Mario Kasun (born April 5, 1980) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. He played at the center position.

Professional career

Kasun started playing basketball at a local club in Delnice when he was 14, before he started playing professionally with BC Zrinjevac in Zagreb. He was part of the 1998–99 Croatian junior team and the Croatian under-21 team in 2000. After two seasons in the Zagreb club, and winning the Croatian Cup, in 2000 he moved to Gonzaga University in the NCAA, but was subsequently suspended by the Croatian Basketball Federation for this abrupt move, and spent two seasons on the bench. Kasun played at 2002 NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago, being one of the tallest players, and showing some center skills. During 50 minutes over three games, he totalled 20 points and had 14 rebounds and six blocked shots, converting nine of 17 shots (52.9%).NBA.com: Mario Kasun
/ref> In 2002, he was initially selected by the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Los Angeles Clippers in the second round (41st overall) of the 2002 NBA draft. On June 26, he was traded by the Clippers to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

in exchange for future considerations. Regardless of this, he then moved to Germany to play for the

Deutsche Bank Skyliners The Skyliners Frankfurt, currently known as Fraport Skyliners for sponsorship reasons, are a professional basketball club based in Frankfurt, Germany. Their home arena is Ballsporthalle. The club has played in the Basketball Bundesliga sinc ...

, based in Frankfurt. With them he won the German championship and also appeared in the

2003–04 ULEB Cup The 2003–04 ULEB Cup was the second season of the second-tier level European professional club basketball competition, EuroCup Basketball, organized by the Euroleague Basketball Company. The EuroCup is the European-wide league level that is on ...

. In 2004, he returned to the US to play for the

. In the 2004–05 season he played in 45 games for Orlando and averaged 7.9 minutes per game. In 2005–06, he appeared in 28 games. Kasun's final NBA game was played on March 4th, 2006 in a 94 - 110 loss to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

where he recorded 4 points in 4 minutes of playing time. Kasun averaged 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in a total of 73 games in his NBA career. In July 2006 he returned to Europe again, signing with FC Barcelona and later in 2008 with

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 a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

. In August 2010 he returned to Croatia and signed a one-year contract with KK Zagreb. In August 2012 he signed a two-year contract with Montepaschi Siena. In December 2012, Kasun left the team for personal reasons. In September 2013, he signed with Al Wasl Dubai for the 2013–14 season. In 2014 he had to play for Levski Sofia another two seasons before retiring, but the club president was arrested for tax evasions just as he was due to sign for the club, so he never played for them. In February 2018 he played one match for KK Samobor, a regional division club from Croatia.

Euroleague career statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , style="text-align:left;", FC Barcelona , 8 , , 7 , , 15.9 , , .569 , , .000 , , .875 , , 4.3 , , .5 , , .4 , , .5 , , 11.9 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;", FC Barcelona , 21 , , 12 , , 17.6 , , .620 , , .000 , , .661 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .4 , , .6 , , 9.6 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 0 , , 10.3 , , .600 , , .000 , , .667 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 8.0 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;", Efes Pilsen , 16 , , 12 , , 15.8 , , .655 , , .000 , , .643 , , 5.8 , , .5 , , .4 , , .5 , , 8.0 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;", KK Zagreb , 9 , , 9 , , 25.1 , , .536 , , .000 , , .800 , , 6.6 , , .9 , , .7 , , .9 , , 12.2 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, style="text-align:left;", Montepaschi , 8 , , 4 , , 10.9 , , .500 , , .000 , , .556 , , 4.0 , , .3 , , .4 , , .6 , , 5.0 , , 5.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", , 63 , , 44 , , 17.0 , , .592 , , .000 , , .700 , , 4.7 , , .6 , , .4 , , .6 , , 9.2 , , 10.1

Croatian national team

Kasun was part of the Croatia national basketball team at EuroBasket 2005, EuroBasket 2007 and EuroBasket 2009. After a disappointing result for Croatia in the Eurobasket 2009, Mario Kasun announced his retirement from the national team with this words: "This was my last game for the national team. Every time I gave everything on the court, but it seems that is not enough. I need the summer to rest and not be injured. Obviously I am not stable in the head anymore."

Personal life

In a March 2005 interview with '' Inside Hoops'', Kasun referred to Dražen Petrović as one of his favorite players and number one idol.InsideHoops.com – Mario Kasun Interview
/ref> Kasun is famous for his tattoos, of which he has 30. He got his first when he was only 15. His tattoos are mostly related with faith and his family. On his right forearm and wrist he has an angel and four letters: E, D, M and A. Those represent the first letter on the name of every member in his family: E for his sister "Eva", D for his father, "Drago" (angels, inner side of right

biceps The biceps or biceps brachii ( la, musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join ...

), M is meant for his own name, "Mario" and A for mother "Ankica" (right

rib In vertebrate anatomy, ribs ( la, costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ches ...

). On his back he has a big tattoo of another angel, which he describes as "watching my back".Kasun's tattoos

References

External links

Euroleague.net profile

Eurobasket.com profile

ACB.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasun, Mario 1980 births Living people ABA League players Anadolu Efes S.K. players Centers (basketball) Croatian expatriate basketball people in Germany Croatian expatriate basketball people in Spain Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States Croatian men's basketball players FC Barcelona Bàsquet players KK Gorica players KK Zagreb players KK Zrinjevac players Köln 99ers players Liga ACB players Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Mens Sana Basket players National Basketball Association players from Croatia Orlando Magic players Sportspeople from Vinkovci Skyliners Frankfurt players