Darko Milicic is remembered for being one of the biggest draft busts in NBA history. The Serbian big man was picked one spot behind LeBron James, which gives you an idea of how bad that move worked for the Detroit Pistons, who passed up on guys like Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
However, Milicic managed to have a relatively long career in the NBA, even winning a championship with those Pistons in 2004. He then played for more teams, often having rifts with teammates and executives. During a recent interview with Happy TV, Milicic remembered his stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Over two years with the T-Wolves, he shared touches with Kevin Love, who he calls a ‘crybaby’.
“I had the opportunity to play with great players in the NBA, but they were all crybabies, like Kevin Love, for example. Minnesota Timberwolves GM wanted me to apologize to all the players on the way I behaved, and I didn’t want to apologize to those crybabies. You have a guy like Kevin Love, and don’t get me wrong I don’t have the right to talk about anything because of the way I played, and he achieved much more than I ever did. But he is a type of guy that is not satisfied if he doesn’t score 20 points and grabs ten rebounds even though we won the game. He was unhappy in the locker room and was even close to crying, and he is supposed to be your go-to guy in a championship team?”
Darko stated his values were different than most NBA players, who only think about their individual stats instead of the team and getting the victory. He said that was one of his frustrations while he played with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I can’t play with those types of players, and I won’t apologize to them. I did some stupid things in my career, and I agree I was wrong, but I would never apologize to Kevin Love. I was used to different values growing up like team basketball, teamwork, and winning games,” he added.
Milicic always seemed like a guy who could play well when he wanted to, but that was never fully expressed by him. The Serbian’s first season in Minnesota was solid, but the second one things changed for him, who started having fights with his teammates and coaches.
He called it quits at the age of 30 and now is a farmer after a failed experience in kickboxing.
