He won the championship at the age of 18, second only to James, but became a synonym for parallel goods and faded out of the NBA at the age of 27!

As the 203 Platinum Rookies with the quality of the draft second only to the 84 Diamond Generation and the 96 Golden Generation, although they have retired except LeBron James, it has to be said that the 203 Rookies are impeccable in terms of their achievements and their performances. Especially the top five rookies that year, four Hall of Fame-level stars were born, James, Cameron Anthony, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. They not only made a name for themselves in the NBA, but also helped the Dream Team to conquer the city and win multiple Olympic gold medals in the FIBA ​​field. Even last summer, the 39-year-old James led the Dream Team to realize his dream of Paris, which can be said to be quite legendary.

However, compared with these four stars, Dako Milicic, who is the second-tier star, is very embarrassed. When he debuted that year, he was once regarded as a combination of Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki, a top genius in Europe. At the age of 18, he won the NBA championship that countless stars have not yet been involved in. To this day, he is the youngest champion in the league. According to his start, it is entirely possible to become a top superstar in the NBA, but the result is that he has become synonymous with the second place in the square meter. He faded out of the NBA at the age of 27 and even switched to the boxing event for a while. So what did Milicic experience back then and why he failed to make a name for himself? Let’s take a look at Milicic’s story together.

1. Ruled the European youth basketball world and was regarded as a combination of two superstars.

Time went back to the 2003 draft, Milicic had already made a name for himself in Europe at that time. In the U16 European Youth Championship held in 2001, as the core of the Serbian Black team, he averaged 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, helping the National Youth Team defeat many strong opponents in succession. In the final, he scored 22 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks and successfully won the championship. Many scouts at that time witnessed Milicic's strong performance. Although he was only 16 years old at the time, he had already shown maturity and ability far beyond his peers. Immediately afterwards, in the 2002 U18 European Youth Championship, Milicic, who jumped to the level, was still an insurmountable mountain for all teams. In the entire Cup, he averaged 20.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game. While helping the Black Serbia team win the championship again, he personally won the MVP, the best lineup and other awards, becoming the hottest popular European basketball player in one fell swoop.

In addition, in the professional league, although he did not get much playing time due to his young age, when he played for Hemofarm Club in the Serbian League, he was still able to contribute 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in a limited time. You should know that Milici was just over 17 years old at that time. It was already amazing to be able to play such data in many adult seniors. Moreover, Milicic's skills are very comprehensive, his footsteps at the basket are extremely delicate, and he also has excellent outside shooting. He is even more capable of supporting the team's system on the defensive end. Therefore, whether it is a local scout in Europe or an NBA scout, he is praised for his performance. His height of 2.13 meters, his arm span of 2.26 meters, and his standing height exceeds 2.8 meters. Such talent and stadium performance are directly regarded by scouts as a combination of Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett. Therefore, in the summer of 2003, Milicic, who was 18 years old, participated in the NBA draft and was appointed as the second place by the Pistons.

2. Wasting time in the Pistons and completely lost the star aura.

The Pistons were already a very mature team at that time. They successfully reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2003, and found the most suitable players in every position. In the mid-2003-04 season, the team also traded Rashid Wallace. With the Wallace brothers firmly taking the starter, it was difficult for Milicic, who was only 18 years old, to compete with these two All-Star inside players. It happened that Larry Brown, the team coach at the time, has always been a stubborn old man who is unwilling to use rookies. Therefore, in the rookie season, Milicic had no chance at all, and even his status in the team is not as good as that of his European predecessor, Memit Oku. As a result, Milicic played only 34 games throughout the season, with an average of only 4.7 minutes per game, and only scored 48 points and 43 rebounds in total. This is a very embarrassing situation for a second-tier player, especially as he is still as a top rookie. Therefore, although he was lucky enough to follow the team to win the championship and became the youngest champion in history, Milicic was still very embarrassed.

After winning the championship, Milicic's positioning became even more embarrassing. After all, the Pistons were able to defeat the Lakers, which proved that there was no problem with their main structure and tactical system. So in the 2004-05 season, Milicic still had no chance. She only played 37 games, averaged 6.9 minutes per game, and only scored 67 points and 43 rebounds in total. James, Wade, who were in the same class as him, have become the core of their respective teams and have been selected as All-Stars. Milicic saw it and was anxious. Due to the long-term failure to get opportunities, European and American media have begun to put pressure on him in public opinion. The biggest problem of Milicic is that he is mentally fragile. Therefore, under various blows on and off the court, Milicic wasted two years of critical ball-raising period. Even though the team traded him in the 2005-06 season, it was useless. He completely lost his star aura of the past.

3. After seven years of transition, he finally left the NBA regretfully.

After coming to the Magic, Milicic thought he could get the opportunity to hone his skills. After all, he was only 20 years old at that time, but the problem was that the Magic had already possessed Dwight Howard, who was equally talented, so Milicic could only sit on the bench with a hangover. In this way, the first three years of his career were completely wasted. In the 2006-07 season, although he got some playing time, Milicic had insufficient accumulation of early experience and constant psychological blows, so he averaged only 8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and his overall efficiency was disappointing. So after the end of the season, when the rookie contract expired, he was unable to renew the Magic and became a free agent directly. Fortunately, the Grizzlies gave him a three-year contract, and Milicic was able to stay in the NBA. But Milicic, who has long lost confidence, has no highlights in his time in Memphis. His best season was only 7.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, and he can only become a rotational blue-collar insider.

What's worse is that after getting Marc Gasol, Milicic lost his value again, so he was quickly sent to the Knicks as a bargaining chip by the Grizzlies. The Knicks, who were in the bad season at the time, had no interest in him. Therefore, after only 8 games in New York, he was sent to the Timberwolves again. The continuous displaced life made Milicic's psychology more fragile. He himself had a homesick complex and lost interest in the game. In fact, in the Timberwolves in the 10-11 season, Milicic also had 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2 blocks in a single season. In addition, he averaged 16.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game at the 2006 World Championships. Even if he could not realize his talent, it was possible for Milicic to become an excellent blue-collar worker, but he had suffered from injuries again, which completely crushed the camel. After a brief game for the Celtics in the 12-13 season, Milicic, then 27, left the NBA and announced his retirement. Later in an interview, Milicic expressed dissatisfaction to the media many times. If it were not the Pistons who selected him back then, but a team that was not a badly-made team, perhaps Milicic's life would be completely different, but this is the reality. Now Milicic has become a fruit farmer and lives a simple and unpretentious life in his hometown in Serbia. Perhaps this will make him calm down.