Vladimir Stepania

Vladimir Stepania

Personal information
Born	(1976-05-08) May 8, 1976 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.

Basketball career

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.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1998-99	Seattle	23	6	13.6	.424	.000	.525	3.3	0.5	0.4	1.0	5.5
1999-00	Seattle	30	1	6.7	.367	.000	.472	1.6	0.1	0.3	0.4	2.5
2000-01	New Jersey	29	0	9.7	.318	.250	.735	3.8	0.6	0.3	0.4	2.8
2001-02	Miami	67	4	13.2	.470	.500	.481	4.0	0.2	0.4	0.7	4.3
2002-03	Miami	79	6	20.2	.433	.000	.530	7.0	0.3	0.6	0.5	5.6
2003-04	Portland	42	2	10.8	.417	.000	.611	3.0	0.5	0.3	0.4	2.6
Career		270	19	13.8	.425	.133	.536	4.3	0.3	0.4	0.5	4.1

External links

• NBA stats @ basketballreference.com
• Player profile @ NBA.com
• Basketpedya career data