Zoran Planinić is a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n professional basketball player. He is currently a member of the Euroleague

Euroleague

Euroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...

 club BC Khimki. He is also a member of the Croatian national basketball team.

Early years

Planinić was born in Mostar

Mostar

Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina , known until 1963 under the name of People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...

, in the former Yugoslavia

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...

.
As a junior, he played for the Croatian club Cibona Zagreb.

Professional career

In the 1999/2000 season, he started his professional career on loan to Benston Zagreb.

He returned to Cibona Zagreb in 2000 and he was named the Croatian League

A1 Liga

The A-1 Liga or Croatian A-1 League is the highest level basketball league in Croatia. It is operated by the Croatian Basketball Federation.-Current season teams :-Playoffs Champions:...

 MVP in 2001. He stayed with Cibona until 2003.

In the 2003 NBA Draft

2003 NBA Draft

The 2003 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2003 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and...

, the 6 ft 7 in 210 lbs. point guard

Point guard

Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...

-shooting guard

Shooting guard

The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...

 was drafted 22nd overall by the New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

. In three NBA seasons he averaged 4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Planinić's three NBA seasons were not notable, with his only distinguishing moment coming in the 2005–06 season, when he hit a spectacular full court, 77-foot, 3rd quarter-ending buzzer beater at a November 9, 2005, home win against the Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

.
In the summer of 2006, Planinić and the New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 agreed to a buyout, in which he was sent back to Europe to spend the season with TAU Cerámica of the Spanish ACB League, a team that also featured talented NBA prospect Tiago Splitter

Tiago Splitter

Tiago Splitter is a Brazilian professional basketball player who also holds Spanish citizenship. Along with his native language Portuguese, he also speaks English and Spanish...

. With TAU Cerámica, Planinić won the Spanish Supercup

Supercopa de España de Baloncesto

The Supercopa de España de Baloncesto is an annual preseason Spanish basketball competition. The teams that take part in this competition are:* The ACB league winner of the previous season....

 championship in both 2006 and 2007 and the Spanish Championship in 2008.

On June 25, 2008, Planinić signed a 2 year contract with the Russian Superleague A club CSKA Moscow

PBC CSKA Moscow

PBC CSKA Moscow is a Russian professional basketball team that is based in Moscow, Russia. The club is a member of the VTB United League. It is often referred to in the West as "Red Army" for its past affiliation with the Soviet Army. CSKA has won two titles between 2006 and 2009 in Europe's...

. On June 17, 2010, decided to sign a 2+1 contract with the Russian Superleague A club BC Khimki.

Croatian national team

Planinić was part of the Croatian junior national teams that won the bronze medal at the 1999 FIBA Under-19 World Championship

FIBA Under-19 World Championship

The FIBA Under-19 World Championship is a men's under-19 only basketball competition organized by FIBA. From its inauguration in 1979 until 2007 it was held every four years...

 and the silver medal at the 2001 FIBA Under-21 World Championship

FIBA Under-21 World Championship

The FIBA Under-21 World Championship was a men's under-21-only basketball competition organized by FIBA. It was formerly the FIBA 22 & Under World Championship before FIBA lowered the age limit to 21 years in December 1998, and had its name changed to World Championship for Young Men. The...

.

Planinić was also a part of the senior Croatian national basketball teams at EuroBasket

Eurobasket

The EuroBasket, also referred to as the FIBA European Basketball Championship, is the main basketball competition contested biennially by the men's national teams governed by FIBA Europe, the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. The championship was first held in 1935 and...

s 2003

Eurobasket 2003

-5th to 8th place:-Awards:-All-Tournament Team : Tony Parker Šarūnas Jasikevičius Saulius Štombergas Andrei Kirilenko Pau Gasol-Top scorers :# Pau Gasol 25.8# Andrei Kirilenko 23.1# Dirk Nowitzki 22.5# Mehmet Okur 18.7...

, 2005

Eurobasket 2005

The EuroBasket 2005 was held in Serbia and Montenegro between 16 September and 25 September 2005. Greece won the gold medal by defeating Germany, while France won the bronze medal over Spain...

, 2007

Eurobasket 2007

-Group B:-Group C:-Group D:-Second round:- Group E :- Group F :-Championship bracket:- Quarterfinals :-Classification rounds:- Semifinals :- Third place game:- Final :...

 and 2009

EuroBasket 2009

The EuroBasket 2009 was the 36th EuroBasket, the biennial regional basketball championship contested by European nations and held by FIBA Europe. The tournament, which was hosted by Poland, began on 7 September 2009 and concluded with the final on 20 September 2009...

.

External links

• NBA.com Profile
• Euroleague.net Profile
• NBA Stats @ Basketball-reference.com
• Basketpedya.com Profile