At the age of fifteen, he sprung up to 2.05m, and was quickly incorporated into the first team squad, coached by Miodrag Nikolić, a former OKK Belgrade and SFR Yugoslav national team player in the 1960s.
His domestic career took off when, at 17, he was noticed by Krešimir Ćosić at a friendly youth tournament that featured Mašinac and Zadar among others, where Bodiroga scored 32 points in a game that pitted two teams.
Ćosić then brought Bodiroga for a week-long basketball camp in Zadar and eventually persuaded Bodiroga's family to allow their son to move away to Zadar.
1973
Dejan Bodiroga (Дејан Бодирога; born 2 March 1973) is a Serbian basketball executive and former professional player, who is currently the President of EuroLeague Basketball.
1989
In the meantime Bodiroga signed a pre-contract with Vojvodina so that when he finally went to Zadar in autumn 1989 he wasn't right away eligible for the first team, meaning that he first worked with coach Josip Grdović in the club's youth sections while simultaneously attending high school.
After a year he was allowed to be moved into the full squad, then under head coach Slavko Trninić.
After just one season in the first team, Bodiroga's stay in Zadar came to a premature end due to the impending war.
Ćosić, his mentor, did everything in his power to help Bodiroga find a new club.
Originally, trials were arranged with AEK and Olympiacos, with both clubs offering a contract solely on the condition that Bodiroga become a naturalised Greek citizen.
He ultimately refused the conditions and ended up traveling to Italy instead, joining a Stefanel Trieste emerging team, coached by Bogdan Tanjević and financially backed by the Stefanel clothing empire.
In Trieste, he first captured the attention of the wider basketball public.
1992
Shortly after his arrival in the summer of 1992, he made an impact, averaging 21.3 points per game over 30 league matches and leading his team to the playoffs.
There, however, they were quickly disposed of in the second round by the more experienced Clear Cantù.
1993
He had a stellar season for Trieste in 1993–94, this time leading his team deeper into the playoffs.
In the semifinals game 3 against Scavolini Pesaro, Carlton Myers' buzzer beater clinched a 2–1 series victory for Pesaro.
Trieste also reached the FIBA Korać Cup final, where they surrendered to PAOK from Thessaloniki, who starred Zoran Savić, Walter Berry and Bane Prelević.
After that season, Stefanel changed its backing to Olimpia Milano, sparking an exodus of Trieste players and coaches to Lombardy (coach Tanjević, Bodiroga, Gregor Fučka, Alessandro De Pol, Davide Cantarello, and Ferdinando Gentile).
Bodiroga's leading role remained unchanged as he developed into an all-around player.
1994
In 1994–95, Olimpia reached the Korać Cup final, with players that also reached it the previous year in Trieste.
However, they lost to Alba Berlin, coached by Svetislav Pešić, who would later play a big role in Bodiroga's career.
On the home front, the team made it to the playoff semi-finals but lost 3–2 to the eventual champions, Buckler Bologna, led by another Serbian superstar, Predrag Danilović.
The two Serbs turned the series into a personal duel, with Danilović's experience prevailing in the end.
1995
With the senior FR Yugoslavian national team, Bodiroga won three EuroBasket gold medals, in 1995, 1997, and 2001, as well as a bronze medal in 1999.
The summer of 1995 was an important milestone for Bodiroga.
He became part of the great FR Yugoslavia squad that was making its comeback after years of international exile.
The team was loaded with stars like Aleksandar Đorđević, Vlade Divac, Žarko Paspalj, Danilović and Savić.
1996
With FR Yugoslavia, he also won a silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
1998
In 1998 and 2002, he received the Golden Badge award for the best athlete of Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav Olympic Committee also declared him the Sportsman of the Year.
In addition to that, Bodiroga also won two FIBA World Cup gold medals with FR Yugoslavia, in 1998 and 2002, earning MVP honors in the former.
Bodiroga first started playing structured basketball at the age of 13.
He enrolled in Zrenjanin's Mašinac (Servo Mihalj) basketball section, under supervision of local basketball enthusiast Rade Prvulov.
2000
A EuroLeague icon of the early part of the 2000s, Bodiroga was named to the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008, and to the EuroLeague 2000–2010 All-Decade Team in 2010.
He was also voted by fans the EuroLeague's 2000–2010 Player of the Decade.
2002
At the club level, Bodiroga proved himself to be a symbol of basketball excellence, by lifting consecutive EuroLeague trophies in 2002 and 2003, with Panathinaikos and FC Barcelona, as he earned the EuroLeague Final Four MVP award both times.
He also won each of the three major European national domestic basketball league titles: the Spanish ACB League, the Italian A League, and the Greek Basket League.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest European players of all time.
2007
He was named to the FIBA All-Time EuroStars Team in 2007.
HoopsHype named Bodiroga one of the 75 Greatest International Players Ever in 2021.
He was inducted into the Greek Basket League Hall of Fame in 2022.
During his playing career, he mainly played at the small forward position, but he could also play point forward, and at both guard positions.
