Darko Milicic explains how a promising NBA career turned into a nightmare (2024)

Darko Milicic's career trajectory was defined by an excessive abuse of his own potential. After spending nine years in the top league, the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft ended up being almost an outcast and deemed unemployable since he was almost impossible to work with.

"I was European and I thought I was godsend," he had explained in an interview with the Serbian newspaper Blic. "So I got into fights, got drunk before practice, spit on people but I actually spit on myself. My goal was not to please others but my ego," he confessed.

Milicic won an NBA ring with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, after his first NBA season. Even though president Joe Dumars had presented him as a big project for the team's future, the Serbian big man capped his three-year stint in Detroit with 152 points in 96 games, while his limited playing time became an issue in various media outlets.

He went on to play for Orlando, Memphis, New York and Minnesota, without being able to leave an impact anywhere.

"A lot of people are trying to tell stories about me, about who I am and what I like to do, about the way my career ended and that I should be playing basketball to this day. But they never understood what I went through in the NBA. They never realized this was the hardest part of my life. And of course, I couldn't imagine, when I was 16 or 17 years old, that basketball would become my nightmare, Milicic, 38, recently told gazzetta.gr's Giannis Stavroulakis in Novi Sad.

The retired player looked back on his past decisions and mindset, admitting that the main reason his career went south was his inability to take advice.

"There are people in life who will give you a chance," he said.

"There are those who like you and those who don't like you. There are coaches who will play you, and those who think you're a disposable player. I found a road of dirt in front of me. The main problem while I was in the U.S. was that I was trying to find the f---- reason I couldn't succeed. I wasn't looking in the mirror but at the people around me, thinking they wanted to hurt me.

I thought I was perfect. I screwed up... all I did was talk. I was just talking all the time. Had I worked as much as I talked, I'd still be playing basketball," he reflected.

Milicic conceded he wasn't mentally ready for the NBA at the age of 18, when he was drafted by the Pistons.

"The NBA is a big step and in my head, I was still a kid. I tried to take on everybody, I thought I was the smartest and the most talented, and I tried to be that player who couldn't fail," he remembered.

Milicic, hailing from Novi Sad, was once considered the mosttalented young player in the world but didn't finish the job.

"I wasn't working, I didn't try to listen to what they had to say," he admitted.

"You can't go into the NBA at 18 and think you're the smartest. They'll devour you. You have to work. That's what they expected of me. I went to a championship-caliber team and didn't respect them," he said of the Pistons.

"I always did the opposite of what was expected of me. I thought no one was capable of telling me what to do. I had my own way. So, no one was there to tell me: 'Darko, stop! What you're doing is not good for you.' It was all my fault.

I blamed the whole world. The NBA was a painful experience for me and people can't understand it. They thought I was the guy who was just happy to be in the league. But that was not the case. I know who I am and I know what I can do. I want to step up and be a leader," he explained.

Milicic pointed out that his fearlessness turned into sheer disrespect and recounted an episode where he laughed at Ben Wallace when his Pistons teammate was struggling from the free-throw line.

"I laughed at people I shouldn't have laughed at. At the Detroit Pistons, there was Ben Wallace, a legend. He would airball one free throw, and I'd crack up on the bench. They would tell me, 'Don't laugh, he's an All-Star.' And I was like, 'This guy's an All-Star, but he can't make shots.'

After two years, it happened to me - I was missing free throws. Ben Wallace is one of the most hard-working players I've ever met. And a young piece of s--- was laughing at him. An a-hole who believed it would never happen to him. That's when God punishes you for your arrogance."

Another factor that debilitated Milicic's morale was the culture of individualism instilled in many NBA teams. He mentioned his time in Minnesota (2010-12) with reference to some players' mentality.

"I saw people who all they cared about was getting the stats and seeing how many points and how many rebounds they had in the game. They didn't care if the team lost or not. I couldn't believe what was happening in front of my eyes," he said and recalled another episode where the Wolves GM told him that he was going to be kept on the team only if he apologized to Kevin Love.

"Should I apologize to that crybaby?" Milicic thought. "Never! I explained to him that I understand that he's a very important player for the team, that he's an All-Star but I can't accept that a guy is happy he scored 20 points and 15 rebounds while the team lost.

I don't give a sh-- who he is! After a win, I think in Los Angeles, he was sad because he had 12 points and 8 rebounds. I'm sorry, but I can't apologize to him. He may have a lot of money, but I don't care who the hell he is. Take my contract, I'll stay here in Serbia."

Milicic also admitted that he had attended (at least) one practice session under the influence, when Igor Kokoskov was an assistant coach at the Pistons.

"He'd grab me and say, 'You a-hole, you smell like sh*t.' I didn't care. I smelled alcohol, but I wasn't interested. I was leaving the club at 7 am and had practice at 9. I wanted to prove them wrong for not playing me.

I was 18 years old on a championship team and I was drunk at practice. I wanted to succeed. But it was all wrong."

Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.