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Gordan Giriček
	Giricek with the the Phoenix Suns.
Nickname	Gira
Position	Shooting guard; Small forward
Height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight	222 lb (101 kg)
League	Turkish Basketball League; Euroleague
Team	Fenerbahçe Ülker
Born	June 20, 1977 (age 32); Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Croatian
Draft	2nd round, 40th overall, 1999; Dallas Mavericks
Pro career	1993–present
Former teams	Cibona Zagreb (1993–2001); CSKA Moscow (2001–2002); Memphis Grizzlies (2002–2003); Orlando Magic (2003–2004); Utah Jazz (2004–2007); Philadelphia 76ers (2007–2008); Phoenix Suns (2008)

Gordan Giriček (also often spelled Gordon Giricek) (born June 20, 1977, in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Croatian professional basketball player. He is currently playing for Fenerbahçe Ülker, the title holders of the Turkish Basketball League. Previously, he played in the NBA for the Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Phoenix Suns. His nickname is Gira.^[1]

[edit] Pro career

[edit] Europe

The 6'7" (2.01 m) in height^[2]^[3]^[4] shooting guard-small forward started his pro career with the youth section of a small local club in Zagreb called Jedinstvo.

[edit] Cibona

Later on, he joined the Zagreb 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.

[edit] CSKA Moscow

He stayed in Croatia until 2001, when he signed with the Russian Euroleague power CSKA Moscow, playing the 2001-02 season there.

[edit] NBA

[edit] Memphis Grizzlies

He came to the US in 2002, scoring 29 points in his first NBA game with the Memphis Grizzlies.

[edit] Orlando Magic

During the 2002-03 season, he was traded by Memphis, with Drew Gooden, to the Orlando Magic for Mike Miller, Ryan Humphrey, a future first-round draft pick and a future second-round draft pick. He ended that season on the NBA's All-Rookie second team. During the 2003-04 season, he was traded yet again, this time by Orlando to the Utah Jazz for DeShawn Stevenson and a future second-round draft pick.

[edit] Utah Jazz

With Utah, his main role was that of a shooting threat off the bench; he was also a part-time starter. He had also emerged as a competent defender.

He was traded from the Jazz to the Philadelphia 76ers on December 26, 2007^[5] for Kyle Korver and a future first-round draft pick from the Jazz^[6], after a falling-out with coach Jerry Sloan.^[7] Giriček had been having issues with Sloan for a few games. Against the Charlotte Bobcats, Giriček made a bad pass and was pulled from the game. The player and coach got in an argument which escalated to the point of Sloan sending Giriček to the locker room. He was later sent back to Salt Lake City, and did not participate in the games against the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat.

[edit] Philadelphia 76ers

On February 29, 2008, he was waived by the 76ers.^[8] He spent barely two months at the club, appearing in 12 games.

[edit] Phoenix Suns

On March 4, the Phoenix Suns signed Giriček for the remainder of the season.^[5]

[edit] Back to Europe

[edit] Fenerbahçe Ülker

In August 2008, 31-year-old Giriček left the NBA and returned to Europe. He signed a 2-year €4 million euros net income contract with the Turkish Euroleague club Fenerbahçe Ülker.

[edit] Croatian national basketball team

Giriček has been a member of the Croatian national basketball team. With Croatia, he played at 5 consecutive European Championships: the 1997 European Championship, 1999 European Championship, 2001 European Championship, 2003 European Championship, and the 2005 European Championship.

[edit] Personal life

In December 2003 Giriček married his long-time girlfriend Nataša Gulan, in Orlando, Florida. In February 2004 Nataša gave birth to their first and only child, a girl they named Lara.

In July 2004 Giriček signed a contract with the Jazz worth $16 million through 4 years. At that time, Giriček asked his wife to sign a postnuptial agreement. His lawyers drew up the agreement so that in case of a divorce, his wife would get the total salaries that she would have earned had she stayed at VIPnet, the mobile telephony company that she worked for before meeting Giriček. Gulan refused to sign the agreement and, in August 2004, Giriček decided to file for divorce after his wife had left him and moved to her mother's house with their child, with Gulan demanding $1.5 million.

In February 2007, a court in Croatia decided that Giriček's wife was to get $102,500.^[9] Giriček pays $1,500 per month in child support for their baby girl. During court trial his wife's lawyer wrote to Giriček's present and past clubs, requesting information about the player's earnings but, as such information was not demanded by Croatian courts, it was never disclosed by any of the teams. In July 2007, he decided not to join the Croatian national team for the 2007 European Championship because of dissidence with his ex-wife, as Gulan did not honor a child visiting agreement ordered by court, by which the player was to be with Lara during July, thus arriving on time for national team pre-tournament camp. Gulan argued that she got her holiday at that time and that it was unchangeable, also wanting to spend time with her daughter.^[10]

[edit] NBA career statistics

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	Bold	Career high

[edit] Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002–03	Memphis	49	35	24.2	.433	.354	.822	2.2	1.4	.4	.1	11.2
2002–03	Orlando	27	27	35.6	.440	.328	.816	4.8	2.5	1.1	.1	14.3
2003–04	Orlando	48	25	29.9	.440	.407	.827	3.4	1.7	.9	.2	10.2
2003–04	Utah	25	18	24.2	.431	.359	.883	2.5	1.7	.6	.2	13.5
2004–05	Utah	81	44	20.5	.448	.362	.810	2.2	1.7	.6	.1	8.8
2005–06	Utah	37	36	25.8	.433	.305	.754	1.9	1.7	.4	.1	10.6
2006–07	Utah	61	6	19.5	.462	.426	.816	2.1	1.0	.5	.1	7.8
2007–08	Utah	22	0	12.7	.402	.353	1.000	1.4	.7	.6	.1	4.3
2007–08	Philadelphia	12	0	9.2	.317	.333	.750	1.2	.9	.2	.1	3.1
2007–08	Phoenix	22	0	20.1	.497	.380	.941	2.3	1.6	.4	.1	8.8
Career		384	191	23.0	.442	.368	.823	2.5	1.5	.6	.1	9.6

[edit] Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002–03	Orlando	7	7	31.9	.464	.333	.818	3.1	1.0	.3	.1	9.4
2006–07	Utah	17	3	18.1	.418	.538	.875	1.6	1.0	.2	.1	6.1
2007–08	Phoenix	5	0	16.0	.333	.250	1.000	1.4	.4	.4	.0	3.4
Career		29	10	21.0	.424	.444	.871	2.0	.9	.2	.1	6.4

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

[0] Article on Giriček. (Croatian)

[1] Euroleague.net official player profile 2.01 m (6'7") in height.

[2] Eurocupbasketball.com official player profile 2.01 m (6'7") in height.

[3] Doudizbasket.com player profile 2.01 m (6'7") in height.

[suns-4] Suns sign guard Giricek for rest of season.

[5] NBA.com: Sixers Trade Korver to Jazz for Giriček, Future First-Rounder.

[6] Jazz deal Giricek, first-round pick for 3-point specialist Korver.

[7] 76ers cut veteran guard Giricek after 12-game stay.

[8] Giriček to pay ex-wife. (Croatian)

[9] Giriček's ex-wife responds to accusations of dishonoring court order. (Croatian)

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