Pero Antić (, ; born July 29, 1982) is a Macedonian

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 professional player. He currently serves as a president of the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia. Antić was a member and

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 ...

of the

Macedonian national basketball team The North Macedonia men's national basketball team () represents North Macedonia in international basketball and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia. They joined FIBA in 1993, after they gained independence from Yugos ...

. Standing at , he primarily played 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 ...

position, although he was able to play at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position.

Professional career

Early years

Antić has played with: Rabotnički Skopje,

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

, Academic Sofia, Lokomotiv Kuban, Spartak St. Petersburg and

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

. He won the 2006 Serbia and Montenegro National Cup with

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

. He was voted the

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: ...

of the 2007–08 season in the Bulgarian National Basketball League, a season in which he averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. In the

EuroChallenge 2010–11 FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run by FIBA Europe. It is not to be confus ...

season, he helped Spartak St. Petersburg reach the EuroChallenge Final Four, averaging 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Olympiacos

After an impressive performance at the

EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 champions ...

, Antić signed a two-year contract on September 26 with Olympiacos Piraeus. With Olympiacos, he 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 ...

title two times, in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. He also helped his team to win the 2011–12 Greek League championship.

Atlanta Hawks

On July 25, 2013, Antić signed a two-year contract with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. In his first pre-season game against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, he played 16 minutes and finished with three points and four rebounds, shooting just 1-8 from the floor and 1-6 from three. Antić scored his first points in an official game on November 1, in a 102–95 home win over the Toronto Raptors. On December 28, at home against the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte most commonly refers to: *Charlotte (given name), a feminine form of the given name Charles ** Princess Charlotte (disambiguation) ** Queen Charlotte (disambiguation) *Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, a city * Charlotte (cake) ...

, Antić scored a game-tying three-pointer off one leg with three seconds left in the game, tying the score and forcing the game into overtime. Atlanta won the game 118–116. On January 3 against the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, Antić was in the starting lineup for the first time in his NBA career, due to the injury of starting center

Al Horford Alfred Joel Horford Reynoso (born June 3, 1986), nicknamed Big Al, is a Dominican professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a five-time NBA All-Star and won the NBA championship wi ...

. He responded with a then career-high 16 points and 7 rebounds while shooting 6-9 from the floor, including four three-pointers from six attempts. However, Atlanta was defeated, as

Andre Iguodala Andre Tyler Iguodala ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The swingman was an NBA All-Star in 2012 and was named to the NBA All ...

hit the buzzer-beater from behind the arc to give his team a 101–100 victory over the Hawks. After a series of solid performances as a starter for the Hawks, Antić was selected as a participant in the Rising Stars Challenge game for the NBA All-Star 2014 in New Orleans. However, because of an injury to his right ankle, Antić was forced to miss the All-Star weekend, being replaced by the Phoenix Suns' big man Miles Plumlee. On April 6, 2014, Antić scored a career-high 18 points in a 107–88 win over the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. The Hawks finished the regular season with a record of 38–44, which was enough for the last playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, pairing them in the first round with the number one seed on the East, the

. Antić was a starter in the first game of the series, tallying 8 points and 7 rebounds in his playoff debut while also successfully guarding All-Star center

Roy Hibbert Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican–American former professional basketball player. He is a two–time NBA All–Star, and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2014 with the Indiana Pacers. Hibbert was the runne ...

. The Hawks took a surprising victory 101–93 away from home to take the lead in the series. During the game, Antić got involved in a confrontation with the Pacers' David West, which led to both players receiving technical fouls.

Fenerbahçe

On June 30, 2015, he signed a two-year contract with the option of additional year, with the Turkish team Fenerbahçe. In his first season with the team, Antić won the

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 ...

with a 67–65 win over Darüşşafaka. Fenerbahçe also reached the final game of the

2016 Euroleague Final Four The 2016 Euroleague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2015–16 Euroleague season, which was the 59th season of Europe's premier club basketball tournament, and the 16th season since it has been organised by Eur ...

, but fell short of winning the EuroLeague championship, after an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

96–101 loss to

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 ...

. Over 23 EuroLeague games, he averaged 8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, Fenerbahçe also won the

Turkish 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 w ...

championship.

Crvena zvezda

On September 11, 2017, Antić returned to

, signing a contract for the 2017–18 season.

National team career

Antić was a member and

of the senior men's Republic of Macedonia national team. He was instrumental in his team reaching the semi-finals of

FIBA EuroBasket 2011 EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the Euro ...

in Lithuania. Antić proved his reputation as one of the tournament's best rebounders, having an average of 8.8 rebounds per game, third best in the category. He also averaged 11.5 points per game, with his tournament high coming in the semi-finals against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where he scored 17 points in a 92–80 defeat. He was among the overall leaders in several other categories. Besides being fourth in average minutes per game (34.5), he also ranked fourth in double-doubles, collecting three, against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

(14 points and 19 rebounds),

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

(15 points and 14 rebounds) and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(15 points and 10 rebounds). While hardly the revelation of the tournament, he fulfilled his full potential at the EuroBasket, and was the cornerstone of the Macedonian national team's defensive strategy, that propelled them to the top four. Antić captained the Macedonian national team at the

FIBA EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in the ...

, although to a much lesser success. Although he scored in double figures in four of the five group matches, averaging 13.8 points and 8 rebounds per game, Macedonia was eliminated in the group stage, after which Antić announced his retirement from the national team.

Player profile

Antić's best offensive attributes are his body strength, jump shot, and dunking ability. He is adept at pick and roll play, which coupled with his excellent three-point shooting accuracy for a player of his position, makes him a scoring threat from all distances. While he's not a prolific scorer, he also possesses decent passing skills, adding to his offensive contribution. The defensive part of the game is considered to be one of his best attributes. Antić's anticipation, positioning, and overall athleticism made him a good rebounder in Europe. Antić demonstrated particular determination and confidence when guarding opposition star players, such as

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the great ...

and

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star Game, NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol ...

at the

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 50 , , 26 , , 18.5 , , .418 , , .327 , , .758 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 7.0 , - , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 63 , , 3 , , 16.5 , , .365 , , .301 , , .715 , , 3.0 , , .8 , , .3 , , .2 , , 5.7 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 113 , , 29 , , 17.4 , , .392 , , .314 , , .730 , , 3.5 , , .9 , , .3 , , .2 , , 6.3

Playoffs

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

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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

, 7 , , 7 , , 24.3 , , .167 , , .120 , , .625 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .7 , , .4 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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

, 15 , , 1 , , 13.3 , , .320 , , .344 , , .800 , , 2.9 , , .3 , , .1 , , .2 , , 4.2 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 22 , , 8 , , 16.8 , , .250 , , .246 , , .758 , , 3.2 , , .4 , , .3 , , .3 , , 3.9

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2001–02 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="4",

, 7 , , 1 , , 4.6 , , .500 , , .000 , , , , 1.1 , , .1 , , .1 , , , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , 12 , , 3 , , 15.0 , , .395 , , .294 , , .600 , , 2.5 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .3 , , 4.3 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , 3 , , 0 , , 7.3 , , .333 , , .250 , , .000 , , 1.7 , , , , .3 , , .3 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , 15 , , 0 , , 11.5 , , .393 , , .333 , , .593 , , 2.9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .4 , , 4.6 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2011–12† , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

, 22 , , 18 , , 18.7 , , .350 , , .250 , , .772 , , 4.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , .3 , , 7.2 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;",

2012–13 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 ...

† , style="background:#CFECEC;", 31* , , 4 , , 18.1 , , .354 , , .261 , , .659 , , 3.5 , , .7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 6.0 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Fenerbahçe , 23 , , 10 , , 21.1 , , .388 , , .373 , , .769 , , 4.3 , , .7 , , .2 , , .0 , , 8.0 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2016–17† , 31 , , 11 , , 13.5 , , .333 , , .338 , , .744 , , 2.4 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.2 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 2 , , 18.2 , , .317 , , .274 , , .771 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .1 , , 6.2 , , 6.2 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 162 , , 49 , , 16.1 , , .357 , , .299 , , .716 , , 3.3 , , .7 , , .4 , , .2 , , 5.6 , , 5.0

Personal life

Antić was born in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

(modern-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

). Antić is a supporter of Belgrade club

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

, where he also played from 2005 to 2007 and 2017‒2018. Antić married his wife Ružica in 2006. They have sons named Luka, Pavel and Petar. They divorced in 2019. Antić has several tattoos, including ones of his family, Crvena zvezda team supporters (

Delije Delije ( sr-cyr, Делије) is collective name for supporters of various sports clubs that are part of Red Star Belgrade multi-sport club. The plural of the singular form ''delija'' (делија)—which in Serbian generally signifies a cou ...

) badge on his right under-arm, and a stylized flag of Macedonia on his right chest. Aside from Macedonian, Antić also holds Bulgarian citizenship. After the

in Lithuania, Antić was awarded with the

Honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

academic title, by

FON University The American University of Europe-FON, or AUE-FON University is a private university with headquarters in Skopje, North Macedonia. Established in 2003, it is one of the first private universities in North Macedonia. The University reveived accred ...

in Skopje. On April 8, 2015, Antić and teammate

Thabo Sefolosha Thabo Patrick Sefolosha (; born 2 May 1984) is a Swiss former professional basketball player. He played in the NBA, the Turkish Basketball League, LNB Pro A, and Lega Basket Serie A. In 2006, he became the first player from Switzerland to play i ...

were arrested outside a nightclub in New York City for interfering with police after

Chris Copeland Christopher Stephen Copeland (born March 17, 1984) nicknamed "The X-Factor" is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Colorado, Boulder. Early life Copeland was born in Orange, New ...

of the Indiana Pacers was stabbed in the abdomen. His case was later dropped on September 9, 2015. During the month of July 2024, Antić was seen working as an assistant coach for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

in the

2024 NBA Summer League The 2024 NBA Summer League (branded as ''NBA 2K25'' Summer League 2024 for sponsorship reasons) was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas ...

out in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. His addition is considered a tryout for one of the open assistant coach positions for head coach

Mike Budenholzer Michael Vincent Budenholzer (born August 6, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Budenholzer previously head coached the M ...

's new coaching staff there.