Žan Tabak
Burgos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–present | Trefl Sopot | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
As player
As assistant coach:
As head coach
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| Career NBA statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Points | 1,233 (5.0 ppg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebounds | 883 (3.6 rpg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assists | 165 (0.7 apg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at NBA.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Žan Tabak (born 15 June 1970) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player who is now serving as the head coach for Trefl Sopot of the PLK. His basketball career, spanning twenty years, was marked by several notable achievements, despite injuries. He was the first international player to play in the NBA Finals for two teams.[1] Žan Tabak averaged 5.0 points in his 6-year NBA career.[2]
Early career
Born in
Tabak began his basketball career in 1985, at the age of fifteen, making his debut with the Jugoplastika Split organization. Only a few years later, he and Split teammates Dino Rađa and Toni Kukoč led the club to three consecutive European Championships (1989–91), a feat only equaled in EuroLeague's storied history by its first champions, Rīgas ASK, some thirty years before.[4]
Rađa and Kukoč were 2nd-round selections in the
Professional career
Houston Rockets (1991–1995)
Tabak was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 24th pick in the second round (51st overall) of the 1991 NBA draft. He did not immediately play for Houston, however, opting instead to spend another year in Croatia with SD Split.
Return to Europe (1991–1994)
On June 25, 1991, Croatia, along with Slovenia, decided to end relationships with the other republics of the Yugoslavia. The newly independent state, then, was able to send its own athletes to the 1992 Summer Olympic Games; this delegation also included a national basketball team.
Along with previous Split teammates and Dražen Petrović, Tabak and the Croatian team performed well and won the silver medal; they were bested only by the star-studded United States Dream Team.
After Barcelona, Tabak continued with his career, spending two years in the
Return to NBA (1994–1998)
Over three years after he was drafted by them, Tabak was signed by the Rockets on July 20, 1994. With nine years of experience, he played his first NBA minutes on November 5, 1994. As a rookie, he saw limited playing time, averaging less than five minutes per game in thirty-seven appearances. He spent the season as a backup to
Toronto Raptors (1995–1998)
In the 1995 expansion draft, Tabak was selected by the Toronto Raptors.
On February 25, 1996 Tabak recorded a career high 16 rebounds in a 98–105 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[6]
On March 27, 1996 Tabak dropped a career high 26 points in a 94–103 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[7]
He started several games and saw increased playing time, but a strained left groin kept him from competing during the close of the
After another average start and a transverse fracture to a metacarpal bone in his right hand, Tabak was traded in a seven-player deal to the Boston Celtics in February 1998.[3]
Tabak played in Turkey for
The 2000–01 season was to be Tabak's last in the NBA, despite improved numbers and increased playing time. When asked about his decision to return to European basketball Tabak said "...I wanted to come back [to Europe] because I felt I was 31 years old and I was feeling my career was coming to the end. I didn't want to finish my career being just one of the players. I wanted to be an important player in my team."[8]
Post-NBA career
Tabak spent the remaining four years of his playing career in Spain with
In 2006, he worked for the New York Knicks as an international scout.[9]
In 2011, he debuted as head coach with Sant Josep Girona of the LEB Oro league. In 2012, he moved to Poland where he became the head coach of the 2011–12 Polish league runner-up Trefl Sopot. In November 2012, he became head coach of Saski Baskonia.[10] With the Spanish squad, he achieved a 17-game winning streak for games played in both the EuroLeague and the Liga ACB. After being eliminated in the 2012–13 season quarterfinals, Baskonia announced that Tabak would not continue as head coach.
Tabak was the head coach of the
On June 30, 2021, Tabak signed with
On May 9, 2022, he has signed with Trefl Sopot of the PLK.[14]
Personal
In the mid-1990s, Tabak married Gorana Tvrdić, daughter of former professional basketball player
In March 2020, Tabak's wife Gorana contracted COVID-19 in Madrid and within weeks developed severe symptoms for which she was intubated and placed in a 16-day induced coma.[16] By late April 2020, her condition improved and she got released for home rehabilitation.[16]
References and notes
- ^ JS Online: Hall snubs leave a few questions
- ^ "Zan Tabak". Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ a b c NBA.com: Zan Tabak Bio Archived 2008-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Real Madrid C.F. Web Oficial - Real Madrid C.F. Official Web Site
- ^ Lega A Basket
- ^ "Toronto Raptors at Dallas Mavericks Box Score, February 25, 1996". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ^ "Toronto Raptors at Philadelphia 76ers Box Score, March 27, 1996". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
- ^ HoopsHype - Interviews - Zan Tabak: "Pitino made some wrong choices about players"
- ^ ¿Qué fue de Zan Tabak? - Solobasket.com 3.0
- ^ Zan Tabak toma las riendas del Caja Laboral
- ^ "Žan Tabak skončil na lavičke slovenskej basketbalovej reprezentácie". Šport.sk (in Slovak). 21 February 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (June 30, 2021). "Hereda San Pablo Burgos announces Žan Tabak". Sportando. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Žan Tabak ostao bez posla: španjolski prvoligaš raskinuo je suradnju sa splitskim stručnjakom nakon samo deset odigranih kola". slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian). 15 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Zan Tabak returns to Trefl Sopot". Sportando. May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ a b R., V. (12 January 2018). "Žan Tabak i supruga Gorana otvaraju akademiju: Naša su djeca imala strog odgoj, ali..." TPortal.hr. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ a b Marković, Ivica (2 May 2020). "Potresna ispovijest supruge Žana Tabaka koja je jedva preživjela 'koronu': Morali su mi probiti rupu u grlu i bila sam nepokretna, htjela sam umrijeti". Slobodna Dalmacija. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
External links
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