Croatian Dino Rađa Enters Basketball Hall of Fame

Dino Rađa (Photo: NBA)

A big honour for Croatian basketball today with news that Dino Rađa enters Basketball NBA Hall of Fame.

Rađa (50) becomes the fourth Croatian to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame after Dražen Petrović (2002), Krešimir Ćosić (1996) and coach Mirko Novosel (2007).

Rađa was today part of 13 members, including the likes of Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Grant Hill, and Maurice Cheeks, who were named in the 2018 Naismith Hall of Fame class.

Born in Split, Croatia, Rađa was considered one of the greatest European players of his generation, playing four seasons for the Boston Celtics.

Naismith Hall of Fame

He was a member of the Jugoplastika team of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which he helped to win two EuroLeague titles.

Rađa joined the Celtics in the summer of 1993 and was immediately voted to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, along with fellow Croatian Toni Kukoč, who was at that time a rookie with the Chicago Bulls.

Over the course of his four seasons with the Celtics, Radja averaged 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in the regular season. In the NBA playoffs, where he only made a single appearance, with four games played, he averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

The Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony will take place on 7 September 2018 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The class of 2018 is:

Ray Allen
Maurice Cheeks
Lefty Driesell
Grant Hill
Jason Kidd
Steve Nash
Dino Rađa
Charlie Scott
Katie Smith
Tina Thompson
Rod Thorn
Ora Mae Washington
Rick Welts