George Zidek

Template:Infobox NBAretired Jiří Zídek, Jr., generally referred to in English as George Zidek (born August 2, 1973, in Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia (now Zlín, Czech Republic)), is a retired Czech professional basketball player. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1st round (22nd overall) of the 1995 NBA Draft. Zidek played in 3 NBA seasons for the Hornets, Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics, averaging 3.4 ppg in his NBA career. He played collegiately at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and was a member of their 1995 NCAA championship team.

In 1998, he returned to Europe, joining former UCLA teammate Tyus Edney on Lithuanian power Žalgiris. His first season back in Europe saw him lift the Euroleague championship trophy with Žalgiris, becoming the first Czech ever to win the Euroleague title. Zidek's European career took him to several other teams before he returned to the Czech Republic, where he helped Nymburk to league titles in 2004 and 2005. He took the 2005-06 season off to recuperate from knee surgery, and served at the end of the season as an Internet commentator for the Euroleague Final Four, held in Prague. Due to ongoing health problems, he however never returned and in 2006 he announced his retirement.

His father, Jiří Sr., was a star for Slavia VŠ Prague's basketball team in the 1960s and 1970s. Jiří Sr. helped lead Slavia VŠ to victory in the 1969 European Cup Winners' Cup (one of the predecessors to today's ULEB Cup). The Zideks are the first (and as of 2006, the only) father and son ever to reach European club title games in basketball.

References

Zidek's Euroleague site

See also

References