The famous basketball player Tony Kukoch belongs to the category of people for whom sport has become part of life. Despite the fact that he himself has repeatedly said that he would have preferred the work of a teacher or educator to a basketball career, the desire for active work for many years determined his fate.
The birth of a star
In a small Yugoslav town called Split, on September 18, 1968, Tony Kukoch was born. The biography of the future star of European basketball began with achievements in table tennis. At the age of 13, the young Tony won the Yugoslav championship in this sport and it seemed that the future path was determined. But on this his tennis career ended. In some interviews, Kukoch jokes that too much growth has prevented him from reaching the heights in this sport. In the future, it was basketball that took first place in the life of a young man.
Career in Yugoslavia
The Yugoslav team of Yugoplastika became the place where Kukoch first showed himself. Tony began to play for the youth team and in the first season he became the champion of the country among youth teams. The following year, the athlete confirmed his class by playing as an adult team. And again he got the championship. Then there were European competitions among juniors and cadets. The young talented basketball player not only won the European title, but also became the best player in the tournament in 1986. The national team of Yugoslavia of the 90s had no equal in the territory of the Old World. It was in this "stellar" team that experience was gained and throws of the future legend of Yugoslav basketball were perfected.
Croatia national team
It is impossible to predict how a basketball player’s career would have developed if a civil war had not started in Yugoslavia. After the collapse of the country in which Tony Kukoch was born, he became a player in the Croatian national team. Political cataclysms didn’t interfere with the athlete’s professional growth, and in 1992 the Olympic silver of the Croatian team became an award for numerous trainings. The Spanish Olympics showed that only the American team was stronger than the indicated team, for which the legends of world basketball played in those years. At the same time, the first meeting took place with Michael Jordan and Johnson Magic, who was beaten by Tony Kukoch in assists. The basketball player was constantly attracted to the Croatian national team, playing for Spanish and Italian clubs.
The career of a young ambitious guy continued to develop rapidly. At 23, Tony Kukoch entered the ranking of great players, which was FIBA. Fifth position is a good result for a novice basketball player. One after another, the European trophies settled in the athlete's piggy bank, and it was time to think, but what next?
Relocation to Chicago
What basketball player did not dream to play in the team of Chicago “bulls”? The managers gathered in the club the most stellar squad, which won the NBA championship three times. But to get an invitation from Chicago, you really had to try. The American team of the 90s was famous not only for its composition, but also for the scandalous characters of some players.
Living on the principle: “whoever is stronger is right” - both Michael Jordan and Scotty Pippen did not differ in complaisance. Everyone wanted championship and contracting on more favorable terms. Having learned that the contract of a young Croatian basketball player is much more expensive, the Chicago Bulls players were outraged to the core.
3 years passed from the moment Tony was selected in the draft in the 1990s to the final move to Chicago. The manager of the Americans more than once personally flew to Croatia to convince the athlete to sign a contract. The doubts were justified: in his homeland, Kukoch was already a legend, and moving to a more rigid league overseas looked like an adventure.
In addition, the star players of the Chicago team did not meet with open arms young “European upstarts”. But Kukoch could change their mind about basketball. Tony moved to the Chicago camp in 1993.
Overseas career Kukocha
Michael Jordan was one of the idols of the young Yugoslav athlete. And in many ways it was the prospect of playing in the same team with the legend that convinced him to move.
But Jordan's departure was not at all what Tony Kukoch was counting on. Achievements in the North American team were much more modest than in the European League. The peak of the Croatian form can be considered the first three years of stay in the national team. It was then that the Chicagoans won the championship twice in a row.
The first season was a real test for Kukoch: lack of knowledge of the language, minor injuries that haunted the basketball player during the first season, as well as concern for the family that remained in Yugoslavia, all this annoyed, but did not break the athlete’s will to win.
The hostile attitude of American players towards Tony Kukoch was caused, first of all, by differences in mentality. In the best world league, one had to fight for the championship. For players from Chicago, a place in the first team was the meaning of life, and they prepared to defend it by any means. Hours of training took all the strength and left no space for simple human feelings.
Good Tony
Kukoch never had the required aggression. Accidentally falling into the presidential palace on a tour, Tony even wanted to leave a note asking for help to the children of Yugoslavia. The war, continuing in his homeland, greatly worried the athlete. Kukoch spent all his fees on his son and, as he could, helped relatives who remained in Yugoslavia.
Coaching did not interest the basketball player, but after completing his sports career, Tony Kukoch worked as an adviser to the president of his beloved club and seriously began to play golf.