Toni Kukoc (born September 18, 1968 in split, yugoslavia, the former Yugoslavia) is a former Croatian professional basketball player who plays as a small forward, a major substitute for the Chicago Bulls dynasty, known as the "Magic of Europe"
Chinese name, Tony Kukocchi
His foreign name is toni kukoc
Alias European Jordan, Balkan magician
Nationality Croatia
Birthplace Split, former Yugoslavia
Born on September 18, 1968
Height 2.11 m / 6 ft 11 in
Weight 107 kg / 236 lbs
Born in 1968 in Croatia, which was still part of Yugoslavia at the time, Tony Kukoc showed athletic genius in football and table tennis before the age of 14, and won the table tennis championship in the junior category. In 1985, 17-year-old Tony Kukoc and teammate Divac won the European Championship as the main players of the Yugoslav adult national team, and in 1986 won the European Youth Championship
Tony Kukoc won the bronze medal at the 1987 European Championships for Yugoslavia, and in 1987, Kukoc represented the former Yugoslavia at the World Youth Championships, shooting 11 three-pointers against Peyton-led U.S. team.
In 1990, Tony Kukoc played for Jugoplastika split in Croatia, helping the team win the European Champions Cup and the European Club Cup, Tony Kukoc also won his first European Player of the Year, and in 1991, Kukoc signed for Italy's Benatone Veroso. In 1992, Benalton won the Italian Championship and Kukoc also won the title of Best Player in Europe; in 1993, Kukoc helped Benalton win the Italian Cup and reach the final of the European Champions Cup
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Tony Kukoc played for the Croatian national team. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Kukoc played for Croatia and helped the team win the Olympic silver medal. There is an interesting episode in the Olympics: in 1990, Bulls general manager Klaus selected Kukoc in the draft, and a year later, before he could join the Bulls as soon as possible, he offered Kukoc an annual salary of $2 million to join the Bulls, when Pippen's annual salary was only $700,000, and before the Start of the Olympics, Klaus raised Kukoc's annual salary to $3 million, more than Jordan's 2.5 million, which greatly hurt Jordan and Pippen. For this reason, the game has another meaning, that is, they have to teach Tony Kukoc a lesson. Throughout the game, the two stars took turns defending Kukoc, and their goal was to put Kukoc back on the bench.
After the game, Jordan said in the dressing room, "I'm sure Scotty [Pippen] wants to give this videotape of the game to Klaus as quickly as possible." "Kukoc may be a good player, but he's a good fit to play in Europe and he's not ready to play in the NBA." His performance today is different from what I've heard, and today he doesn't have good statistics that show that my work is doing very well. ”
A reporter asked Jordan if he or Pippen would comfort the future teammate, and Jordan said coldly: "I don't think this is what Scotty and I are going to do." ”
In the 1990 NBA Draft, Tony Kukoc was selected by the Bulls with the 2nd overall pick in the 2nd round and 29th overall, but for some reason he could not enter the NBA that year, and on July 19, 1993, the Bulls officially signed Tony Kukoc, and that year, because Jordan announced his retirement, Tony Kukocchi became the weight of the Bulls' rebuilding. In the 1993–1994 season, Tony Kukoc played in 75 regular season games, including eight starts, averaging 10.9 points, four rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and participated in the 1994 All-Star Rookie Tournament, which was named to the 1993–1994 Rookie Second Team. With just 1.8 seconds left in the Bulls' third game against the Knicks in the playoffs, the Bulls trailed 101-102 and head coach Phil Jackson decided that the final shot would be completed by Tony Kukoc, and Pippen would cover For Kukoc, who shot the winning three-pointer
In the 1994–1995 season, thanks to Jordan's return, the Bulls finished third in the regular season in the Central Zone, beating the Hornets 3-1 to advance to the second round in the East. Tony Kukoc played in all 10 playoff games, taking his 2-year playoff career-high 22 points against the Hornets. Throughout the season, Tony Kukoc has surpassed 20 points on 20 occasions and 30 points on two occasions, including a 33-pointer against the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 17, 1995. On March 30, the Bulls played against the Celtics, and Kukoc had 14 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, the first triple-double of his NBA career. He played in 81 regular-season games, including 55 starts, averaging 15.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game
The arrival of Dennis Rodman in 1995-1996 and jordan's first full season since his return, all of which made the Already Saturated Bulls need a player who could stand on the bench and play the role of striker or point guard at any time. Tony took on that role. This season, Tony Kukoc was named the league's best sixth man to help the Bulls win 72. Averaging 13.1 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists in 26 minutes per game, Tony, who was on the bench, scored third and rebounded fifth on the team. Kukoc played 20 starts and 61 as a sixth-man starter, averaging 17.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 32.8 minutes per game as a starter, and tony scored 2 figures in 48 times and over 20 points on 12 occasions throughout the season, including 34 against the Miami Heat. In his 15 playoff appearances, he started five times and averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists in the playoffs, and Kukoc averaged 13 points per game against the Seattle Supersonics in the Finals
In the 1996-1997 season, injury-affected, Tony Kukoc missed 25 games, in 57 games, 42 double-digit points, on December 17, 1996, in the Bulls and Lakers, Kukoc scored 31 points, helped the Bulls beat the Lakers 129-123, averaging 28.6 minutes in the season, with 13.2 points, 4.6 boards and 4.5 assists
In the 1997–1998 season, due to Pippen's injury, Tony Kukoc became the first choice for small strikers at the start of the season. Tony played in 74 regular season games and made 52 starts. Made 17 appearances in all 21 playoff games, including all six Finals. In Game 5 of the Finals, Tony Kukoc was the Bulls' sole source of scoring, scoring a team-high 30 points and contributing six rebounds
In the 1998-1999 season, Jordan retired, Pippensi walked to Houston, and Tony Kukocchi became the leader of the Bulls. He led the team in points, rebounds and assists, averaging 18.8 points, 7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, ranking 18th in the NBA in points per game. On February 9, 1999, he completed his 1,500th career assist against the Atlanta Hawks
In 2002, Tony Kukoc left the rebuilt Bulls to play briefly for the 76ers and Hawks. In the 2002-2003 season, Tony Kukoc, who joined the Milwaukee Bucks, shot 53.8 percent from three-point range and shot the winning goal in three consecutive games. In the 2003–2004 season, Tony Kukoc played in 73 games, averaging 8.4 points per game, and on January 16, 2004, in the home game against the New Jersey Open, Tony Kukoc forced a basket in the final moments, causing fouls and two free throws to finally lead the Bucks to 86-83 home, and Kukoc scored a team-high 17 points in the last 24 minutes.
In the 2004–2005 season, Tony Kukoc played in 53 games for the Bucks, averaging 5.6 points, three rebounds and three assists per game in 20.7 minutes per game.
In the 2005–2006 season, Tony Kukoc made 65 appearances for the Bucks, averaging 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 16 minutes per game. In the playoffs, Kukoc averaged 7.3 points in 17 minutes per game.
On September 12, 2006, Tony Kukoc was finalized to retire