All summer long, NBA Game Time's celebrating the global reach of the game we all love. Over the course of 90 days - leading right up to the 2014 Global Games in October - get to know more about the international faces of the NBA. Day 4 brings us to...
Pero Antic (F/C, Atlanta Hawks), Macedonia
Height: 2.11 m, 6-foot-11 | Weight: 117.9 kg, 260 pounds | Born: 29 July, 1982
Two of the league's top rookies in 2013-14 crept into the league quietly.
One was 18-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo. The other? 31-year-old Pero Antic.
But when the Atlanta Hawks nearly took down the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2013-14 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs, going to a full 7 games, Antic stood at the center. Well, sort of. A very big man capable of bringing pain (a lot of it) from the perimeter turned the Pacers inside-out, nearly helping the Hawks pull off the upset by drawing Roy Hibbert out of the paint.
The first Macedonian to play in the NBA, Antic took on a central role with the Hawks when Al Horford went down with a season-ending injury, averaging 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 26 starts.
Key Stats:
2013-14 Season: GP: 50 (26 starts) | MPG: 18.5 | PTS: 7.0 | REB: 4.2 | 3PT%: 32.7
Season Highlight: While playing with a stress fracture in his left ankle, he pulled down 12 rebounds and scored 10 points against the Orlando Magic on 22 Jan. -- one of his three double-doubles in 2013-14
Awards
*Selected to play in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend, but was unable to play due to injury
* Finished 12th in points for the NBA's All-Rookie Teams, including 10 First-Team votes
* Among NBA rookies, ranked seventh in rpg, tied for seventh in 3FG%, 10th in ppg and 15th in apg during the regular season.
5 Things To Know
1. If the tattoos and bald/beard combo weren't enough, what else can we add to the image of Antic as a tough guy? After suffering the stress fracture against the Nets in London, he averaged 12.7 points and 7.7 boards in the three games (including the London game) before sitting out for 6 weeks
2. Antic won two Euroleague titles with Greek power Olympiacos and led Macedonia to a fourth-place finish in the 2011 EuroBasket (Atlanta Magazine)
3. Antic's father played professional basketball in the former Yugoslavia - home of NBA greats Vlade Divac, Drazen Petrovic and many more – for 14 years.
4. Atlanta has roughly double the population of Macedonia. When Antic spoke to Atlanta Magazine before the season, he said, "Atlanta just signed a contract with 2 million new fans. People told me, 'Finally we have a player in the NBA. We'll have a reason to stay up late' -- because the games are on at 3 or 4 a.m. 'It's going to be your fault, but I'm going to enjoy all these sleepless nights.' The president of Macedonia called me and said that everyone is so happy.
5. Starting with Rabotnicki Skopje, his hometown club, Antic played for eight international clubs before coming to the NBA.
Check out Antic's photos and video in the LEAGUE section of the NBA Game Time app.
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