Darko Milicic will forever be known as one of the worst draft busts in NBA history. Being drafted second overall in the same class as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh put high expectations on the Serbian forward and he was unable to match them.
Milicic recently spoke to Blic Sport and had all sort of things to say about his ill-fated NBA career. The big-man blamed the culture between NBA players as well as coaches who were not willing to instill confidence in him for how his stint in the league shaped out.
Here are some snippets from the interview (translated by HoopsHype):
“It’s all funny to me. I finally get a chance to play and (Mutombo) starts taunting me and daring me to fight. Why would I need that? I didn’t understand half of what he said. I mean, he’s been there 20 years and still doesn’t know the language well enough. Nobody in particular annoyed me, but Kobe Bryant is the dirtiest player with the things he does on the court… But without a doubt he is a beast. He was amazing.”
“I can’t play with American players. They only talked about who dunked on whom, who crossed over whom. I was weird to them because I didn’t think that way.”
“I wanted to go back to Europe but then the Minnesota offer came. I tried to talk them out of of signing me, I said I won’t practice, I will make trouble in the locker room but they were persistent. They told me give it two weeks, if it doesn’t work you can go. I accepted, it was nice and I played but we didn’t win. Rambis was fired and after Adelman came I realized it’s not gonna work. Pekovic started playing well, and I thought, “Never mind, I’ll come off the bench.” But it just didn’t work. And then I just quit.
“Their system is cruel and I don’t like it. If a young player doesn’t succeed, they don’t look after him. That sucks. You have players who are first or second in the draft that get a chance to play. I didnt get the chance. LBJ is a killer now, but he did get a chance in his first year, he could shoot from the stands if he wanted. I barely got the chance. I had that situation in Orlando where if I shoot from perimeter, my coach Hill would yell, “Pass to Howard.” In Detroit nothing went right. Larry Brown always told me to go near the basket. They offered me a $40 million, four-year contract in Orlando, and then their manager blows it off, out of nowehere. My manager told me he would deal with it. I said OK, but just not Memphis. Anywhere but there. And, of course, I went to Memphis. Then I got injured, didn’t play much.
“It’s just simple, my career was how it was and I don’t miss that. I went to the NBA as a kid, barely 18, didn’t have the attitude I should have had.”
Milicic does make some good points. The NBA system is an unforgiving one, even to an 18-year old coming to an entirely new country to play professional basketball. There are things that could have gone much better for Milicic and perhaps with more support and in better situations, the big-man could have found success in the league.
Nevertheless, Milicic does have himself to blame some, as well. To insinuate that he did not find success solely due to his coaches and the players in the league is an over-exaggeration and simply false. Additionally, there is no point in ripping those parties, especially by mentioning specific names, years after the fact.
This is just another story in the saga that has been Darko’s career and post-career in the NBA.
