Igor Rakočević ( sr-cyrl, Игор Ракочевић; born 29 March 1978) is a Serbian 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 ...

executive and former player. At a height of 1.94 m (6'4 ") tall, he played at both the

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

and

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

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 The All-EuroLeague Team is an EuroLeague awards, award for European professional club basketball system, Europe's premier level league, the EuroLeague, that is given to the league's top ten basketball players for each season, since the 2000–01 s ...

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 The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was held by the FIBA, International Basketb ...

Professional career

Early years

Rakočević played with Crvena zvezda and Budućnost before going to the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. With Crvena zvezda, he won the

YUBA League The YUBA League was the top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia and Montenegro (previously FR Yugoslavia). Founded in 1992 and folded in 2006, it was run by the Basketball Federation of Serbia and Montenegro. The name ''YUBA Le ...

championship in the 1997–98 season, and finished second in the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...

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 The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

, in the 2nd round (51st overall) of the 2000 NBA draft. He did not play in the

, until the

2002–03 NBA season The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the 2003 NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The Hornets relocate from Ch ...

, 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 The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, 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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

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 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 the

Spanish ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

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 Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

club

Efes Pilsen Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.'' (lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in Turkey, the United States, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), E ...

. 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 Mens Sana Basketball Siena, also known as simply Mens Sana, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from spon ...

, 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 Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

of the team.

National team career

Rakočević made his debut with the senior FR Yugoslavian national team at the

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. After that, he played at the

2001 EuroBasket The 2001 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2001, was the 32nd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2002 FIBA World Championship, giving a be ...

, in Turkey (where he won a gold medal), and at the 2005 EuroBasket, in

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

. He was a member of the FR Yugoslavia team that became the FIBA World Champions in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, at the

, and he was the

of the Serbia and Montenegro national team in Japan, at the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised b ...

. 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 The Basketball Federation of Serbia () is a non-profit organization and the national sports governing body for basketball in Serbia. The organization represents Serbia in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the Olympic C ...

, 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 Košarkaški klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Кошаркашки клуб Црвена звезда, ), usually referred to as KK Crvena zvezda or simply Crvena zvezda, currently named Crvena zvezda Meridianbet for sponsorship reasons, is a men ...

on 27 December 2021.

Personal life

Rakočević is the son of former Serbian basketball player

Goran Rakočević Goran Rakočević ( sr-cyr, Горан Ракочевић; born March 1, 1951) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He is the father of Igor Rakočević, a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player. Playing caree ...

, who played at the

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

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 42 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .379 , , .417 , , .806 , , .4 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 42 , , 0 , , 5.8 , , .379 , , .417 , , .806 , , .4 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , 1.9

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2000–01 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Budućnost , 11 , , 10 , , 29.8 , , .417 , , .222 , , .653 , , 2.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , , , 12.9 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , 14 , , 12 , , 29.6 , , .480 , , .345 , , .655 , , 1.6 , , 2.1 , , 1.3 , , , , 17.7 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 9 , , 27.2 , , .443 , , .402 , , .893 , , 2.9 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , , , 14.8 , , 14.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3",

Baskonia Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D commonly known as Saski Baskonia () and also simply as Baskonia, is a professional basketball team based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. History 1959–1969 ...

, 22 , , 20 , , 27.2 , , .492 , , .475 , , .843 , , 2.4 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , .1 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 16.2* , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 22 , , 22 , , 27.8 , , .465 , , .396 , , .837 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .0 , , 14.9 , , 12.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 21 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 21* , , 26.5 , , .460 , , .398 , , .895 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 18.0* , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Efes , 16 , , 5 , , 20.1 , , .353 , , .286 , , .833 , , 1.7 , , 2.3 , , .4 , , , , 10.0 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 14 , , 14 , , 29.9 , , .457 , , .435 , , .877 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , , , style="background:#CFECEC;", 17.2* , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", Mens Sana , 19 , , 5 , , 19.6 , , .399 , , .256 , , .780 , , 1.9 , , 1.6 , , .3 , , .1 , , 9.4 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 159 , , 119 , , 26.4 , , .449 , , .384 , , .816 , , 2.3 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , 14.6 , , 12.8

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 The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanish f ...

(1): 2009 * Spanish Supercup (3): 2006, 2007, 2008 ;Efes Istanbul *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup, known as Turkcell Super Cup () for sponsorship reasons, is a super cup tournament in Turkish football. Founded in 1966 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2025 by four teams: the winners ...

(2): 2009, 2010 ;Montepaschi Siena * Italian League (1): 2012 *

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 ...

(1): 2012

Individual

* FR Yugoslavian League Most Improved Player: (1998) *

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

Final Four Top Scorer: (2004) *

Adriatic League Top Scorer The ABA League Top Scorer, also known as the Adriatic League Top Scorer, is an award given to the Top Scorer of each season of the European regional Adriatic ABA League, which is the top-tier level professional basketball league for countries of ...

: (2004) *

3 Point Shootout Champion: (2007–08) * 3× Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy:

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 ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

* 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 The 1996 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball competition held in France in 1996. Final ranking 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Awards External linksFIBA Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:FI ...

: * 1997

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demons ...

* 1997

FIBA Under-21 World Cup The FIBA Under-21 World Championship was a men's under-21-only basketball competition organized by the International Basketball Federation The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizat ...

: *

1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 1998 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 1998 European Championship for Men '22 and Under') was the fourth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Trapani, in Italy, hosted the tournament. Yugoslavia ...

: *

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

FR Yugoslavian senior national team

1997 Mediterranean Games The XIII Mediterranean Games, commonly known as the 1997 Mediterranean Games, were the 13th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Bari, Italy, from 13 to 25 June 1997, where 2,956 athletes (2,166 men and 790 women) from 21 countries partici ...

: *