Mile Ilić

Mile Ilić (; born 2 June 1984) is a Serbian podcaster and former professional basketball player.

Known in Serbia as Jao Mile (word play referencing Yao Ming and the Serbian expression for ouch, ), the 2.15-metre-tall (7'1") center won two Adriatic League championships with KK FMP. Additionally, he played with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2006–07 season, having been drafted one year earlier as the 43rd overall pick.

Early life and career Born to a Serb family in Tuzla, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia due to it being the nearest town with a maternity ward, young Mile was raised in a Lopare area settlement of together with two older siblings, including sister (born 1973) who would soon begin pursuing basketball with the Jedinstvo Aida youth squads and eventually grow to 193 cm in height.

After coming up through the Jedinstvo Aida youth system for years, in 1990, youngster Mile's sixteen-year-old sister Slavica Ilić made the team's full squad as replacement at center for celebrated future FIBA Hall of Famer Razija Mujanović who had just transferred abroad to play with CB Godella in Spain. Their father soon joined the armed conflict, fighting as part of the Republika Srpska Army (VRS).

New Jersey Nets Having been drafted one year earlier in 2005, Ilić signed for the Nets on 13 September 2006 once a roster spot opened due to Zoran Planinić leaving the club. Initially, twenty-two-year-old Ilić was brought in as a foreseeable future backup for countryman Nenad Krstić with the Nets' general manager Ed Stefanski singling out Ilić's lateral movement, pick-and-roll, and defensive help as well as his overall adaptation to the speed of the NBA game as the areas the NBA rookie needs to improve in.

On 26 February 2007 the Nets assigned him to the Colorado 14ers, their NBA Development League affiliate. Ilić thus became the first player that the Nets assigned to the D-League since instituting affiliate teams (prior to the 2005–06 NBA season). Playing for the 14ers based out of Broomfield, Colorado, his Development League season ended early due to an ankle joint injury in early April 2007. The injury would end up having a major impact on his basketball career in subsequent years.

On 29 October 2007 he was traded by the Nets to New Orleans Hornets along with Bernard Robinson for David Wesley (both Ilić and Robinson were immediately waived by the Hornets).

Return to Europe After getting waived in the NBA, Ilić returned to Europe and signed with Lokomotiv Rostov on 26 November 2007. However, he never managed to play for the Russian club due to the effects of the nagging ankle injury he had picked up in the United States and then exacerbated at the EuroBasket 2007 training camp with Serbia national team. Hampered by the recovery process from the ankle injury, he only appeared in 10 games for the club, averaging 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

On 28 July 2008, Ilić signed with CB Sevilla for the 2008–09 season. Playing on a squad with compatriot Duško Savanović under head coach Pedro Martínez, Ilić's not-fully-healed ankle injury got exacerbated again and he started missing games again. On 27 March 2009, he parted ways with Sevilla after averaging only 2 points and 2 rebounds per game.

The 2009–10 season began with Ilić without a club as teams shied away from acquiring the tall center due to concerns over his re-occurring ankle injury.

Seasons in Serbia After ten months away from competitive basketball, Ilić found a club in March 2010, signing for the remainder of the season with Metalac Valjevo that decided to acquire him after qualifying for the Superleague stage of their Serbian Basketball League campaign.

For the 2010–11 season he returned to FMP.

The 2011–12 season he played with Crvena zvezda. In March 2013, signed with Vojvodina Srbijagas for the 2012–13 Serbian Superleague season.

Seasons in the Middle East and stints in Georgia and Lithuania In October 2013, Ilić signed with Mahram Tehran BC of the Iranian Super League. In January 2014, he left Tehran and signed with MIA Academy of the Georgian Super Liga for the rest of the season.

In 2015, Ilić played for Qatar Sports Club of the Qatari League. On 17 October 2015 he signed with the Lithuanian club Lietkabelis Panevėžys.

In September 2016, Ilić signed with Nuwaidrat of the Bahraini Premier League. At the end of March 2017, Ilić signed with Tadamon Zouk of the Lebanese Basketball League. In July 2017, he returned to Nuwaidrat. In September 2018, Ilić signed for a Bahraini club Al Itihad.

In summer 2019, Ilić played for Al Seeb of the Oman League. In July 2019, he signed for a Bahraini club Al-Ahli. Prior to the 2019–20 season, Ilić signed for Baniyas of the UAE National League.

National team During late August 2003, nineteen-year-old Ilić represented Serbia-Montenegro at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu, South Korea as part of the country's university basketball team. The makeshift squad consisting of ten FMP players plus Milan Bralović and Marko Marinović from Borac Čačak was put together by FMP's head coach Vlade Đurović on a short notice.

At the beginning of summer 2011, after completing a return season with FMP, Ilić was called up by the Serbia national team head coach Dušan Ivković for the EuroBasket 2011 training camp. Ilić made it to the last 16, this time, before getting cut by Ivković in early August 2011 together with Novica Veličković.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Post-playing career In March 2022, Ilić started his podcast show named Jao Mile.