Gordan Giriček

Gordan Giriček (born June 20, 1977) is a retired Croatian professional basketball player. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he played the shooting guard and small forward positions. Over eighteen years of the professional basketball, he played in the NBA for several teams, including Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Phoenix Suns. He also played for several European teams, including Cibona, CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahçe Ülker.

Professional career

Early years

Giriček, the 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) shooting guard-small forward started playing basketball with the youth section of a small local club in Zagreb called Jedinstvo.

Later on, he joined the Zagreb-based club Cibona, and while playing there he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round (40th pick overall) in the 1999 NBA Draft and traded by the Mavericks to the San Antonio Spurs for Leon Smith. However, he never played for the Spurs, who traded his draft rights to the Memphis Grizzlies for a second-round pick in the 2004 NBA Draft. He stayed in his native country Croatia until 2001.