Igor Rakočević

Igor Rakočević (; born 29 March 1978) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player.

At a height of 1.94 m (6'4 ") tall, he played at both the point guard and shooting guard positions, but he spent the vast majority of his career playing as a shooting guard. During his playing career, Rakočević was a two-time All-EuroLeague Team member, and a three-time Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy winner. He was also a member of the senior FR Yugoslavian national team, which was eventually renamed the Serbian and Montenegrin national team. With FR Yugoslavia, he won gold medals at both the 2001 FIBA EuroBasket and the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Professional career

Early years Rakočević played with Crvena zvezda and Budućnost before going to the NBA. With Crvena zvezda, he won the YUBA League championship in the 1997–98 season, and finished second in the FIBA Korać Cup in the same season.

In 2000, after getting drafted in the NBA, he signed a three-year contract with KK Budućnost, with an NBA exit clause along with a set transfer fee should he decide to exercise the clause.

Minnesota Timberwolves Rakočević was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves, in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2000 NBA draft. He did not play in the NBA, until the 2002–03 NBA season, in which he totaled 244 minutes of playing time, in 42 games played, and averaged 1.9 points, 0.8 assists, and 0.4 rebounds per game. He was released after the season, and signed by the San Antonio Spurs, who also released him shortly after. The 2002 - 2003 season ended up being his only season in the NBA, with his final game being a 97–78 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on April 6, 2003. In his final game, Rakočević played for 1 minute and recorded 1 assist and no other stats.

Back to Europe In October 2003, Rakočević returned to Europe, and signed with Crvena zvezda, where he was the top scorer of the Adriatic League. He was the captain and best player of Crvena zvezda in that 2003–04 season.

He continued his career in Spain, where he played with Pamesa Valencia, Real Madrid and Tau Cerámica. In the EuroLeague 2006–07 season, he won the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy. He was also selected to the All-EuroLeague Second Team of that year's competition. With TAU Cerámica, Rakočević won the Spanish Supercup title in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the Spanish King's Cup title in 2009, and the Spanish ACB League championship in 2008. He also won another Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy with TAU, in 2009.

In June 2009, he signed a three-year contract with the Turkish Super League club Efes Pilsen. While playing with Efes, he also won the 2011 Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy. In June 2011, he left Efes.

In October 2011, Rakočević signed with the Italian League club Montepaschi Siena, for the 2011–12 season.

On 9 August 2012, he signed a two-year contract with Crvena zvezda, which began his third stint with that team. In July 2013, Rakočević decided not to play for Crvena zvezda in the following season, and he made the statement that he would play abroad for one more season, or would retire, and become the sports director of the team.

National team career Rakočević made his debut with the senior FR Yugoslavian national team at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. After that, he played at the 2001 EuroBasket, in Turkey (where he won a gold medal), and at the 2005 EuroBasket, in Serbia and Montenegro. He was a member of the FR Yugoslavia team that became the FIBA World Champions in Indianapolis, at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, and he was the captain of the Serbia and Montenegro national team in Japan, at the 2006 FIBA World Championship. He also played at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games.

Post-playing career In February 2015, Rakočević was elected as the vice-president of the Basketball Federation of Serbia, and put in charge of men's basketball. In December 2020, he was not sought for re-election.

Rakočević was elected on 5-year term as a member of the Assembly of the KK Crvena zvezda on 27 December 2021.

Personal life Rakočević is the son of former Serbian basketball player Goran Rakočević, who played at the point guard position with Crvena zvezda.

Since retiring from professional basketball, Rakočević has taken up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and in December 2021 was promoted to black belt in the art after a little over nine years of training.

Career statistics

NBA Regular season

EuroLeague Led the league

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career Crvena zvezda Belgrade FR Yugoslav League (1): 1998 Serbian Radivoj Korać Cup (2): 2004, 2013 Budućnost Podgorica FR Yugoslav League (1): 2001 FR Yugoslav Cup (1): 2001 Valencia Basket Valencian League (1): 2005 Real Madrid Community of Madrid Tournament (1): 2006 TAU Cerámica Spanish League (1): 2008 Spanish Cup (1): 2009 Spanish Supercup (3): 2006, 2007, 2008 Efes Istanbul Turkish Super Cup (2): 2009, 2010 Montepaschi Siena Italian League (1): 2012 Italian Cup (1): 2012

Individual FR Yugoslavian League Most Improved Player: (1998) Adriatic League Final Four Top Scorer: (2004) Adriatic League Top Scorer: (2004) Spanish ACB League 3 Point Shootout Champion: (2007–08) 3× Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy: 2007, 2009, 2011 All-EuroLeague Second Team: (2007) All-EuroLeague First Team: (2009) Spanish League Top Scorer: (2009) All-Spanish League Team: (2009)

FR Yugoslavian junior national team 1996 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship: 1997 Nike Hoop Summit 1997 FIBA Under-21 World Cup: 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: MVP

FR Yugoslavian senior national team 1997 Mediterranean Games: 2001 EuroBasket: 2002 FIBA World Championship: