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}} Stojan "Stojko" Vranković (born January 22, 1964, in Drniš, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian professional basketball player, who also represented Croatia internationally. A 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) center, he played 5 seasons (1990–1992; 1996–1999) in the National Basketball Association, as a member of the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Clippers. He was very popular in Europe, while playing for the Athens-based club Panathinaikos, with whom he won the club's first Euroleague championship. ==Club career== A renowned shot blocker, Vranković made little impact in the NBA, managing small minutes and a low scoring average even though he started 73 out of 170 games played. He did however have a major impact in Europe playing for the Greek League team Panathinaikos. In 1996, he combined with Dominique Wilkins to lead Panathinaikos to a Euroleague championship - a first for the club. Vranković's defensive contribution was vital, namely his block of Zeljko Rebraca at the buzzer, in the third game of the quarter-finals against Benetton Treviso, sending Panathinaikos through. In the Euroleague Final, his block to deny Barcelona the lead in the last second, gave the game a dramatic end, before falling to the ground in the ensuing hustle and clutching his knee in pain at the buzzer.〔(Video footage of Vranković's last second block of for Panathinaikos in the 1996 Final Four )〕 In an interview at the official Euroleague Final Four website, Panathinaikos captain Panagiotis Giannakis described the incident as follows: :''"All that happened at the end of the game is unbelievable, a few seconds that lasted one century! I remember Stojko (Vrankovic) running like...Carl Lewis from one side to the other to stop (José Antonio) Montero. He blocked the layup almost at the buzzer and he sealed the victory."''〔(1996 Final Four: Victory comes to Greece and the Greens )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stojko Vranković」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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