Nikola "Nikša" Prkačin (born 15 November 1975) is a Croatian retired 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 and coach. At a height of 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 professional club playing career, Prkačin won seven European national domestic league championships, nine European national domestic cup titles, and one European national domestic super cup title, in 16 seasons.

Early years and career

Prkačin started his basketball club career in his hometown of

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

, where he played with the local team of Pomorac.

Professional career

Split Croatia

In 1993, at the age of 18, Prkačin moved to the Croatian Premier League club Split Croatia, where he played for the next five seasons. Prkačin established himself as the successor to Split's famous center Dino Rađja, and during his time with the club, he also gained significant experience and knowledge. After a few seasons, he became one of the team's key players. With Split, he won two Croatian Cup titles.

Cibona Zagreb

Prior to the 1998–99 season, Prkačin moved to the then Croatian Premier League champions

Cibona Zagreb Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball sports club, club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the ABA League JTD, Adriatic Basketba ...

, where he resided for the next five seasons. With Cibona, he won five Croatian Premier League championships and four Croatian Cup titles. He also won the

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 ...

's Opening Tournament in 2001. He was named the Croatian Premier League's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

in 2002. While with Cibona Zagreb, some his teammates included: Slaven Rimac, Zoran Planinić, Josip Sesar, Dino Rađja, and Chucky Atkins

Efes Istanbul

After spending a decade building up his career in the Croatian Premier League, Prkačin finally signed a contract with a foreign club. In 2003, he signed 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 Istanbul. Prkačin established himself in the club, as he played on a regular basis, as the club's

forward-center Forward–center is a basketball basketball positions, position for players who play or have played both Basketball positions#Frontcourt (forwards and center), forward and center (basketball), center on a consistent basis. Typically, this means ...

. He played four seasons with Efes. With Efes, he won two Turkish Super League championships, and two

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

titles.

Dynamo Moscow

In 2007, Prkačin joined the Russian Super League club

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (), is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first institution created from the All-Union Dynamo Sports Club. Dynamo Mosco ...

. He played the club during the 2007–08 season. He left the club before the season ended, in January 2008.

Panathinaikos Athens

In January 2008, during the second half of the 2007–08 season, Prkačin joined the Greek League club Panathinaikos Athens. With Panathinaikos, he won the Greek League championship and the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

title.

Return to Cibona Zagreb

Prior to the 2008–09 season, Prkačin moved back to Croatia, as he signed a €400,000

net income In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...

annual contract with

Zagreb

In 2009, Prkačin joined the Croatian club

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. He finished his basketball club playing career with Zagreb in 2010.

National team career

Prkačin was a member of the Croatian Under-22 junior national team. His debut at a major tournament with the senior Croatian national team's selection came at the

1997 EuroBasket The 1997 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1997, was the 30th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 1998 FIBA World Championship, giving a ber ...

. After that, he played with Croatia at the following major

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

tournaments: the 1999 EuroBasket, the 2001 EuroBasket, the 2003 EuroBasket, the 2005 EuroBasket, and the 2007 EuroBasket, He also represented Croatia at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and the 2009 EuroBasket. Prkačin was Croatia's

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 ...

twice.

Coaching career

After he retired from playing professional club basketball, Prkačin began working as a

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

. From 2012 to 2014, he was an assistant coach with the senior men's Croatian national team.

Player profile

Prkačin mainly played at the center position, although he also played as a

. Prkačin was known for his

pick and roll The pick and roll (also called a ball screen or screen and roll) in basketball is an offensive play in which a player sets a screen (sports), screen (pick) for a teammate handling the ball and then moves toward the basket (rolls) to receive a pa ...

play, precise

hook shot In basketball, a hook shot is a play where the offensive player, usually turned perpendicular to the basket, gently throws the ball using a sweeping motion of the arm farther from the basket in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends over ...

, and mid-range jump shot. Although he was shorter in height compared to most other European centers of his era, Prkačin compensated for that with his immense strength and body balance. It was a rarity to see Prkačin attempt a three point field goal.

Career trajectory

Personal life

Prkačin resides in

, Croatia, with his wife and five children, one of whom is Roko Prkačin, who is also a professional basketball player. In his free time, he enjoys fishing and playing

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

.hoo.hr profile

References

External links

Euroleague.net Profile

Adriatic League Profile

Turkish Super League Profile

RealGM.com Profile

Eurobasket.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prkacin, Nikola 1975 births Living people ABA League players Anadolu Efes S.K. players Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics BC Dynamo Moscow players Centers (basketball) Croatian basketball coaches Croatian men's basketball players KK Cibona players KK Split players KK Zagreb players Olympic basketball players for Croatia Panathinaikos B.C. players Power forwards 21st-century Croatian sportsmen