree that Milicic had potential as defensive player, but I never saw big offensive talent there.

DPOY guy who scores at will on smaller guys, can step out to 15, can handle against bigger guys...a solid 15 a game kinda of guy. That's a hall of famer.

Yeah, and Darko cant do any of those things. Serbia and Montenegro tried to make him into a focal point back in 2006 and they fell on their face with Darko barely cracking one point per shot mark. Thats was first real look at Darko and he looked like garbage and after that it was obvious why hes buried on the Pistons bench.

You have to actually work on your game to get better. Darko didn't put in ANY effort after his first couple of years and was from then on both out of shape and depressed. If you couldn't see the raw potential then so be it, but you're acting like darko still had a desire to be great by 06....I seriously think he was already well into being checked out.

[UcanUwill]

DPOY guy who scores at will on smaller guys, can step out to 15, can handle against bigger guys...a solid 15 a game kinda of guy. That's a hall of famer.

Yeah, and Darko cant do any of those things. Serbia and Montenegro tried to make him into a focal point back in 2006 and they fell on their face with Darko barely cracking one point per shot mark. Thats was first real look at Darko and he looked like garbage and after that it was obvious why hes buried on the Pistons bench.

You have to actually work on your game to get better. Darko didn't put in ANY effort after his first couple of years and was from then on both out of shape and depressed. If you couldn't see the raw potential then so be it, but you're acting like darko still had a desire to be great by 06....I seriously think he was already well into being checked out.

I am not saying he was the worst prospect, but i never understood how he was Number 2 in all time great draft good. he wasnt even that good junior player before the draft, and he wasnt freak like Giannis or something like that. And to act he would have been hall of famer if not his mindset, talking about a guy who busted as hard as anyone is kinda a ridiculous take. He was overhype BY ONE ON NONE practice and thats it.

[Ballerhogger]

Clippers to Vegas ,
Memphis to Seattle same kinda of defensive team culture grind hours mentalilty .
That’s would be best way to maxuim team revenue for the league. Vegas needs baseball team as well Side note

[HEKTOR]

Interview Breakdown:

- Currently living a 'Serbian dream', feels blessed.

Being Drafted by the Pistons:
- Decided to go to the US, wasn't ready psychologically.
- Was very young, wanted to play, was very satisfied to have made it to the NBA.
- Didn't get much of a chance with the Pistons, didn't help his cause by doing stupid, negative things.
- At the time had the mentality that he was the best in the world, and could care less what others thought.
- Had arguments with the coaching staff, fans, recognizes that he made many mistakes.
- Wasn't willing to understand other perspectives, grew more and more jaded, frustrated, etc - would in times of rage destroy his apartment where was living only later to call people to fix the damage.

Lebron James was given a chance to shine in Cleveland while Darko didn't get much of a chance in Detroit.
- Completely different situation as in Detroit he was on a veteran team with a veteran coach that was a contender.
- Also didn't deserve a chance considering his actions/behavior, lack of work ethic, etc.
- Had the mentality that everyone was against him but that he was the best, and would show them one day.
- Problem was that while talent is important, much more important to put in the hard work, something that he didn't do.

Playing for Hemofarm in a Cup competition
- Dominated when given a chance and thought he would be able to do the same thing anywhere else (including the NBA, etc)

American mentality in the NBA
- Basketball 24/7 - players had nothing else to talk about.
- Felt out of place, had other interests but no one to really share them with since everyone else was focused on bball.
- Players would often just be on their phones, doing their own thing.
- Days in Hemofarm were quite different - players would spend more time together, go for lunches, be more social. Darko enjoyed that atmosphere much more.

Partying
- Would throw big parties at his house.
- Opposing players would come instead of going out somewhere else, most of whom he didn't even know.
- Had a big house, had a party downstairs, lot's of people, played Serbian music.

Serbian players helping him
- Didn't really speak with Divac, Stojakovic, or Jaric besides going for dinners while playing against each other.
- Had Rebraca as a team-mate in Detroit and he tried giving Darko some advice, wisdom, etc.

Playing the final minutes of blowouts (human victory cigar)
- Was depressing.
- Played the last 2 minutes in the NBA finals against the Lakers and broke his hand.
- Signalled to the bench that he wanted to come out because of his injury but was told to stay in and finish the game as it was a privilege.
- Missed 3 months as a result which had him out for the entire summer.
- Couldn't play international bball that summer which he had planned to do and really enjoyed.

Orlando
- Got a chance to play.
- Everything went through Dwight but was considered a good fit and was promised to be a part of the Magic's future plans going forward.
- Really liked Orlando as a city, wanted to stay there.

Memphis
- Never liked it there, felt it was a depressing city.
- Told his agent he'd sign anywhere but Memphis but later his agent said that was the only team that was offering him a deal so he decided to sign.

Minnesota
- Was in NY with the Knicks for a short time and then was told Minny wanted to trade for him.
- Had 2 meetings with Minny where he tried to convince them not to trade for them, said he would destroy the team atmosphere, was no good, etc.
- Wanted to go back to Europe and play in the Euroleague at the time.
- Minny insisted that he come there and traded for him anyways.
- Told him he could stay for 2 weeks, there will be 6-7 games and if he doesn't like it, they'll release him.
- Started the 1st game, started to enjoy playing bball again.
- Enjoyed playing against big centres like Gasol but had no motivation against the weaker teams with less known bigs.

Pekovic
- Joined Darko in his 2nd year with Minny.
- Came to Darko saying he was requesting a trade after not getting much playing time.
- Darko told him to wait it out, didn't want him to leave as they were friends.
- Darko got injured but exaggerated it so Pekovic could play. Believed Pek deserved a chance much more than he did anyways.
- When given chances to play, Pek did really well - had a game where he put up 30pts.
- As a result, Darko was out of the rotation completely, something he didn't expect - thought he'd just get moved to the bench.

Boston
- Celtics wanted to give him a chance, thought they'd give him the opportunity to re-ignite his career.
- Felt they had the right to feel that way but knew he wasn't the same player anymore, nor did he have the potential to be.
- Wanted to be a big man that would have the ball in his plans, team could run plays through him.
- Instead was an end-of-the-bench guy who could come in depending on match-ups, etc.
- Wasn't interested in that that role.
- Was scheduled to start against Toronto (he thinks) and then told Doc that he was done.
- Told the players, none of whom really took him seriously.
- Tyron Lue was on the coaching staff and went to his house to talk with him and couldn't believe it that he was serious and was packing to go back to Serbia.
- Lue asked him "what about the money?" for which Darko responded something like: "who cares about money?"

Did you think you'd be better than Lebron, Carmelo, etc?
- Didn't think he could be better but that he could easily play in the NBA.
- Doesn't believe in stat-padding but values winning more.

Kevin Love
- Was open with all the players in the locker-room while at Minny and what he thought about them.
- Was later asked to apologize but refused.
- Said Love was pampered but was just a stat-padder, didn't care about the team, just wanted to get his numbers.
- Darko was more concerned about the team, didn't believe you could win with guys like Love as the #1 guy.
- Recognizes that Love was a better player, accomplished much more but still feels the same.

Are you jealous of Lebron?
- No, Darko is happy for him, thinks he's a great player, deserving of all his success.

Will get to the 2nd half later...

[dhsilv2]

Yeah, and Darko cant do any of those things. Serbia and Montenegro tried to make him into a focal point back in 2006 and they fell on their face with Darko barely cracking one point per shot mark. Thats was first real look at Darko and he looked like garbage and after that it was obvious why hes buried on the Pistons bench.

You have to actually work on your game to get better. Darko didn't put in ANY effort after his first couple of years and was from then on both out of shape and depressed. If you couldn't see the raw potential then so be it, but you're acting like darko still had a desire to be great by 06....I seriously think he was already well into being checked out.

I am not saying he was the worst prospect, but i never understood how he was Number 2 in all time great draft good. he wasnt even that good junior player before the draft, and he wasnt freak like Giannis or something like that. And to act he would have been hall of famer if not his mindset, talking about a guy who busted as hard as anyone is kinda a ridiculous take. He was overhype BY ONE ON NONE practice and thats it.

I'll just have to agree to disagree man. his raw potential looked off the chart when I first saw him play.

[Showdown]

He says that players were only watching their mobile phones and talked about basketball so i have to ask what they watched on their phones in 2003 ? Snake game ?

[asas]

only thing that separates Darko and Lebron is a chance....

Watch on YouTube

the greatest of the greatest, while other lame nba players talking about basketball 24/7 real legends drink beer with no hands, basketball is just a side job for little cash

I mean you are just buying into misinformation. Yes Darko f-ing sucks. But every statement looks wrong without context. Go back to first page and another poster just told everyone what that statement meant. He said players are only talking about basketball and they do not try to connect "As Humans". That completely changes the point.

Sorry but it's so annoying sometimes. It's 2019, can we make a little bit of effort to research before agreeing with everything we see? It's just so frustrating.

I'm not sure it does change the point all that much.

I think It does, especially when Kevin Love is described by many players as a guy who distances himself from teammates - just comes to play basketball. On the other hand a guy like Lebron greatly values relationship between players, wants them to hangout together and all that stuff.

Darko is stupid to make a statement like this because he did not play on every team in the Nba, every team is different. But the point changes.

[MkPhilly]

It was very funny when he said that the seats in the Chinese restaurant were 'Bratstvo jedinstvo' (Brotherhood and unity, a Yugoslav slogan).

[CBS7]

I don't know why people hold it against him that he didn't have a raw passion for basketball lol. Not everyone is built like that

Its a true, but IMO is the #1 reason for people to "bust" out of the NBA. That and injuries.

[paganin-74]

Not really, but as I said, people are strongly divided about the likes of the man whose picture Darko have on his body and Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Serbian communists would probably agree with you.

It's not really so much about Djujic (though if the Wiki article is anything to go by, he seems to have been a pretty nasty piece of work), after all General Lee was quite a decent dude by most accounts. My point, however, is, if a Serb goes as far as getting a tattoo of the guy, one can safely assume he's a right-wing extremist... And Darko, he doesn't seem to be especially bright and as far as expectations go a failure, so seems to really fit the profile.

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

More of a question for my Serbian comrades. Did Darko ever talk about his nationalism? He dodged every single question from Marić here about that and answered something like "ehehehe well" and then he would change the subject

[Richard Miller]

More of a question for my Serbian comrades. Did Darko ever talk about his nationalism? He dodged every single question from Marić here about that and answered something like "ehehehe well" and then he would change the subject

Not much afaik, but some years ago he did appear at a gathering organized by SRS to support Seselj while he was still in prison. Though I don't think he's a member of any party or at least don't remember hearing about it.

[alebaba]

"- Can't understand American mentality and his players, who were focused on basketball 24/7. Says it was the only talking point for them."

that's pretty much why he failed.

He also added that players in NBA are either staring at their phones all of the time or talking ball, there is no room for any personal connections between players. And he was also surprised when going out on team dinner or lunch, players earning millions of dollars are splitting bills, each paying their own stuff, 10-15$ - so on multiple occasions he just picked up the check.

And yes, that kind of behavior is strange for us South-Europeans. People should be friendly, easy to reach, especially if you are part of the team. And it's quite a normal thing that you pick the bill one time, and next time someone else pays the meal. Normal people are doing this here, let alone rich folks. If I go out with friends, we never split the bill.

And about Kevin Love part. He said that the dude had tears in his eyes if he didn't get his 20 pts, even if the team won the game. At the end of the season Darko said some hard stuff to some Timberwolves players and the GM still wanted to bring him back next season if he would tell them that he was sorry. Darko was like, nah fck that!

I only do this with family relatives now, but with friends we split the bills. If I was rich tho, I would take the tab 80% of the time. It's much easier to splitting the bill now, with out it being a hassle. Thank god for Venmo.

[HEKTOR]

I think it's a cultural thing more so than an economic one (splitting bills).
I rarely split bills, especially when with friends.

[Sgt Major]

Not really, but as I said, people are strongly divided about the likes of the man whose picture Darko have on his body and Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Serbian communists would probably agree with you.

It's not really so much about Djujic (though if the Wiki article is anything to go by, he seems to have been a pretty nasty piece of work), after all General Lee was quite a decent dude by most accounts. My point, however, is, if a Serb goes as far as getting a tattoo of the guy, one can safely assume he's a right-wing extremist... And Darko, he doesn't seem to be especially bright and as far as expectations go a failure, so seems to really fit the profile.

Yep, that would be a correct assumption.

[blueNorange]

darko looks like moonshine has zero affect on him.