Jiří Zídek Sr.
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Zídek at the Czechoslovakia basketball team | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 8 February 1944 | |||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Czech | |||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | |||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | |||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1962–1979 | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1969 | Slavia VŠ Praha | |||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Dukla Olomouc | |||||||||||||||
| 1970–1977 | Slavia VŠ Praha | |||||||||||||||
| 1977–1979 | Slavia VŠT Košice | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Jiří Zídek Sr. (born February 8, 1944) is a retired Czech basketball player. At 6'9" (2.06 m), Zídek was a talented center, and is considered by many to arguably be the best Czech basketball player ever. He was named the Best Czech Player of the 20th Century. He was among the 105 player nominee list for the 50 Greatest Euroleague Contributors list. His son, Jiri Zidek Jr., won the Euroleague title with Žalgiris in 1999. They are to this day, the only father and son to have reached a Euroleague title game as players.
Club career
Zídek helped Slavia Prague make it all the way to the Euroleague Final in 1966. He scored 22 points in the final, to lead all scorers, but Simmenthal Milano stood in his way for the Euroleague crown, winning the game by a score of 77-72. Zídek also helped Slavia reach the 1967 Euroleague semifinals, and win the 1969 Final of the European Cup Winner's Cup. He also starred for Slavia in front of 80,000 fans in Athens, at the 1968 Saporta Cup Final against AEK - one of the biggest crowds in basketball history.
Czechoslovakia national team
Zídek helped to lead the senior men's Czechoslovakia national team to a EuroBasket silver medal at the 1967 EuroBasket, where he was voted to the All-Tournament Team. He averaged 13.8 points per game in the tournament. His best game of that tournament was the final, which was lost against the Soviet Union national team by a score of 89-77, in which he scored 23 points. He was also the leader of the Czechoslovak national team when they won the bronze medal at the 1969 EuroBasket, averaging 12.6 points per game.