Sasha Vujačić

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Sasha Vujačić
SashaVujacic.JPG
Vujačić with Anadolu Efes S.K.
No. 7 – Anadolu Efes
Guard
Personal information
Born (1984-03-08) March 8, 1984 (age 29)
Maribor, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality Slovenian
Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
NBA Draft 2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Pro career 2001–present
League Turkish Basketball League
Euroleague
Career history
2001–2004 Snaidero Udine
2004–2010 Los Angeles Lakers
2010–2011 New Jersey Nets
2011–present Anadolu Efes
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Aleksandar "Sasha" Vujačić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар »Саша« Вујачић, Slovene: Saša Vujačič, rendered in English as Sasha Vujacic; born March 8, 1984) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball League (TBL). Though he has played the point guard position in Europe, he found more playing time at the shooting guard spot while in the Lakers' triangle offense.

Throughout his career, he has also played in Italy (for Snaidero Udine) and the United States (for the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Jersey Nets).

Contents

Early career [edit]

His father Vaso Vujačić is a Serbian basketball coach.[1] Vujačić was a member of the Slovenian junior national team. He won a silver medal at the 2002 European Junior Championship.[2]

Vujačić began his professional career at the age of 16, playing with Snaidero Udine of Italy. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 27th overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.

Career highlights [edit]

During the 2005–06 season Vujačić made the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime to give the Lakers the lead for good in a win against the Utah Jazz.[3]

During the 2006–07 season he made a shot against the Dallas Mavericks to end their 13-game winning streak.[4]

In the 2007–08 season, Vujačić recorded a then-career high 22 points in a win over the Denver Nuggets, and he tied it in a win over the Toronto Raptors.[5] Vujačić shot 60% from beyond the three-point line in the 2006 NBA Playoffs.

In the 2007–2008 season Vujacic made 118 of his 270 three-point field goal attempts, setting the Los Angeles Lakers single-season record for the best three-point field goal percentage (.437) in a single season.

During Game 3 of the 2008 NBA Finals, Vujačić scored a career playoff high, totaling 20 points off the bench. Vujačić's 20, with the exception of Kobe Bryant, made him the only Laker to score in double figures.

In July 2008 he switched agents to Rob Pelinka. Later that month (July 25) Vujačić and the Lakers agreed to a three-year deal worth 15 million dollars.[6]

In Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals, Vujačić led the Lakers' bench with nine points, including two three-pointers. With 11 seconds left in Game 7 and the Lakers leading by only two points, Vujačić helped secure the Lakers' championship with two crucial free throws.

On December 15, 2010, Vujačić was traded to the New Jersey Nets in a three-team trade involving the Lakers and Houston Rockets. On the Nets, Vujačić reunited with former Lakers teammate Jordan Farmar.[7] As a result of Ben Uzoh wearing the number 18 jersey, Vujačić changed his number to 20.

In his debut for the Nets, Vujačić had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 minutes of play.

On January 1, 2011, Vujačić tied his career high of 22 points, eight games after being traded to the Nets.

On February 9, 2011, Vujačić set a new career high with 25 points in a win over the Hornets.

Anadolu Efes [edit]

In July 2011, he signed a two-year contract with Anadolu Efes.[8][9] In his first Euroleague season, over 16 games as a starter, he averaged 13.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.[10]

On August 6, 2012, it was confirmed that Vujačić would stay with the team for one more season.[11] On November 16, in a Euroleague game against EA7 Milano, he scored 29 points, helping his team win 77–71.[12] Over 10 regular season games, he had 12.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.[13] Vujačić and his teammate Jordan Farmar helped Efes to advance to the Top 16 round, edging Cedevita on the road by 81–73 in one of the most crucial games in group C.[14] [15]

Career statistics [edit]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Euroleague [edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2011–12 Anadolu Efes 16 16 29.0 .407 .338 .864 3.3 1.7 1.1 .2 13.9 12.2
2012–13 Anadolu Efes 24 7 21.7 .376 .376 .758 3.0 1.0 .8 .1 9.1 8.3
Career 40 23 24.6 .391 .358 .810 3.1 1.3 .9 .2 11.0 9.9

NBA regular season [edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 L.A. Lakers 35 3 11.5 .282 .270 .947 1.8 1.5 .3 .1 2.9
2005–06 L.A. Lakers 82 4 17.7 .346 .343 .885 1.9 1.7 .6 .0 3.9
2006–07 L.A. Lakers 73 4 12.8 .392 .373 .878 1.5 .9 .6 .0 4.3
2007–08 L.A. Lakers 72 0 17.8 .454 .437 .835 2.1 1.0 .5 .1 8.8
2008–09 L.A. Lakers 80 0 16.2 .387 .363 .921 1.7 1.4 1.0 .1 5.8
2009–10 L.A. Lakers 67 1 8.6 .402 .309 .848 1.2 .6 .3 .1 2.8
2010–11 L.A. Lakers 11 0 4.9 .348 .429 .500 .4 .5 .1 .0 1.8
2010–11 New Jersey 56 17 28.5 .404 .369 .851 3.3 2.3 1.0 .1 11.4
Career 476 29 15.9 .395 .371 .870 1.9 1.3 .6 .1 5.6

NBA Playoffs [edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006 L.A. Lakers 7 0 18.4 .423 .600 1.000 2.4 .9 .6 .0 6.0
2007 L.A. Lakers 4 0 10.8 .556 .250 .000 1.0 .8 .2 .0 2.8
2008 L.A. Lakers 21 0 21.7 .399 .392 .857 2.2 .8 .6 .2 8.1
2009 L.A. Lakers 23 0 10.9 .264 .314 .833 1.4 .5 .4 .2 3.0
2010 L.A. Lakers 10 0 7.6 .435 .400 .833 .8 .5 .2 .0 3.1
Career 65 0 14.7 .366 .384 .879 1.6 .6 .4 .1 5.0

Personal life [edit]

Vujačić was born in Maribor, present-day Slovenia, to a Serbian father and Slovenian mother. His father was a Serbian basketball coach,[1] while his mother was a Slovenian volleyball player.[16] His mother was playing volleyball for a top Yugoslav women's club, Branik Maribor, but quit her career at the age of 19 when she got pregnant with Vujačić.[16] His parents divorced when he was 6, and he lived with his mother and soon afterwards with his stepfather.[16] He has two siblings, a sister named Nina, and a brother named Aljoša. In addition to playing basketball, he enjoys volleyball, tennis, and association football.[17]

During his time with the Los Angeles Lakers he would often speak in Italian with Kobe Bryant, who is also fluent in the language.

He was once engaged to professional tennis player Maria Sharapova,[18] but the two separated in 2012.[19]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Prominent Slovenian Athletes in the United States by Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, January 2007.
  2. ^ "NBA Bio"
  3. ^ "Los Angeles Lakers/Utah Jazz recap December 1, 2005 Thursday recap". AP Sports. 2005-12-01. Retrieved 2007-03-29. 
  4. ^ "Vujacic, Lakers put end to Mavs' impressive streak". CBS Sportsline.com wire reports. 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2007-03-29. 
  5. ^ "Kobe watches 4th quarter from bench as Vujacic, Lakers bounce Nuggets". ESPN. 2007-11-29. Retrieved 2007-11-30. 
  6. ^ "Fantasy/Player News". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2008-07-23. 
  7. ^ "NETS Acquire Vujacic & Two 1st-Round Picks in 3-Team Trade". NBA.com. 2010-12-15. Retrieved 2010-12-15. 
  8. ^ ANADOLU EFES signs Vujacic
  9. ^ Sasha Vujacic Efes'te (Turkish)
  10. ^ "Vujacic Sasha 2011/12 Season". Euroleague. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  11. ^ "Sasha Vujacic staying with Anadolu Efes Istanbul". Sportando. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  12. ^ "Vujacic stars as Anadolu Efes holds off EA7 Milano". Sportando. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  13. ^ "Vujacic Sasha Seasonal stats". Euroleague. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  14. ^ "Game report". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  15. ^ "Farmar, Vujacic lead Efes into Top 16". Sportando. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  16. ^ a b c "Rojen na dan žena" (in Slovene). vujacic.net. Retrieved October 2010. 
  17. ^ NBA.com : Sasha Vujacic Bio Page
  18. ^ Sharapova gets engaged to Lakers' guard Vujacic
  19. ^ Maria Sharapova and Sasha Vujacic call off engagement

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sasha Vujačić
Anadolu Efes current roster
  • Head coach: Mahmuti
  • Assistant coaches: Alkaş
  • Şen
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