Predrag Drobnjak
Encyclopedia
Predrag "Peja" Drobnjak (Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

: Предраг Дробњак Пеђа; prê̞draːg pêja drɔ̝̂bɲaːk) (born October 27, 1975) is a Montenegrin former professional basketball player. Drobnjak was born in Bijelo Polje
Bijelo Polje
Bijelo Polje is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 15,883 .Bijelo Polje is the center of municipality . It is unofficial center of north-eastern region of Montenegro...

, SR Montenegro
Socialist Republic of Montenegro
Socialist Republic of Montenegro or SR Montenegro in shortened form, was a socialist state that was a constituent country in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of the modern day Montenegro...

, SFR Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

 (present-day Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

). During his career, he played professionally in the NBA.

Pro career

Drobnjak was a second-round draft choice of the Washington Bullets
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...

 in the 1997 NBA Draft
1997 NBA Draft
The 1997 NBA Draft took place on June 25, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Celtics had the second worst record in the 1996-97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs, usually a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson to an injury early...

. During his time in the NBA, Drobnjak played two seasons for the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...

, one season for Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...

, and one season for Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

. In 2004, the Clippers made him available for selection by the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

 in the expansion draft
Expansion draft
An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansion draft...

. After his selection by the Bobcats, he was subsequently traded to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a 2005 second-round draft pick before playing a game for Charlotte.

In July 2005, he signed a three-year contract with Spanish ACB League team TAU Cerámica
Saski Baskonia
Saski Baskonia, S.A.D., known as Caja Laboral for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish professional basketball club from the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain...

, but he was released only a year after, which followed by his signing a one-year contract with his old Adriatic League club, Partizan Belgrade
KK Partizan
Košarkaški klub Partizan is a Serbian professional basketball club. It is part of the multi-sports Belgrade-based club Partizan. The club competes in the Serbian League, Adriatic League and the Euroleague....

.

In February 2011 he signed with the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 team Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C.
Iraklis Thessaloniki B.C.
Iraklis B.C. is the professional basketball department of the wider family of G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki, located in Thessaloniki, Greece. Iraklis currently plays in the Greek League. The team colors are blue and white.-History:...

 until the end of the season. Later that month, however, he decided to retire.

National team

Drobnjak won gold medals at both the 1998
1998 FIBA World Championship
The 1998 FIBA World Championship was the 13th FIBA World Championship, an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation and hosted in Athens, Greece from July 29 to August 9, 1998...

 and 2002 FIBA World Championship
2002 FIBA World Championship
The 2002 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA from August 29 to September 8, 2002.-Venues:-Squads:...

, and he also won the gold medal at the 2001 European Championship
EuroBasket 2001
The EuroBasket 2001 was the 32nd EuroBasket, the biennial regional basketball championship contested by European nations and held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Turkey, began on 31 August 2001 and concluded with the final on 9 September 2001. Yugoslavia won the gold medal,...

, while playing with the Yugoslavian national team
Serbia national basketball team
The Serbian national basketball team represents Serbia in international basketball matches....

. After Montenegro's secession from Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

, Drobnjak decided to represent Montenegro internationally
Montenegro national basketball team
The Montenegrin national basketball team represents Montenegro in men's international basketball tournaments. It is organized by the Basketball Federation of Montenegro , which is the governing body of basketball in Montenegro...

.

External links

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