Damjan Rudež

Damjan Rudež (born 17 June 1986) is a Croatian professional basketball player who plays for Donar of the Dutch Basketball League. He represented the Croatian national team. Standing at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m),[1] he can play both forward positions.

Damjan Rudež
Rudež with Valencia in 2017
No. 9 – Donar
PositionSmall forward / Power forward
LeagueDutch Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1986-06-17) 17 June 1986
Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia
NationalityCroatian
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2008 / Undrafted
Playing career2002–present
Career history
2002–2004Zrinjevac
2004–2006Oostende
2006–2008Split
2008–2009Union Olimpija
2009–2011Cedevita
2011–2012Cibona
2012–2014Zaragoza
2014–2015Indiana Pacers
2015–2016Minnesota Timberwolves
2016–2017Orlando Magic
2017–2018Valencia
2018Monaco
2018–2019Murcia
2020–presentDonar
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing Croatia
Mediterranean Games
2009 PescaraTeam

Professional career

Europe

From 2002 to 2004, Rudež played for the junior team of Zrinjevac and occasionally for the senior team. From 2004 to 2006, he played for the Belgian club Oostende, where he won his first championship in 2006. From 2006 to 2008, he played for Split.

In June 2008, he signed a two-year deal with Union Olimpija. In 2009, he left Olimpija and signed with Cedevita Zagreb.

On 7 July 2011, he signed a one-year deal with Cibona Zagreb.[2]

In August 2012, he signed a one-year deal with CAI Zaragoza of Spain.[3] On 26 June 2013, he re-signed with Zaragoza on a two-year deal.[4][5] In June 2014, he requested a buy-out from his contract with Zaragoza.[6]

NBA

On 11 July 2014, Rudež signed a three-year deal with the Indiana Pacers.[7][8] During 2014–15 NBA season, Rudež led all rookies in three-point field goal percentage.[9]

On 12 July 2015, Rudež was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Chase Budinger.[10] On 27 June 2016, the Timberwolves declined the $1.2 million team option on Rudež's contract for the 2016–17 season, making him an unrestricted free agent.[11]

On 8 September 2016, Rudež signed with the Orlando Magic.[12] On 7 September 2017, he re-signed with the Magic.[13] On 13 October 2017, he was waived by the Magic.[14]

Return to Europe

On 26 October 2017, Rudež signed a three-month contract with Spanish club Valencia Basket.[15] Following the expiration of his contract, on 29 January 2018, he parted ways with Valencia.[16] On 16 July 2018, Rudež signed a one-year contract with Spanish club UCAM Murcia.[17] Eventough he had several offers, Rudež made the choice to stay home during the 2019-2020 season to take care of his baby. He planned to return in March, April or May, but the coronavirus made a return impossible.[18]

Donar

On 27 June 2020, Rudež signed with Donar in the Netherlands.[19] His brother Ivan had signed before as head coach.

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Indiana 68215.4.452.406.696.7.8.2.14.8
2015–16 Minnesota 3308.4.403.3401.000.6.3.1.02.3
2016–17 Orlando 4507.0.352.313.000.6.4.3.01.8
Career 146211.2.424.373.774.6.6.2.03.3

National team career

On 3 August 2008, he was called into the senior Croatian national basketball team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics, after Damir Markota withdrew from the team, due to injury.[20]

In 2009, he won the gold medal at the XVI Mediterranean Games, which were held in Pescara, Italy. He also represented Croatia at the EuroBasket 2015,[21] where they were eliminated in the eighth-finals by the Czech Republic.[22]

Honours

Club
Oostende
Union Olimpija
Cibona

International
Croatia

Individual

Personal

His older brother Ivan Rudež is a professional basketball coach for Donar in the Netherlands.

References
  1. "Damjan Rudež Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  2. "KK Cibona lands Rudez and Kovacevic". Sportando. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  3. CAI Zaragoza puts Damjan Rudez at forward
  4. "CAI ZARAGOZA re-signs Rudez". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  5. CAI Zaragoza keep Damjan Rudez
  6. Damjan Rudez to workout with Cleveland Cavaliers
  7. Pacer Sign Free Agents C.J. Miles and Damjan Rudez; Re-sign Lavoy Allen
  8. Sources: Pacers reach agreement with European shooter Damjan Rudez
  9. NBA Player 3-Point Shooting Statistics - 2014-15
  10. "Timberwolves Acquire Damjan Rudez from Indiana". NBA.com. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  11. Gauruder, Dana (27 June 2016). "Timberwolves Decline Option On Damjan Rudez". HoopsRumors.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  12. "Orlando Magic Sign Six Players". NBA.com. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  13. "Magic Re-Sign Damjan Rudez". NBA.com. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  14. "Magic Waive Kalin Lucas and Damjan Rudez". NBA.com. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  15. "Valencia adds versatile forward Rudez". Euroleague.net. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  16. Damjan Rudez leaves Valencia
  17. "ACB.COM - Damjan Rudez, nuevo soldado de los Tercios del UCAM Murcia CB". www.acb.com (in Spanish). 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  18. "youtube.com - Damjan Rudež, welkom bij Donar! 270620". www.youtube.com (in Dutch). 27 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  19. "Donar versterkt zich met Damjan Rudež". Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  20. CRO – Rudez called by Croatia after meniscus injury knocks out Markota
  21. "CROATIA UNVEIL AMBITIOUS EUROBASKET SQUAD". eurobasket2015.org. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  22. "CZECHS MAKE FIRST QUARTER-FINAL TRIP". eurobasket2015.org. 13 September 2015. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
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