Matjaž Smodiš (born 13 December 1979) is a Slovenian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Standing at a height of 2.05 m (6'8 ") tall, he played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and center positions. During his pro club playing career, he played in seven

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is European professional club basketball pyramid, the highest level tier, and most important professional sports, professional sports club, club bask ...

(

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

), and he was a three-time

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

champion (

). He was also an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in

. Smodiš was also the

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

of the senior Slovenian national team. He is currently a

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

of KK Žoltasti Troti.

Professional career

During his pro career, Smodiš played with teams like Krka Novo Mesto of the Slovenian League and the Italian League clubs

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

and Climamio Bologna. Smodiš also played with the Russian League club

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

, from 2005 to 2011, being one of the team's major stars. In 2011, he left CSKA Moscow, and signed with the Croatian club Cedevita Zagreb ( A1 Croatian League). On 30 November 2012 he signed with his home town team, Krka. Smodiš announced his retirement from playing professional basketball in May 2013, after leading Krka to their 4th consecutive Slovenian national domestic league championship.

National team career

Smodiš was a member of the Slovenian Under-20 junior national team that won the silver medal at the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. Smodiš also played with the senior Slovenian national team. With Slovenia's senior national team, he played at the 1999 EuroBasket, the 2001 EuroBasket, the 2007 EuroBasket, the 2009 EuroBasket, and the 2011 EuroBasket.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3",

, 21 , , 2 , , 15.2 , , .505 , , .326 , , .769 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .6 , , .2 , , 7.5 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , 22 , , 8 , , 21.9 , , .575 , , .417 , , .898 , , 5.1 , , .5 , , .7 , , .5 , , 11.5 , , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , 11 , , 9 , , 19.5 , , .444 , , .375 , , .706 , , 3.6 , , .7 , , .9 , , .9 , , 9.8 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Fortitudo Bologna , 21 , , 17 , , 26.8 , , .548 , , .404 , , .860 , , 4.7 , , .7 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 11.2 , , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , 14 , , 2 , , 20.7 , , .573 , , .455 , , .811 , , 4.1 , , .8 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , 10.5 , , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="6',

, 21 , , 13 , , 25.3 , , .466 , , .381 , , .717 , , 5.5 , , .7 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 12.0 , , 13.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 22 , , 19 , , 24.5 , , .497 , , .420 , , .713 , , 3.8 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .1 , , 12.9 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2007–08† , 11 , , 8 , , 24.5 , , .538 , , .471 , , .804 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 14.3 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 15 , , 12 , , 22.7 , , .380 , , .386 , , .816 , , 3.2 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .1 , , 10.3 , , 8.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 2 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , , , 1.5 , , , , , , , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , 10 , , 7 , , 19.5 , , .333 , , .304 , , .700 , , 2.7 , , .4 , , .2 , , , , 6.8 , , 4.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 170 , , 97 , , 22.2 , , .493 , , .395 , , .778 , , 4.0 , , .8 , , .8 , , .3 , , 10.7 , , 11.2

Awards and accomplishments

Pro career

* 2× Slovenian League All Star: (1999, 2000) * 2× Slovenian League Champion: (2000, 2013) * 2×

Italian Cup Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

Winner: (2001, 2002) * 2× Italian League Champion: (2001, 2005) * 3×

Champion: (

) * 2× Triple Crown Winner: (2001, 2006) * 4× EuroLeague runner-up: (

) * Italian League All-Star: (2004) * 3× Russian Cup Winner: (2006, 2007, 2010) * 6× Russian Championship Champion: (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) * All-EuroLeague Second Team: (

) * 2×

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

Champion: (2008, 2010) * Croatian Cup Winner: (2012) * Croatian Cup MVP: (2012) * Slovenian League Finals MVP: (2013)

Slovenian junior national team

* 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship: