Radoslav "Rašo" Nesterović, born on May 30, 1976, is a former professional basketball player from Slovenia. He holds citizenship in both Slovenia and Greece. Throughout his NBA career, Nesterović played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, and Toronto Raptors.
Early Life and European Career
Nesterović was born in Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia. His father, Čedo, was a Bosnian Serb employed by the Slovenian Railways, and his mother, Branka, was a midwife at the Ljubljana University Medical Centre. He began his basketball journey with the KD Slovan youth team. During the Yugoslav wars, Nesterović relocated to PAOK in the Greek League. While playing in Greece, he obtained a second citizenship, Greek, to navigate EU restrictions. This process involved an administrative name change under Greek law.
Ahead of the 1995-96 season, Nesterović returned to his hometown to play for Union Olimpija. In the Slovenian domestic league, he averaged 30 minutes, 17 points, and 14 rebounds per game. The summer of 1996 marked another significant achievement for Nesterović; while representing Slovenia's youth national team, he was named the MVP at the 1996 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The following season, 1996-97, he was a key member of the Union Olimpija team that reached the 1997 EuroLeague Final Four in Rome.
His performance on the European stage led to a move to the Italian League powerhouse Virtus (Kinder) Bologna in the summer of 1997. In his first season with Virtus Bologna, he averaged 8 points and 6 rebounds per game in the Italian domestic league. In the EuroLeague, his averages were 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He contributed to Virtus winning the EuroLeague title, playing alongside notable players such as Sasha Danilović, Zoran Savić, and Antoine Rigaudeau.
NBA Career
Minnesota Timberwolves (1998-2003)
Nesterović was selected as a first-round draft pick (17th overall) by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1998 NBA draft. He spent four full seasons with the Timberwolves, having played only the last two regular-season games and all playoff games in his debut season. His most productive season with Minnesota was 2002-03, when he averaged 11.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. This performance earned him a 6-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs in 2004.
San Antonio Spurs (2003-2006)
In his first season with the San Antonio Spurs, Nesterović recorded 8.7 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. During his second season with the Spurs, 2004-05, he was hampered by an ankle injury, limiting his participation to 70 games.
Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors (2006-2010)
On July 9, 2008, Nesterović was traded to the Indiana Pacers as part of a deal involving Matt Bonner, Eric Williams, and a future second-round pick. He later played for the Toronto Raptors, rejoining the team in July 2009 after previously being traded there in June 2006.
Steve Nash's Best Play Each Season Of His NBA Career!
International Career and Post-Playing Career
Nesterović served as the captain of the senior men's Slovenian national basketball team until his retirement from international play in 2008. He played a crucial role in helping his national team achieve a 6th-place finish at the EuroBasket 2005 in Belgrade, which secured their qualification for the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
After his playing career, Nesterović remained involved in basketball administration. He served as the General Secretary of the Basketball Federation of Slovenia until July 11, 2023. He is also the godfather to Luka Dončić, a prominent NBA player drafted third overall in 2018.
Career Statistics
Regular Season Averages
| Season | Team | G | GS | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | MIN | 15 | 4 | 15.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 47.6% | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 1999-00 | MIN | 82 | 52 | 21.0 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 47.6% | 0.0% | 57.3% |
| 2000-01 | MIN | 73 | 39 | 16.9 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 46.1% | 0.0% | 52.3% |
| 2001-02 | MIN | 82 | 82 | 27.0 | 8.4 | 6.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 49.3% | 0.0% | 54.9% |
| 2002-03 | MIN | 77 | 77 | 30.4 | 11.2 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 52.5% | 0.0% | 64.2% |
| 2003-04 | SAS | 82 | 82 | 28.7 | 8.7 | 7.7 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 46.9% | 0.0% | 47.4% |
| 2004-05 | SAS | 70 | 70 | 25.5 | 5.9 | 6.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 46.0% | 0.0% | 46.7% |
| 2005-06 | SAS | 80 | 51 | 18.9 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 51.5% | 0.0% | 60.0% |
| 2006-07 | TOR | 80 | 73 | 21.0 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 54.6% | 33.3% | 68.0% |
| 2007-08 | TOR | 71 | 39 | 20.9 | 7.8 | 4.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 55.0% | 0.0% | 75.5% |
| 2008-09 | IND | 70 | 19 | 17.3 | 6.8 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 51.3% | 0.0% | 78.1% |
| 2009-10 | TOR | 42 | 8 | 9.8 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 54.4% | 0.0% | 20.0% |
| Career | 811 | 595 | 22.2 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 50.2% | 7.7% | 58.5% |
Playoffs Averages
| Season | Team | G | GS | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | FG% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | MIN | 3 | 0 | 9.7 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| 1999-00 | MIN | 4 | 4 | 31.5 | 6.3 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 44.0% | 50.0% |
| 2000-01 | MIN | 4 | 2 | 12.3 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 38.5% | 38.5% |
| 2001-02 | MIN | 3 | 3 | 30.7 | 11.3 | 6.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 48.4% | 44.4% |
| 2002-03 | MIN | 6 | 6 | 28.2 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 50.0% | 66.7% |
| 2003-04 | SAS | 10 | 10 | 26.1 | 5.9 | 5.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 43.3% | 16.7% |
| 2004-05 | SAS | 15 | 0 | 7.6 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 41.7% | 38.8% |
| 2005-06 | SAS | 9 | 1 | 12.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 57.9% | 100.0% |
| 2006-07 | TOR | 5 | 4 | 14.2 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 46.7% | 100.0% |
| 2007-08 | TOR | 5 | 2 | 15.4 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| Career | 64 | 32 | 17.2 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 46.8% | 50.0% |
tags: #rasho #nesterovic #stats