Vladimir Stepania
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 8, 1976 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Georgian / Slovenian |
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
| Listed weight | 236 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Playing career | 1995–2004 |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 5, 50, 11 |
| Career history | |
| 1995–1996 | KD Slovan (Slovenia) |
| 1996–1999 | KK Union Olimpija (Slovenia) |
| 1998–2000 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2000–2001 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2001–2003 | Miami Heat |
| 2003–2004 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 1,118 (4.1 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,180 (4.4 rpg) |
| Blocks | 144 (0.5 bpg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Vladimir Stepania (born 8 May 1976) is a retired Georgian professional basketball player, in the center position.
After starting in his country, Stepania played several years in Slovenia, namely with Olimpija Ljubljana, partnering another center, Radoslav Nesterović, in his first year.
Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics late in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft, Stepania became the first Georgian player to play in the NBA. For six seasons, in which he was a backup, he represented the Sonics, the New Jersey Nets, the Miami Heat and the Portland Trail Blazers, averaging four points (a total of 1,118) and rebounds in 270 regular season matches.
His best season was in 2002–03 with the Heat, in which he averaged 5.6 points and seven rebounds per game, battling for position in a club which had lost Alonzo Mourning for the year with a kidney ailment; Stepania's career-high in points was 19, coming on 16 November 2001 against the Charlotte Hornets. On 19 November 2002, against the Milwaukee Bucks, he recorded a career-best 15 rebounds (on both occasions he represented the Heat).
In 2004, after a slow year with the Blazers, Stepania retired from professional basketball, at only 28.
...
Wikipedia