View source for Milan Gurović

{{short description|Serbian basketball player and coach}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Expand Greek|Μίλαν Γκούροβιτς|topic=bio|date=April 2020}}
{{Expand Serbian|Милан Гуровић|topic=bio|date=April 2020}}
}}

{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Milan Gurović
| image = Milan Gurovic.jpg
| image_size = 320px
| caption = Gurović in 2022
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 9
| weight_lbs = 209
| position = [[Coach (basketball)|Head coach]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1975|06|17}}
| birth_place = [[Novi Sad]], [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|SR Serbia]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]]
| league = 
| team = 
| nationality = Serbian / Greek
| draft_year = 1997
| career_position = [[Shooting guard]] / [[small forward]]
| career_number = 8, 11, 15, 32, 51
| career_start = 1993
| career_end = 2009
| coach_start = 2012
| coach_end = 2016
| years1 = 1993–1998
| team1 = [[Peristeri BC|Peristeri]]
| years2 = 1998–2000
| team2 = [[FC Barcelona Bàsquet|FC Barcelona]]
| years3 = 2000
| team3 = [[AEK Athens B.C.|AEK Athens]]
| years4 = 2000–2001
| team4 = [[Pallacanestro Trieste|Telit Trieste]]
| years5 = 2001–2003
| team5 = [[Baloncesto Málaga|Unicaja Málaga]]
| years6 = 2003–2004
| team6 = [[KK NIS Vojvodina|NIS Vojvodina]]
| years7 = 2004
| team7 = [[KK Partizan|Partizan]]
| years8 = 2005
| team8 = [[Joventut Badalona]]
| years9 = 2005–2007
| team9 = [[KK Crvena zvezda|Crvena zvezda]]
| years10 = 2007–2008
| team10 = [[Asseco Prokom Gdynia|Prokom Trefl]]
| years11 = 2008–2009
| team11 = [[Galatasaray Café Crown|Galatasaray]]
| cyears1 = 2012–2013
| cteam1 = [[KK Crvena zvezda|Crvena zvezda]] (assistant)
| cyears2 = 2013–2015
| cteam2 = [[KK FMP|FMP]]
| cyears3 = 2016
| cteam3 = [[KK Vršac|Vršac]]
| highlights = * [[EuroCup Basketball Top Scorer|EuroCup Top Scorer]] (2007)
* [[FIBA Korać Cup]] champion ([[1998–99 FIBA Korać Cup|1999]])
* [[ACB League|Spanish League]] champion ([[1998–99 ACB season|1999]])
* [[Liga ACB Stars Match|Spanish All-Star Game]] MVP (2001 II)
* [[ABA League MVP]] (2007)
* [[ABA League Top Scorer]] (2007)
* [[Basketball League of Serbia#Individual awards|Serbian League MVP]] (2007)
* [[Radivoj Korać Cup|Serbian Cup]] winner (2006)
* [[Polish Basketball League|Polish League]] champion (2008)
| medal_templates = {{MedalCountry|{{flagicon|FR Yugoslavia}} [[FR Yugoslavia national basketball team|FR Yugoslavia]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIBA World Cup|World Cup]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[2002 FIBA World Championship|2002 Indianapolis]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[EuroBasket]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[EuroBasket 2001|2001 Turkey]]|}}
{{MedalBronze|[[EuroBasket 1999|1999 France]]|}}
}}
'''Milan Gurović''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Милан Гуровић}}; born 17 June 1975) is a Serbian former professional [[basketball]] player and current [[basketball coach]]. During his pro career, he played for numerous [[sports club|clubs]] from all over Europe. Gurović was also a member of the senior national teams of both [[FR Yugoslavia national basketball team|FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro]] and [[Serbian national basketball team|Serbia]].

==Early life==
Gurović was born in [[Novi Sad]], [[SR Serbia]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|SFR Yugoslavia]] to Serbian parents. His father Božidar and mother Mara, both hailed from the vicinity of [[Trebinje]], in [[Herzegovina]]. Raised in the Novi Sad [[Neighborhoods and suburbs of Novi Sad|neighbourhood]] of [[Detelinara]] with a younger brother Veljko, young Milan practiced [[kung fu]] before taking up the sport of basketball.

==Club career==
===Early years===
After taking up basketball at thirteen years of age with KK Slavija Novi Sad, Gurović quickly moved across town to join the youth system of the more established [[KK Novi Sad|NAP Novi Sad]] a.k.a Naftagas Promet under coach Zoran Trivan. Two years later, at age fifteen, he debuted for NAP's first team thus getting a chance to compete against grown men in the [[First B Federal Basketball League|Yugoslav Second Basketball League]]. He simultaneously attended the streamlined Agricultural High School in Novi Sad.<ref>{{cite news|last=K.|first=J.|url=https://www.blic.rs/sudbine/milan-gurovic-biografija-pretukao-zenu-i-cerku-nasilje-u-porodici/tvhde2b|title=MILAN GUROVIĆ BIOGRAFIJA Zbog košarke je napustio srednju školu, u Grčkoj postao KONOBAR, a otac mu je takođe bio poznati sportista|agency=[[Blic]]|date=11 December 2019|access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref>

===Peristeri===
Marking himself out quickly as a talented youngster at NAP, in December 1992, Gurović was noticed by a Greek basketball scout who convinced the 17-year-old teenager's parents to authorize their son's move to Greece. Although initially told by the scout that he'd be joining [[Olympiakos BC|Olympiakos]], the youngster ended up at [[Peristeri BC|Peristeri]], getting attached to its youth team. He would simultaneously train with the club's first team coached by [[Kostas Politis]].

For five days in the summer of 1994, during his first visit home since moving to Greece, 19-year-old Gurović was attached to the newly-promoted [[KK BFC Beočin|BFC Beočin]]'s training camp in Novi Sad's [[SPC Vojvodina|SPENS]] arena in order to improve his basketball skills and fitness level.<ref name="BFC">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPBiuo9TRM8&t=447s|title=Milan Gurović |publisher=Košarkaški podkast sa Lukom i Kuzmom |date=2 September 2023 |accessdate=4 September 2023}}</ref> Training for the upcoming [[1994–95 YUBA League|1994-95 YUBA League season]], the club's first in FR Yugoslavia's [[YUBA League|top-tier league]], BFC's coaching staff—consisting of head coach [[Miroslav Nikolić|Muta Nikolić]] and his assistant Zoran Trivan (Gurović's old coach at NAP)—decided to accommodate young Gurović, a player not on their roster, in order to help his basketball development.<ref name="BFC"/>

By the 1994-95 league season, Gurović entered Peristeri's first team permanently. As was the case with many young basketball players from former [[SFR Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] at the time (mostly of [[Serbs|Serbian]] ethnicity), he also took Greek citizenship, and thus competed as a domestic player, under the name '''Milan Malatras'''.

From summer 1995, for the following two seasons at Peristeri, Gurović was coached by compatriot [[Dragan Šakota]] whom the player credits for greatly helping him improve his game and find his footing in a foreign country at such a young age.<ref>[http://www.mondo.rs/a45250/Sport/Kosarka/Gurovic-za-MONDO-Partizan-mora-da-padne.html Gurović za MONDO: Partizan mora da padne];MTS Mondo, 28 December 2006</ref> It was Šakota who moved Gurović to the [[small forward]] position having previously been deployed at [[power forward (basketball)|power forward]] or even [[center (basketball)|center]].<ref name="goruvic-meridianbih-jan-2022">{{cite news|first1=Dejan|last1=Jovičić|first2=Nikola|last2=Ignjatić|url=https://meridianbetsport.ba/featured/milan-gurovic-meridiansportbh/|title=Milan Gurović za MeridianSportBH: "Šakota je moj košarkaški otac, Bodiroga je bio ključni igrač"|agency=MeridianBetSportBiH|date=21 January 2022|access-date=13 October 2022}}</ref> Playing alongside another talented Serbian youngster and future star [[Marko Jarić]], who joined the club in 1996, it was not long before Gurović started showing exceptional quality. By his fourth season with the club, 1997–98, he averaged 17.2 points per game.

===FC Barcelona===
In the summer of 1998, in-demand Gurović moved to [[FC Barcelona (basketball)|FC Barcelona]], signing a two-year contract with an optional third year. Brought in by the Barça management as replacement for forward [[Marcelo Nicola]] who moved on to Benetton, the Serb's transfer to Barcelona was a big money deal that heightened expectations.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nemanja|last=Babić|url=http://mondo.rs/a45250/Sport/Kosarka/Gurovic-za-MONDO-Partizan-mora-da-padne.html|title=Gurović za MONDO: Partizan mora da padne|agency=Mondo.rs|date=28 December 2006|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref> Prior to signing with Barcelona, the forward was very close to joining [[Ettore Messina]]'s [[Virtus Bologna]], even making a trip to Bologna with his agent Rade Filipovich of [[Bill Duffy (basketball)|BDA Sports International]] agency and interacting with the team's players [[Radoslav Nesterović]] and [[Predrag Danilović]].

Joining the 1998–99 roster featuring compatriot [[Aleksandar Đorđević|Saša Đorđević]], [[Efthimios Rentzias]], incoming [[Derrick Alston]] and [[Rodrigo de la Fuente]], including up-and-coming youth players [[Pau Gasol]] and [[Juan Carlos Navarro (basketball)|Juan Carlos Navarro]], Gurović made a valuable contribution to the Barça team that won the [[1998–99 ACB season|Spanish ACB League]] title and European [[1998–99 FIBA Korać Cup|Korać Cup]].

===2000–01 season===

====Rejecting Panathinaikos====
Over the summer 2000, Gurović got called up for the [[FR Yugoslavian national basketball team|FR Yugoslavia national team]] training camp for the [[Basketball at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's tournament|Sydney Olympics]] before getting cut by the national team's head coach [[Željko Obradović]] and thus not included on the final 12-man roster the coach took to Australia. Many years later, Gurović revealed that, following the Olympics, Obradović made him an offer of joining his club side, reigning [[1999–2000 FIBA Euroleague|EuroLeague champion]] [[Panathinaikos BC|Panathinaikos]]. However, still mad about not being taken to the Olympics, 25-year-old Gurović rejected the offer, figuring that Obradović was just stroking his ego after cutting him in the national team. Gurović also revealed a later personal realization that rejecting the Panathinaikos offer was a regrettable mistake.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg_G9PIxyvg Milan Gurović];Svet+ Info, 27 November 2011</ref>

====Joining AEK====
Still, despite not taking the Panathinaikos offer, return to Greece was on the cards with their city rivals [[AEK Athens BC|AEK Athens]] coached by [[Dušan Ivković]] with [[Martin Müürsepp]] and new acquisition [[İbrahim Kutluay]] on the roster. However, after a good start in [[2000-01 Euroleague|Euroleague]], the club ran into financial issues that resulted in player salaries being late. Not keen on staying at the club under financial uncertainty, Gurović left AEK in late December 2000 after appearing in only 5 [[2000–01 Greek Basket League|Greek League]] and 4 EuroLeague games.

====Finishing the season in Trieste====
Gurović transferred to [[Pallacanestro Trieste]] of the Italian league where he played out the remainder of the 2000–01 season under head coach [[Cesare Pancotto]].

===Back to Spain: CB Málaga===
Gurović was on the move again in the summer 2001 transfer season, returning to Spain by joining [[CB Málaga]] led by the Serbian coach [[Božidar Maljković]].

In his first season in [[Andalusia]], Gurović averaged 14 points per game over 32 [[2001–02 ACB season|regular season league]] games as Málaga grabbed the second spot ahead of playoffs. In the playoffs, the team made it to the final, getting swept 3-games-to-0 by the [[Duško Ivanović]]-coached [[Saski Baskonia]] (TAU Cerámica) featuring [[Dejan Tomašević]], [[Andrés Nocioni]], [[Luis Scola]], and [[Fabricio Oberto]].

====Celtics pre-season camp====
Summer 2002 would in many ways be the turning point in Gurović's career. [[Boston Celtics]] invited him to [[2002–03 Boston Celtics season|their]] pre-[[2002–03 NBA season|season]] camp during June 2002 where he appeared alongside some 30 players, including fellow Europeans [[Jaka Lakovič]] and [[Darius Songaila]]. Without much of chance to play in games mostly led by head coach [[Jim O'Brien (basketball, born 1952)|Jim O'Brien]]'s assistants, Gurović left the camp. Later that summer, twenty-six-year-old Gurović made the final [[FR Yugoslavia national basketball team|FR Yugoslavia]] 12-man squad for the [[2002 FIBA World Championship]] in Indianapolis. His exceptional performance against [[United States men's national basketball team|the Americans]] in the quarterfinals capped off with two big three-pointers in the last quarter further cemented his iconic status with Serbian fans, and also gained him a lot of attention internationally. Following the showing against the Americans, specifically the Celtics star [[Paul Pierce]], Gurović was reportedly approached in Indianapolis by the Celtics coach Jim O'Brien, however, no deal was made again as the player had already re-signed with Málaga.

Back in Málaga for a second season, he featured in 30 [[2002–03 ACB season|ACB regular-season games]] averaging 10.3ppg as well as in sixteen [[Euroleague 2002–03|EuroLeague]] games where his scoring average was 12.7ppg.

===2003-04 season===

====Cancelled pre-contract with Saski Baskonia====
During the summer 2003 transfer window, Gurović was involved in a sequence of events and decisions that eventually led to him surprisingly returning home to play for [[KK NIS Vojvodina|NIS Vojvodina]]. Initially, the 28-year-old agreed to a pre-contract with the [[Duško Ivanović]]-coached [[Saski Baskonia]], however, after further informing himself about coach Ivanović's gruelling training methods, Gurović decided not to join the club due to personal concerns about incurring long-term injuries as a result of Ivanović's rigid practice regiment.

====Return home: NIS Vojvodina====
After not showing up at [[Vitoria-Gasteiz]] following his [[EuroBasket 2003]] participation with the Serbia-Montenegro national team, Gurović had to find a new club on a short notice with most top-team rosters around Europe already filled. He began to be courted by [[KK Hemofarm]] from [[Vršac]], however, in a sudden turnaround in late September 2003, he decided to go with NIS Vojvodina from his hometown [[Novi Sad]], citing a desire to be closer to his family while signing a two-year contract featuring an opt-out option following the first year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arhiva.srbija.gov.rs/vesti/2003-09/24/339869.html|title=Gurović potpisao za Vojvodinu |publisher= Вести |date=23 September 2003 |accessdate=7 October 2022}}</ref> Saski Baskonia sued Gurović for not honouring his commitment to them, and the case went before FIBA's arbitration committee in Geneva that ruled in Vojvodina's favour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arhiva.srbija.gov.rs/vesti/2003-10/10/340444.html|title= Милан Гуровић остаје играч НИС Војводине |publisher= Вести |date=10 October 2003 |accessdate=7 October 2022}}</ref>

Joining the roster coached by Nikola Lazić, featuring [[Kebu Stewart]], [[Predrag Šuput]], [[István Németh]], [[Nenad Čanak (basketball)|Nenad Čanak]], and veteran [[Dejan Radonjić]], Gurović simultaneously competed in the Serbia-Montenegro League and Adriatic League. Midway through the season, in December 2003, he unexpectedly received another offer of potentially making the NBA when the [[2003–04 San Antonio Spurs season|San Antonio Spurs]], whose head coach [[Gregg Popovich]] had noticed Gurović the previous summer in Indianapolis, wanted the player to join as back-up for [[Hedo Türkoğlu]]. However, being under contract with Vojvodina, Gurović was not let out of his contract.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA8qScqJAVw&t=3558s|title= Milan Gurović |publisher= [[Mile Ilić|Jao Mile]] podcast |date=5 October 2022 |accessdate=7 October 2022}}</ref>

===2004–05 season===
====Aborted transfer to UNICS====
Following a season in his hometown, Gurović was on the move again. During late summer 2004, he agreed terms with Russian club [[UNICS Kazan|UNICS]] from the [[Tatarstan]] federal subject, but after arriving in [[Kazan]] with his wife and kids in late August and early September to make living arrangements, he had a change of heart. Though satisfied with the club's organizational structure and basketball facilities, Gurović characterized things outside of basketball in Kazan as being below the level he was used to in Greece, Spain, or Serbia, specifically citing being unhappy with the apartment the club provided him with, lack of an English-language school for his kids, and general dissatisfaction with the city as the reasons not to stay in Kazan.<ref name="kurir-2004">{{cite news|first=P.|last=G.|url=http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/Arhiva/2004/septembar/09/SP-04-09092004.shtml|title=Čast je igrati za Partizan!|agency=[[Kurir]]|date=9 September 2004|language=sr|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822194546/http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/Arhiva/2004/septembar/09/SP-04-09092004.shtml|archivedate=22 August 2009|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> He furthermore mentioned that the television coverage he watched while in Kazan of the unfolding [[Beslan school hostage crisis]] thousand kilometres away in another Russian city had a bad psychological effect on him that ultimately also affected his decision not to stay in Tatarstan.<ref name="kurir-2004"/>

====Two months at Partizan====
Finally, in late October 2004, Gurović signed for Serbia-Montenegro champions [[KK Partizan]].<ref>[http://www.srbijasport.com/vest.php?news_id=350&sport_id=11 Milan Gurović u Partizanu, SrbijaSport, October 22, 2004]</ref> Playing on three fronts: Serbian league (still in full format), EuroLeague, and regional Adriatic League, Gurović posted a good season. This was the [[ABA Goodyear League 2004–05|first season]] that KK Partizan participated in the regional Balkans-wide league after years of pressure to join the competition.

Barely two weeks after signing for Partizan, Gurović became embroiled in controversy launched in the Croatian media regarding his shoulder tattoo of controversial World War II figure [[Draža Mihailović]]. Four days before Partizan's mid-November 2004 away game at Cibona, Croatian sports web portal SportNet.hr posted an editorial by Bernard Jurišić headlined "A [[Chetnik]] in [[Partisans (Yugoslavia)|Partisan]] Clothing is Coming for a Visit", urging the Croatian public and authorities to "stop a person sporting a tattoo of a [[Chetnik]] legend on his arm from entering Croatia".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/sport/kosarka/vesti.php?yyyy=2004&mm=11&dd=12&nav_id=155559|title="Sportnet" oštro napao Milana Gurovića|agency=B92.net|date=12 November 2004|access-date=24 April 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120319233806/http://sportservis.name/wsw/index.php?p=81&ni=24553 Titula Hemofarma u senci Gurovićeve tetovaže];''Press'', 17 July 2011</ref> The rest of the Croatian media immediately picked up the story, further whipping up public sentiment against Gurović in the country. What followed was an official state-level reaction, with Croatia's [[Ministry of the Interior (Croatia)|Ministry of the Interior]] announcing Gurović would be turned away at the border if he tried to enter the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/gurovicu-zabranjen-ulazak-u-hrvatsku/233785.aspx|title=Guroviću zabranjen ulazak u Hrvatsku|agency=Index.hr|date=13 November 2004|access-date=24 April 2015}}</ref> Due to fears of crowd trouble when Partizan plays away in Croatia, the club decided not to take Gurović on those away trips.

In mid December 2004, less than two months after signing, Gurović and the ''crno-beli'' parted company as head coach [[Duško Vujošević]] expressed regret about "certain things that have nothing to do with basketball coming to the forefront and affecting the player's life and basketball form".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.novosti.rs/vesti/sport.72.html:164833-Gurovi263-odlazi|title=Gurović odlazi|agency=[[Večernje novosti]]|date=17 December 2004|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref> A sizeable portion of the Serbian public saw the behaviour of Partizan's front office as a failure to stick up for their player,<ref name="gurovic-danas-dec2004">{{cite news|url=http://www.b92.net/sport/kosarka/vesti.php?yyyy=2004&mm=12&dd=22&nav_id=158477|title=Milan Gurović: "I robot bi pukao!"|agency=[[Danas (newspaper)|Danas]]|date=22 December 2004|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref> however, Gurović himself had only good things to say about his two months at Partizan including praise for the way club management, specifically sports director [[Dragan Todorić]] and coach Vujošević, treated him<ref name="gurovic-danas-dec2004"/> with his only complaints having to do with what he felt to be occasional lack of general support in Serbia from the country's basketball federation and official political circles.<ref name="gurovic-kurir-jan2005">{{cite news|url=http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/arhiva/2005/januar/01-02/SP-02-31122004.shtml|title=POLITIČARE BOLI DUPE ZA MENE!|agency=[[Kurir]]|date=1 January 2005|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref> But, some two years later, now a member of Partizan's heated [[Crvena Zvezda–Partizan basketball rivalry|cross-town rivals]] Red Star, Gurović came out saying his Partizan stint was the biggest mistake of his career and that "individuals from Partizan's club management used him for their self-promotion".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://mondo.rs/a39823/Sport/Kosarka/Gurovic-Partizan-je-moj-najveci-promasaj.html|title=Gurović: Partizan je moj najveći promašaj|agency=Mondo.rs|date=6 November 2006|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Gurovic.jpg|alt=Gurović with Crvena zvezda.|thumb|Gurović with [[KK Crvena zvezda|Crvena zvezda]].]]

====Finishing the season at Joventut====
In late February 2005, following a two-month layover from playing basketball, Gurović signed with [[Joventut Badalona]] thus reuniting with head coach [[Aíto García Reneses]] who had previously coached the player at Barcelona from 1998 until 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sportskacentrala.com/?s=read&cat=2&id=7157|title=Gurović u Huventudu|agency=Sportska Centrala|date=22 February 2005|access-date=25 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626111138/http://www.sportskacentrala.com/?s=read&cat=2&id=7157|archive-date=26 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Crvena zvezda===
In early September 2005, Gurović signed a one-year contract with [[KK Crvena zvezda|Crvena zvezda]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sportskacentrala.com/?s=read&cat=2&id=13333|title=Gurović u Zvezdi|agency=Sportska Centrala|date=6 September 2005|access-date=24 April 2015}}</ref> thus reuniting with head coach [[Dragan Šakota]] who took over the team months earlier. The club also acquired [[Pero Antić]], all of which meant that it entered the season with high hopes and expectations.

Gurović led the team in [[ULEB Cup]] (now called EuroCup) during 2005&ndash;06.

He especially came into his own throughout fall 2006 at age 31, putting on great scoring displays game after game.<ref>{{cite news|first=Aleksandar|last=Miletić|url=http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Sport/t12198.lt.html|title=Jesen Milana Gurovića|agency=[[Politika]]|date=16 November 2006|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref> At the end of the season Gurović led the [[2006–07 ULEB Cup|ULEB Cup]] in [[EuroCup Basketball Top Scorer|individual scoring with 25.9 points per game]], and he also dominantly won the [[2006–07 ABA NLB League|Adriatic League]]'s [[ABA League Top Scorer|scoring title, with 28.6 points per game]].

===Season in Poland===
Over the summer 2007 transfer window, 32-year-old Gurović signed for the [[Sopot]]-based Polish club [[Prokom Trefl Sopot|Prokom Trefl]], owned and bankrolled by the Polish billionaire {{ill|Ryszard Krauze|pl}}. The veteran, naturally, assumed the role of the team leader and memorably led the team to the Polish league title. His year in Poland was not without controversy either as on 25 May 2008, during game 4 of Polish Basketball League 2007–08 Playoff Finals, Gurović got involved in an infamous brawl with two players from opposing team [[Turów Zgorzelec]] - [[Iwo Kitzinger]] and [[Thomas Kelati]].<ref>[youtube.com/watch?v=2lL7b23nA0g]</ref> After the incident authorities of the DBE took the decision that marked him as the fight's instigator and Milan has been suspended for game 5. He was also fined [[Polish złoty|PLN]]20,000 (about [[€]]6,000).

===Galatasaray===
After reportedly being a transfer target of Russian club [[Triumph Lyubertsy]],<ref>[http://mondo.rs/a106912/Sport/Kosarka/Trijumf-uzima-i-Gurovica.html Trijumf uzima i Gurovića, MTS Mondo, August 3, 2008]</ref> on August 8, 2008, it was announced that Gurović signed for the Turkish club [[Galatasaray Cafe Crown|Galatasaray]] together with compatriot [[Dejan Milojević]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.galatasaray.org/basketbol/erkek/haber/1663.php|title=Gurovic ve Milojevic, Galatasaray Cafe Crown'da|agency=Galatasaray.org|date=8 August 2008|language=tr|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080811131436/http://www.galatasaray.org/basketbol/erkek/haber/1663.php|archivedate=11 August 2008|access-date=11 October 2022}}</ref>

On Tuesday 29 September 2009, Milan Gurović announced his retirement from professional basketball.<ref>[http://www.talkbasket.net/news/this-is-it-for-gurovic-2147.html This is it for Gurovic ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612141624/http://www.talkbasket.net/news/this-is-it-for-gurovic-2147.html |date=2010-06-12 }}</ref> In 2015, discussing his sixteen-year playing career, Gurović listed [[Saša Đorđević]], [[Juan Carlos Navarro (basketball)|Juan Carlos Navarro]], [[Dejan Bodiroga]], [[Peja Stojaković]], and [[Vlade Divac]] as the best players he's played with.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraf.rs/sport/1504921-top-5-igraca-sa-kojima-je-igrao-milan-gurovic-mesta-ima-samo-za-jednog-stranca-video|title=TOP 5 igrača sa kojima je igrao Milan Gurović! Mesta ima samo za jednog stranca!|agency=Telegraf.rs|date=8 April 2015|access-date=24 April 2015}}</ref>

In late August 2010, following a year on the sidelines, 35-year-old Gurović entertained the idea of a return to playing, even offering his services to Crvena zvezda head coach [[Mihailo Uvalin]].<ref>{{cite news|first=D.|last=N.|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/183712/Gurovic-bi-opet-da-igra-i-to-u-Zvezdi|title=Gurović bi opet da igra i to u Zvezdi!|agency=[[Blic]]|date=27 August 2010|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref> Nothing came of it in the end.

==National team career==
Due to accepting Greek citizenship when he moved to Peristeri early in his career, Gurović's national team status remained unclear for most of the 1990s. As such, he did not feature in FR Yugoslavia youth national teams.

During summer 1998, as a sought-after player about to leave Peristeri for a top European club, 23-year-old Gurović received a [[FR Yugoslavia national basketball team|Yugoslavia national team]] call-up from head coach [[Željko Obradović]] for the [[1998 FIBA World Championship]] training camp.<ref name="gurovic-elta">{{cite news|last=Kondić|first=Dejan|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZUBGD3hzXI&t=1191s|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/kZUBGD3hzXI|agency=Elta HD|archive-date=9 October 2022|url-status=live|title=Milan Gurović (timestamp 19:51)|date=24 January 2022|access-date=9 October 2022}}</ref> Two more Yugoslav players from the Greek League with similar legal status—[[Peja Stojaković]] and [[Dragan Tarlać]]—also received call-ups, however, unlike Gurović, they opted not to show up due to the unclear situation. Gurović, on the other hand, did, fighting for a spot on the team while simultaneously hoping for the best in terms of administrative and legal matters.<ref name="gurovic-elta"/> In the end, despite completing the entire gruelling two-month training camp, Gurović was not allowed to compete for Yugoslavia at the World Championship due to an intervention by the [[Hellenic Basketball Federation]] president [[George Vassilakopoulos]].<ref name="gurovic-elta"/>

A year later, the administrative/legal issue was settled and Gurović made the [[EuroBasket 1999 squads#FR Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia team]] at [[EuroBasket 1999]] under the same head coach Željko Obradović. Making his national team major competition debut, the Barcelona forward had an unremarkable tournament—marked by scant playing time, occasional poor shooting that led to [[Glossary of basketball terms#D|DNPs]] in subsequent games, with his only two notable outings coming in the second round-robin group games versus Spain and Russia—as the team lost in the semi-final to [[Bogdan Tanjević|Boša Tanjević]]'s Italy featuring [[Carlton Myers]] and [[Gregor Fučka]] before winning bronze medal.<ref>[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/player/p/pid/16212/sid/2267/tid/390/_/1999_European_Championship_for_Men/index.html Gurović at EuroBasket 1999]</ref>

Gurović has gold medals at the [[EuroBasket 2001]] and the [[2002 FIBA World Championship]]. He also took part in the [[EuroBasket 2003]] and the [[EuroBasket 2005]].

Prior to the [[EuroBasket 2007]], he was chosen as the first [[captain (sports)|captain]] of the newly formed senior [[Serbia national basketball team|Serbian national team]], under head coach [[Zoran Slavnić]].

==Career statistics==
{{Euroleague player statistics legend}}

===EuroLeague===
{{Euroleague player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2000–01 Euroleague|2000–01]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[AEK Athens B.C.|AEK Athens]]
| 4 || 2 || 21.9 || '''.452''' || '''.400''' || .783 || 2.5 || .3 || .8 || .0 || 13.0 || 9.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2001–02 Euroleague|2001–02]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Baloncesto Málaga|Unicaja Málaga]]
| 11 || 8 || 22.7 || .337 || .320 || .826 || 3.9 || .6 || .3 || .0 || 11.3 || 9.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2002–03 Euroleague|2002–03]]
| style="text-align:left;"| Unicaja Málaga
| '''16''' || 8 || 24.1 || .432 || .393 || .820 || 3.4 || .7 || .7 || '''.1''' || 12.7 || 12.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2004–05 Euroleague|2004–05]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[KK Partizan|Partizan Belgrade]]
| 6 || 6 || 27.9 || .273 || .235 || .739 || 2.3 || '''1.0''' || '''1.3''' || .0 || 9.2 || 3.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[2007–08 Euroleague|2007–08]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Asseco Prokom Gdynia|Prokom Trefl]]
| 12 || '''11''' || '''29.1''' || .377 || .342 || '''.882''' || '''4.8''' || .9 || .8 || '''.1''' || '''15.3''' || '''14.6'''
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 49 || 39 || 25.3 || .377 || .344 || .824 || 3.7 || .7 || .7 || .1 || 12.6 || 11.0
{{S-end}}

==Coaching career==
Gurović began organizing basketball clinics for kids in Belgrade's Šumice sports center in December 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/207108/Milan-Gurovic-otvorio-skolu-kosarke|title=Milan Gurović otvorio školu košarke|agency=[[Blic]]|date=12 December 2011|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref>

===Assistant at Red Star===
When [[Milivoje Lazić]] got named the head coach of Crvena zvezda in July 2012, he selected Gurović to be his first assistant.<ref>{{cite news|first=I.|last=Đukić|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/218086/Lazic-Zvezdin-prioritet-je-da-sledece-sezone-ode-i-korak-dalje|title=Lazić: Zvezdin prioritet je da sledeće sezone ode i korak dalje|agency=[[Blic]]|date=26 July 2012|access-date=25 April 2015}}</ref> Lazić got relieved of his duties only two games into the season, but Gurović stayed on in the same role under Lazić's replacement [[Vlada Vukoičić]]. Vukoičić wouldn't finish the season either, getting fired just before the [[2012–13 ABA League|Adriatic League]] Final Four in [[Laktaši]] and replaced with [[Dejan Radonjić]]. Gurović again continued on as assistant coach, finishing the season in that role, as Crvena zvezda again failed to win either the Adriatic or the [[2012–13 Basketball League of Serbia|Serbian]] title.

===Head coaching debut: KK FMP===
In late June 2013, Gurović got named the head coach of [[KK FMP|FMP]], Crvena zvezda's feeder club competing in the [[Basketball League of Serbia]] (KLS).<ref>{{cite news|first=N.|last=Todorović|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Evropska-kosarka/235743/Gurovic-novi-trener-FMPa-Ukazana-mi-je-velika-cast|title=Gurović novi trener FMP-a: Ukazana mi je velika čast|agency=[[Blic]]|date=30 June 2013|access-date=25 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209083003/http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Evropska-kosarka/235743/Gurovic-novi-trener-FMPa-Ukazana-mi-je-velika-cast|archive-date=9 December 2013}}</ref>

====2013–14 season====
In his debut [[2013–14 Basketball League of Serbia|season]] behind the bench, Gurović's FMP team led by a couple of somewhat experienced journeymen — 25-year-old [[Slobodan Dunđerski]] and 24-year-old [[Filip Čović]] — in addition to talented 19-year-old [[Nikola Čvorović]] as well 18-year-olds [[Đorđe Kaplanović]], [[Marko Gudurić]], and [[Brano Đukanović]] finished the First League stage of the campaign on top with a 20–6 record, ahead of [[KK Crnokosa|Crnokosa]], [[KK Metalac Valjevo|Metalac Valjevo]], and [[KK Borac Čačak|Borac Čačak]], thus qualifying for the Super League stage.

On 7 February 2014 Gurović's FMP pulled out a famous win over favourites [[KK Partizan]] in the [[2013–14 Radivoj Korać Cup|Serbian Cup]] quarterfinal: an 85–79 overtime triumph behind Nikola Čvorović's 27 points. The win was still seen as a significant upset despite injury-riddled Partizan fielding a makeshift squad half of which consisted of junior players<ref>{{cite news|last=N.|first=Đ.|url=http://www.b92.net/sport/kosarka/vesti.php?yyyy=2014&mm=02&dd=07&nav_id=809611|title=Pola Partizana premalo za FMP|agency=[[B92]].net|date=7 February 2014|access-date=27 April 2015}}</ref> as proud Gurovic praised his players.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bećagović|first=M.|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/247554/Gurovic-Vecina-mojih-igraca-nikad-nije-trenirala-u-Pioniru-igrali-smo-dobro|title=Gurović: Većina mojih igrača nikad nije trenirala u Pioniru, igrali smo dobro|agency=[[Blic]]|date=7 February 2014|access-date=27 April 2015}}</ref> In its semifinal versus the [[Dejan Milojević]]-coached Mega Basket team, FMP led by 5 at the half on the back of its strong second quarter showing, but collapsed in the third and—despite some improvement in the fourth—lost the game 85–93 as towards the end of the contest Gurović reacted explosively to verbal abuse (he would later reveal consisted of insults against his family) from several spectators behind his bench who were ejected from the arena as a result.<ref>{{cite news|last=Vinulović|first=B.|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/247611/Gurovic-Imam-zivce-ali-ne-trpim-vredjanje-porodice|title=Gurović: Imam živce, ali ne trpim vređanje porodice|agency=[[Blic]]|date=8 February 2014|access-date=27 April 2015}}</ref>

Competing in the eight-team Super League against Serbian clubs from the [[2013–14 ABA League|Adriatic League]] ([[KK Crvena zvezda|Red Star]], [[KK Partizan|Partizan]], [[KK Mega Vizura|Mega]], and [[KK Radnički Kragujevac (2009–2014)|Radnički Kragujevac]]) as well its three First League competitors, FMP managed a 5–9 record that was good enough for 5th spot, just outside a playoff berth. Due to FMP's association with Red Star and Gurović's personal past with Partizan fans as well as FMP's cup win earlier in the season, both of FMP's Super League games against Partizan were especially memorable. The teams met again on 2 June 2014 in [[Hala sportova]] with FMP leading throughout the nervy contest and building a 17-point lead heading into the final quarter before Partizan shifted into a higher gear and out shot their opposition 34–13 in the fourth quarter for an 86–82 win.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bećagović|first=M.|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/253638/Partizan-od-17-do-pobede-protiv-FMPa-Gurovic-iskljucen-zbog-guranja-Daloa|title=Partizan od -17 do pobede protiv FMP-a, Gurović isključen zbog guranja Daloa|agency=[[Blic]]|date=2 June 2014|access-date=27 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810002140/http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/253638/Partizan-od-17-do-pobede-protiv-FMPa-Gurovic-iskljucen-zbog-guranja-Daloa|archive-date=10 August 2014}}</ref> Gurović was targeted throughout the match by Partizan fans and the arena erupted when he pushed [[Boris Dallo]], a move that resulted in an automatic ejection from the sidelines as Partizan coach [[Duško Vujošević]] even took to the public address microphone, imploring home fans to calm down.<ref>{{cite news|last=Nikolić|first=D.|url=http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/253652/Ovako-je-Vujosevic-branio-Gurovica-od-grobara--VIDEO|title=Ovako je Vujošević branio Gurovića od "grobara"|agency=[[Blic]]|date=3 June 2014|access-date=27 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807203720/http://sport.blic.rs/Kosarka/Domaca-kosarka-i-ABA/253652/Ovako-je-Vujosevic-branio-Gurovica-od-grobara--VIDEO|archive-date=7 August 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Like a number of Serbian professional basketball players who transferred to the [[Greek Basket League]] clubs during the early 1990s—including [[Dragan Tarlać]], [[Peja Stojaković]], [[Dušan Vukčević]], [[Dušan Jelić]], [[Rasho Nesterović]], [[Miroslav Pecarski]], and [[Marko Jarić]]—in addition to his native country [[Serbia]], Gurović also holds [[Greece|Greek]] citizenship, which he obtained for practical reasons of playing without [[European Union|EU]] administrative restrictions in the Greek Basket League. At the time, Gurović played for [[Peristeri BC|Peristeri]], where he started his basketball career. In order to get Greek citizenship, his last name was changed; he thus competed under the name '''Milan Malatras''' while he was in Greece. The name change was required, as it reflected the citizenship documents submitted. There are rumors that these documents were often falsified, and subject to counterfeiting.

While playing for [[KK Partizan]] Gurović was not let in Croatia and Bosnia to play a game because of his tattoo of WW2 Chetnik leader [[Draža Mihailović]] on his shoulder.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Above that tattoo, he has a tattooed eagle.

Serbian writer [[Biljana Srbljanović]] referred to Gurović as "that tattooed fool" in her online exchange with [[Nebojša Krstić]], the adviser to President of Serbia at her blog. When informed and asked by daily tabloid ''Kurir'' about Srbljanović's online comments, Gurović responded: "For her information, that 'tattooed fool' speaks, besides Serbian, three foreign languages. I know who this writer is and feel very sorry for her. Women of her age can do or say foolish stuff sometimes if they don't get their portion of cock in the morning. She must've awoken unfucked that day when she said this."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/Arhiva/2007/jul/25/SP-02-25072007.shtml?p=4 | title=Vesti dana - Kurir dnevne novine | date=30 May 2023 }}</ref>

===Targeted by Partizan fans===
One year prior to signing with [[KK Crvena zvezda|Red Star Belgrade]] in September 2005, Gurović had been a member of their arch-rivals [[KK Partizan|Partizan Belgrade]]. As a result, once he joined Red Star, he began to be targeted by the Partizan fans, [[Grobari]], who suddenly turned on him having previously supported him strongly during the forward's Croatia entry ban when he was with Partizan. The antagonism culminated during the 2007 [[Basketball League of Serbia|Serbian league playoff]] final when the Grobari chanted insults and provocations from the stands targeting Milan's wife, children and parents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wRFnARi8wk|title = - YouTube|website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref> Milan responded and in TV interview said that "Grobari are [[cattle]]".<ref>[youtube.com/watch?v=OKVZ9RyOzsg&feature=related]</ref> In the second game, when Red Star were hosts, incidents occurred on the stands between Red Star fans [[Delije]] and police. Gurović tried to calm Red Star supporters and to defend them from police. Delije chanted "You are Zvezda's [[chetnik]] Milan" (Serbian : "''Ti si Zvezdin Četnik Milane''") and Gurović cried.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2WHrPJOZx4|title = Milan Gurovic|website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref> In the third game, Grobari used Milan's tears as provocation. Partizan won the series 3–1, becoming Serbian champions.

Gurović was elected on 5-year [[Term of office|term]] as a member of the Assembly of the [[KK Crvena zvezda|Crvena zvezda Basketball Club]] on 27 December 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Čović još pet godina na čelu Zvezde, najveći saziv Skupštine u istoriji kluba |url=https://mozzartsport.com/kosarka/vesti/covic-jos-pet-godina-na-celu-zvezde-najveci-saziv-skupstine-u-istoriji-kluba/408063 |website=mozzartsport.com |access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Čoviću novi mandat, u Skupštini Vučević, Miličić, sportisti, glumci... |url=https://www.b92.net/sport/kosarka/vesti.php?yyyy=2021&mm=12&dd=27&nav_id=2079312 |website=b92.net | date=27 December 2021 |access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of KK Crvena zvezda players with 100 games played]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Milan Gurović}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100504205011/http://www.acb.com/jugador.php?id=A1G Milan Gurović] at acb.com {{in lang|es}}
* [https://www.tblstat.net/player/1458 Milan Gurović] at tblstat.net
* [http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=ABC Milan Gurović] at euroleague.net

{{navboxes|list=
{{s-start}}
{{S-sports}}
{{succession box
| before= [[Igor Rakočević]]
| after= [[Nenad Krstić]]
| title= [[Serbia national basketball team|Serbia]] captain
| years= 2007
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Yugoslavia Squad EuroBasket 1999}}
{{Yugoslavia Squad EuroBasket 2001}}
{{Yugoslavia Squad 2002 FIBA World Championship}}
{{FC Barcelona Bàsquet 1998–99 FIBA Korać Cup Winners}}
{{EuroCup Basketball Top Scorer}}
{{ABA League MVPs}}
{{ABA League scoring leaders}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurovic, Milan}}
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