Dušan Šakota

Dušan Šakota
	Sakota in action with Varese
Personal information
Born	22 April 1986 (age 38); Belgrade, SR Serbia,; SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian / Greek
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	230 lb (104 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2008: undrafted
Playing career	2003–2020
Position	Power forward
Number	5, 15, 16
Career history
2003–2009	Panathinaikos
2007–2008	→Panionios
2009–2010	Scavolini Pesaro
2011–2012	Oostende
2012	Enisey
2012–2014	Varese
2014–2019	AEK Athens
2019–2020	UCAM Murcia
Career highlights and awards
	2× EuroLeague champion (2007, 2009); FIBA Intercontinental Cup champion (2019); FIBA Champions League champion (2018); 2× BCL Star Lineup Second Best Team (2017, 2018); 5× Greek League champion (2004–2007, 2009); 5× Greek Cup winner (2005–2007, 2009, 2018);
Men's Basketball
Representing Greece
FIBA Under-19 World Cup
World Military Championship

Dušan Šakota (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан Шакота, Greek: Ντούσαν Σάκοτα Ntousan Sakota, born 22 April 1986) is a Serbian-Greek former professional basketball player. At 6'10 3⁄4" (2.10 m) tall,^[1]^[2] he played the power forward position and was known for his shooting ability. He has won two triple crowns in his career. He was the team captain of AEK Athens of the Greek Basket League for five seasons, and with the club, he won the 2018 FIBA Champions League title, the 2018 Greek Cup title, and the 2019 FIBA Intercontinental Cup title.

Early years

Šakota was born in Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia (now Serbia), but he moved with his family to Greece, at the age of four, when his father, Dragan Šakota, was given the head coaching job with the Greek League club PAOK. In the early 2000s, he played in the Greek junior league competitions, with the junior teams of AEK Athens, which was his father's club at the time.

Professional career

Panathinaikos and Panionios

In 2003, Šakota signed his first professional contract, with the Greek club Panathinaikos, which was coached by Željko Obradović at the time. He did not play much, due to his young age. He stayed with Panathinaikos until 2007, and won every possible title with the club, including: the prestigious triple crown in his last year: 4 Greek League championships (2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07), 3 Greek Cups (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07), and a EuroLeague title (2006–07). He was also selected to the All-World Team Roster at the 2005 Nike Hoop Summit.

In 2007, he was loaned for the whole Greek League 2007–08 season, to Panionios, in order to get more playing time. He helped Panionios finish 3rd in the Greek League that season, and thus qualify for a place in the next season's EuroLeague; the first time in 12 years that Panionios had qualified for the European-wide top-tier level basketball competition.

In the 2008–09 season, he returned to Panathinaikos, and with them, he won his second triple crown. He got more playing time with Panathinaikos this time, than in his previous time with the club, as he played in 25 games in the Greek League, averaging 5.0 points per game. He also appeared in 9 EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos, during the early stages of the competition, with averages of 8.1 minutes and 3.2 points per game; at the 2009 Berlin EuroLeague Final Four, he was a member of the team's 12 man active roster, but finished both games as an unused substitute.

Victoria Libertas Pesaro and the accident

Seeking more playing time, Šakota joined the Italian League club Victoria Libertas Pesaro in 2009. Unfortunately, his season in Italy ended before the conclusion of the 2009–10 Italian League season, in a shocking way. On 25 April 2010, Šakota suffered a superficially light injury, after contact with Giuseppe Poeta in a screen during a game versus Teramo.^[3]^[4] Following an incorrect initial medical diagnosis, which led to an equally wrong surgery the next day, he fell into a coma, caused by septicæmia.^[3]^[4] Finally, the doctors managed to save his life, but he had to cease playing basketball for a long period.

Oostende, Enisey, and Pallacanestro Varese

In the summer of 2011, after a year of recovery from severe septicæmia, Šakota joined the Belgian League club Oostende.^[5] His contract with the team was terminated by mutual consent, in December 2011.^[6] During the 2011–12 season's winter transfer window, Šakota was released from Oostende.

In the following days after he was released by Oostende, he signed a contract with the Russian League club Enisey. After playing with Enisey, Šakota signed a two-year contract with Pallacanestro Varese of the Italian League, on 17 July 2012.^[7]

AEK Athens

In September 2014, Šakota signed a contract with the Greek Basket League club AEK Athens, the club for which he had previously played as a youth player.^[8] He became the club's team captain. On 28 June 2017, Šakota signed a contract extension with AEK Athens, lasting through the 2019–20 season.^[9]

With AEK, he was named to the European-wide 3rd-tier level Basketball Champions League's Star Lineup Second Best Team, of the 2016–17 season. With AEK, he won the 2018 Final of the Greek Cup. He also won the Basketball Champions League championship in 2018.

National team career

Greek junior national team

Šakota holds dual citizenship; Serbian (former Yugoslav) by birth, and Greek, because he's been permanently living in Greece, since his young childhood. In 2003, he declared his eligibility to play with Greece's national teams, although, according to the press, his father, Dragan, preferred for him to play with Serbia.

Between 2003 and 2006, he represented Greece at the junior levels, in a total of 59 games, averaging 13.5 points per game. He was a member of the Greek junior national team that won the bronze medal at the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Cup. He also represented Greece at the World Military Championship in 2009.

Greek senior national team

Šakota has also been a member of the senior men's Greek national basketball team.^[10] He played at the 2019 FIBA World Cup qualification.^[11]

Personal life

Šakota is the son of former professional basketball player and coach, Dragan Šakota, and the brother of former professional basketball player and coach, Miloš Šakota.

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	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

EuroLeague

†	Denotes seasons in which Šakota won the EuroLeague


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2003–04	Panathinaikos	2	0	3.5	.000	.000	—	—	.5	.5	—	0.0	0.0
2004–05		7	0	7.6	.333	.364	1.000	1.3	.1	.1	—	2.3	0.1
2005–06		14	0	10.5	.453	.407	.667	1.4	.2	.3	—	4.5	1.4
2006–07		10	1	9.0	.423	.300	.800	1.0	.5	.6	—	3.2	2.7
2008–09†		9	0	8.1	.440	.316	1.000	1.4	.3	—	—	3.2	1.9
Career		42	1	23.1	.421	.346	.786	1.2	.3	.3	—	3.3	1.5

Domestic Leagues

Regular season

Note: Only games in the primary domestic competitions are included. Therefore, games in cup or European competitions are left out.

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Panathinaikos	GBL	17	8.1	.358	.280	.000	1.1	.1	.2	0	2.0
2004–05	Panathinaikos	GBL	12	13.3	.527	.459	.875	1.9	0	.5	.1	6.8
2005–06	Panathinaikos	GBL	19	11.5	.573	.500	.823	1.6	.1	.6	0	7.0
2006–07	Panathinaikos	GBL	20	12.3	.373	.255	.666	1.9	.4	.3	.1	3.8
2007–08	Panionios	GBL	23	29.1	.517	.440	.923	4.3	.9	1.0	.4	11.3
2008–09	Panathinaikos	GBL	20	12.0	.591	.511	.666	1.8	.2	.3	.2	5.6
2014–15	A.E.K.	GBL	25	27.0	.446	.346	.784	3.4	2.4	.8	.2	12.4
2015–16	A.E.K.	GBL	24	18.4	.473	.367	.815	1.9	1.0	.5	.2	7.4
2016–17	A.E.K.	GBL	24	23.2	.503	.320	.950	2.5	1.2	.8	.2	12.3
2017–18	A.E.K.	GBL	22	23.5	.503	.414	.896	3.7	1.4	.3	.3	13.1
2018–19	A.E.K.	GBL	23	20.5	.531	.412	.776	3.2	.9	.4	.3	10.3

Playoffs

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Panathinaikos	GBL	5	12.3	.555	.461	1.000	1.2	.4	.2	.2	5.4
2004–05	Panathinaikos	GBL	1	3.1	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0	0
2005–06	Panathinaikos	GBL	5	7.5	.461	.375	.000	.6	.6	.2	0	3.0
2006–07	Panathinaikos	GBL	2	7.5	.250	.250	.000	1.5	.5	0	0	1.5
2007–08	Panionios	GBL	12	21.5	.530	.477	.600	2.4	1.0	.8	.2	8.3
2008–09	Panathinaikos	GBL	5	7.5	.357	.200	.000	0	.2	.2	0	2.4
2014–15	A.E.K.	GBL	3	25.4	.652	.454	.714	2.3	2.0	.6	0	15.0
2015–16	A.E.K.	GBL	9	20.2	.480	.467	.909	2.2	.9	.3	.7	9.6
2016–17	A.E.K.	GBL	8	20.2	.389	.346	1.000	3.4	1.6	.6	.3	8.3
2017–18	A.E.K.	GBL	2	23.4	.429	.167	.714	3.5	2.0	.5	1.5	9.0
2018–19	A.E.K.	GBL	12	21.0	.424	.408	.855	3.3	.7	.5	.3	12.1

FIBA Champions League

^[12]

†	Denotes seasons in which Dusan Sakota won the FIBA Champions League

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	A.E.K.	16	23.8	.514	.405	.900	4.1	1.8	.4	.4	13.5
2017–18†	A.E.K.	19	25.8	.484	.400	.800	4.2	1.2	.4	.4	14.0
2018–19	A.E.K.	15	24.8	.430	.304	.953	4.3	1.7	.5	.3	11.9

Awards and achievements

Pro career

5× Greek League Champion: (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
5× Greek Cup Winner: (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2018)
2× EuroLeague Champion: (2007, 2009)
2× Triple Crown Champion: (2007, 2009)
2× BCL Star Lineup Second Best Team: (2017, 2018)
FIBA Champions League Champion: (2018)
FIBA Intercontinental Cup Champion: (2019)

Greek junior national team

References

^ LegaBasket.it Dusan Sakota Altezza: 210 cm (in Italian).
^ ΣΑΚΟΤΑ Ντούσαν | HEIGHT 2.10 (in Greek).
^ ^a ^b "Pesaro in ansia per Sakota – Sempre in pericolo di vita" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Sakota, nuovo intervento E' in coma farmacologico" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
^ "Dusan Sakota naar Oostende" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
^ "Sakota en Winston weg bij basketclub Oostende" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. 21 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
^ ""Sua altezza" Sakota è della Cimberio" (in Italian). VareseNews.it. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
^ ΑΕΚ: Δικός της ο Σάκοτα (in Greek). OnSports.gr. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
^ "Dusan Sakota signs a three-year contract extension with AEK Athens". Sportando.com. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
^ Η "πρώτη" της Εθνικής σε φωτογραφίες (in Greek).
^ Greece announce preliminary player list for games against Great Britain and Israel.
^ "AEK at the Basketball Champions League 2017-2018".

External links

NBA.com Profile
Euroleague.net Profile
FIBA Profile
FIBA Europe Profile
Eurobasket.com Profile
Greek Basket League Profile (in Greek)
Italian League Profile (in Italian)
Draftexpress.com Profile Archived 2015-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
NBADraft.net Profile
Οutrageous refusal from Dusan Sakota (in Greek), newspaper Eleftherotypia, 11th Feb 2003.

[1] LegaBasket.it Dusan Sakota Altezza: 210 cm (in Italian).

[2] ΣΑΚΟΤΑ Ντούσαν | HEIGHT 2.10 (in Greek).

[gazzetta-3] "Pesaro in ansia per Sakota – Sempre in pericolo di vita" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

[repub-4] "Sakota, nuovo intervento E' in coma farmacologico" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

[5] "Dusan Sakota naar Oostende" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

[6] "Sakota en Winston weg bij basketclub Oostende" (in Dutch). Het Laatste Nieuws. 21 December 2011. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)

[7] ""Sua altezza" Sakota è della Cimberio" (in Italian). VareseNews.it. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

[8] ΑΕΚ: Δικός της ο Σάκοτα (in Greek). OnSports.gr. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2015.

[9] "Dusan Sakota signs a three-year contract extension with AEK Athens". Sportando.com. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.

[10] Η "πρώτη" της Εθνικής σε φωτογραφίες (in Greek).

[11] Greece announce preliminary player list for games against Great Britain and Israel.

[12] "AEK at the Basketball Champions League 2017-2018".

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