Former Knick Darko Milicic explains why his NBA career was a 'catastrophe'

 Darko Milicic is opening up about his dark days in the NBA.

In an interview with Serbian news site B92.net, later translated by Reddit NBA and Yahoo! Sports, the former No. 2 pick said he would drink before practices and blamed himself for how his 10-year career in the NBA played out.

“As a No. 2 pick coming from Europe, I thought I was sent by God,” Milicic said. “So I got into fights, got drunk before practices, spiting everyone, but I was spiting myself.”

After being taken by the Pistons with the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft, Milicic never lived up to the hype. He averaged just 8.8 points a game in his career while playing for six different NBA teams. He will forever be known as the guy taken after LeBron James and before Carmelo Anthony.

“My experience in the NBA was a catastrophe, because I’m a born winner,” Milicic said. “I don’t like losing, even in card games. That’s the Darko that came to the U.S., but after Detroit I spent time on teams that were classic gangs going from city to city and losing games, and sadly you kinda get used to that.”

Milicic briefly spent time with the Knicks during the 2009-2010 season. The Knicks traded Quentin Richardson for him, but Milicic would only play eight games for the team.

“After that, I went to New York, where I continued doing stupid stuff. The coach finally got fed up, so I was doing push-ups and sit-ups during games and drinking milkshakes in the gym. So, I decided to go back to Europe. I was young enough and could still get back on track,” Milicic said.

Instead of going to play in Europe, Milicic ended up getting traded to the Timberwolves even though he told then-Minnesota GM David Kahn not to trade for him because “I’ll ruin your team. I’ll f--k up the team chemistry.”

Milicic also revealed he battled depression while playing for the Grizzlies in the interview.

After briefly trying to be a kickboxer following his years in the NBA, Milicic is currently working at his farm where he seems to have found a “peace of mind.”
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