He explained it again when entering the Hall Of Fame, Toni Kukoc preferred the little white ball to the big orange ball as a child…
Son of a football goalkeeper, young Toni, born September 18, 1968, was Dalmatian table tennis champion before switching to football. Right winger in the youth teams in Split, the one we then called “Olive'” (in reference to Popeye’s girlfriendand not to Olive and Tom) quickly becomes too big to play ball on grass. At 13, he was already 1m90 tall, and he decided to switch to basketball…
“My father was very important in instilling in me a passion for sport. He was a big fan of our football team [de Split]. I can tell you a story that sums it up well. My school was not far from my house and during a match, while I was in the middle of an exam, he climbed on the roof of the school and shouted: ‘Toni, we are leading 1-0’. And then says again: ‘Toni, we lead 2-0!’ During this time, obviously, the teacher had realized what was happening and so that he would stop disrupting the exam, she sent me home. Fortunately, I passed my exam. »
It’s God disguised as Toni Kukoc!
After a timid start with the Yugoslav cadet selection at the 1985 European Championships, the young Toni stood out for the first time at the Junior World Cup in Bormio, in 1987. Against the Americans of coach Larry Brown (who still included Larry Johnson , Gary Payton and Stacey Augmon in their ranks), the skinny left-hander threads 3-point baskets like pearls.
“ Never after that day did I manage to get close to this type of stats. Usually my best 3-point scores were around 5 or 6 but on this day it was all in there. I felt really good. After my first two shots, I felt very confident and that lasted the whole match. I shot despite the defenders, sometimes even on a counter attack. We had a superb team, complete in all positions. And we had no idea we were so good. »
Toni Kukoc allows his Yugoslavia team to beat the United States (110-95) and ends with an incredible 11/12 from 3-point range for a charming total of 37 units. And his only miss behind the arc? A bowl! It was God disguised as Toni Kukoc!
“ The only secret is effort » simply confesses Dino Radja. “ We arrived at 6 a.m., before cleaning services and we trained for ten hours without stopping. To describe the man, I would say that Toni remained a child. To describe the basketball player, I would say that he is simply a genius. »
With his height of 2m08, Toni Kukoc is a very tall exterior… but nonetheless loses his passion for the decisive pass. “ One basket makes one man happy while one pass makes two“, he continued.
Attracting defenders towards him, Toni Kukoc makes a specialty of creating the gap in the opposing rackets. And this, with disconcerting ease. Pass behind the head, behind the back, pass blind… Nicknamed the “ Pink Panther“, he knows how to do everything in creating play. With his left hand, he destabilizes more than one defender, either too small if he is outside, or too slow if he is inside.
Sasha Djordjevic in 1991: “Toni is the best Yugoslav in history”
Trained in the Yugoslav school of endless shooting sessions, Toni Kukoc was raised the hard way under the guidance of Bozidar Maljkovic who did not take long to see the full extent of his talent. But for this potential to be realized, Boja has a very specific idea.
“ I made Kuki stop by my office after each workout to make him drink a fruit mixture that we made in a blender. For him, there was nothing worse but he held his nose and drank the mixture without flinching. He was also made to carry the bags. He had 20, 40, sometimes 50 kg on his back. And I remember, in Barcelona, he came to see me to tell me that he was no longer the bag carrier. There was Zan Tabak for that. No, but Toni is the best player, the most complete player I have encountered in my thirty-year career. His thing was that he could play all positions. He has won all the biggest trophies. »
And how ! By winning the Euroleague three years in a row between 1989 and 1991, Toni Kukoc dominated the European scene with Split. And, ironically, he deprived his former coach Maljkovic of the title in 1991 when the latter had given in to the Catalan sirens of Barcelona.
Proof of the most total respect earned by Toni Kukoc on the Old Continent, the fans of Partizan Belgrade, although disgusted at letting the title of champion of Yugoslavia slip away in 1991, applauded for a minute the Croatian winger who was then put on the bench by his coach Zeljko Palicevic.
“ Congratulations to Split. They are born winners and they have this killer mentality. I think Toni Kukoc, although he is only 23 years old, is the best Yugoslav player in history » then conceded Sasha Djordjevic, the beaten leader of Partizan, who later became the coach of Serbia.
The Pink Panther arrives in Chi-Town
After making the Bulls wait two seasons for him to spend with Benetton Treviso (who stumbled against Limoges in the 1993 Final Four), Toni Kukoc still decided to cross the Atlantic. Although crowned with all the rewards and trophies imaginable in Europe, the Croatian prodigy did not follow a long, quiet river when he arrived on the shores of Lake Michigan.
“ I arrived there with the idea that once I joined the team, I would definitely be part of it » he will tell ESPN. “ In fact, I brought with me the European mentality of the time which wanted us to play for a team and that was it. There were no player exchanges. You have a contract, you take the good and the bad at the same time and the staff and players fight to move forward together. But when I got here, I realized it was different. The mentality was not the same. »
In addition to adapting to a new mentality, Toni Kukoc must face another obstacle: he is Jerry Krause’s protégé. Although he never asked for it, his boss actually promoted him for many months, trying to convince Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen that this slender winger was a real nugget.
But “His Majesty” is not fooled, and he gives Toni Kukoc a shock treatment!
“ I was one of the major players on my team [lors de la finale des JO en 1992, face à la Dream Team] and you always want to test the guys you’re going to play with. Are they physically and mentally tough enough? Can they respond when asked? I know very well that this is what is happening. I don’t think for a moment that they have a grudge against me, personally. They are simply testing me. I realized later that Michael does this for everyone… every day! »
Quickly given responsibility, and author of several decisive shots (including the famous winning shot against the Knicks in the 1994 playoffs), he made his place on merit. His versatility and shooting quality soon outweighed his lack of physicality and his defensive errors that Phil Jackson pointed out upon his arrival at the Bulls.
Triple NBA champion with Chicago, the Croatian winger then visited the United States via Philadelphia, Atlanta and Milwaukee. With an average of 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 15 NBA seasons, he decided to hang it up in 2006, when he was 37 years old.
Peaceful retirement
If his NBA career leaves a little taste of unfinished business due to the fact that Toni Kukoc, at his physical peak, was hampered by the presence of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (and Dennis Rodman), we can only salute his incredible journey. Eminent member of the golden generation of Yugoslavia who won everything in Europe (gold in under 16, under 18 and under 19 between 1985 and 1987), before bringing the Croatian colors to the top, with this legendary final of the Barcelona Olympics, against the Dream Team, Kukoc has reached the heights wherever he has been, and his entry into the Hall Of Fame is only fair.
From then on, his relative anonymity in the upscale suburbs of Chicago is surprising. Firmly anchored in the metropolis of Illinois, the Croatian became an American citizen, and he watches his two children grow up: his daughter Stela, who coaches volleyball, and his son Marin, who played for the Pennsylvania college team. in basketball.
“ I’ve spent half my life in Chicago and consider it my home. Chicago is one of the best cities for sports. And it reminds me a little of my hometown Split. We play [au golf avec Michael Jordan] for 2 dollars and even then, it’s competition. I need an osteopath afterwards because he makes me play all day. But we’re having fun. We go to bed, we reminisce, we smoke a cigar, we walk outside. It’s a beautiful life ! »
Criticized for moving away from Croatian basketball while other legends of the game, such as Arvydas Sabonis (president of the federation) in Lithuania, Dejan Bodiroga or Sasha Djordjevic in Serbia, continue to help their nation, Toni Kukoc it’s easy in the United States, and for his induction into the Pantheon, he paid tribute to his two former teammates.
“I would like to thank this gentleman behind me, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen, for kicking my butt during the Barcelona Olympics. They motivated me to work even harder to become a valuable member of the Chicago Bulls. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to Jerry Reinsdorf and the late Jerry Krause for bringing me to the NBA when it really wasn’t a common thing.”
