Stojan "Stojko" Vranković (born January 22, 1964, in Drniš, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian professional basketball player, who also represented Croatia internationally.
A renowned shot blocker, Vranković made little impact in the NBA, managing small minutes and a low scoring average even though he started 73 out of 170 games played. He did however have a major impact in Europe playing for the Greek League team Panathinaikos. In 1996, he combined with Dominique Wilkins to lead Panathinaikos to a Euroleague championship - a first for the club. Vranković's defensive contribution was vital, namely his block of Zeljko Rebraca at the buzzer, in the third game of the quarter-finals against Benetton Treviso, sending Panathinaikos through. In the Euroleague Final, his block to deny Barcelona the lead in the last second, gave the game a dramatic end, before falling to the ground in the ensuing hustle and clutching his knee in pain at the buzzer.[1] In an interview at the official Euroleague Final Four website, Panathinaikos captainPanagiotis Giannakis described the incident as follows:
"All that happened at the end of the game is unbelievable, a few seconds that lasted one century! I remember Stojko (Vrankovic) running like...Carl Lewis from one side to the other to stop (José Antonio) Montero. He blocked the layup almost at the buzzer and he sealed the victory."[2]
Vranković was a close friend of fellow Croatian player Dražen Petrović. He was a coffin bearer at Petrović's funeral in 1993, and has been active in commemorating his memory. In an article at the FIBA website concerning the opening of a museum in Dražen's honour, Vranković was quoted as saying: "I would like to thank all those involved in creating this place, so children would be able to learn more about 'basketball's Amadeus'".[3]
