Radoslav Nesterovič

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Radoslav Nesterovič
Position	Center
Nickname	Rasho
League	NBA
Height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Team	Toronto Raptors
Nationality	Slovenia
Born	May 30, 1976 Ljubljana, SFR Yugoslavia (present-day Slovenia)
Draft	17^th overall, 1998 Minnesota Timberwolves
Pro career	1993–present
Former teams	PAOK (1993-95) Olimpija Ljubljana (1995-97) Kinder Bologna (1997-99) Minnesota Timberwolves (1999-2003) San Antonio Spurs (2003-2006)

Radoslav Nesterovič, usually referred to in English as Rasho Nesterovič (born May 30, 1976), is a professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Toronto Raptors. He is a 7-foot (2.13 m) center.

Nesterovič was born to Serbian parents in Ljubljana, SFR Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) who themselves came from Bosnia, and played among the juniors in Partizan Belgrade. Because of the Yugoslav wars, he moved to PAOK Thessaloniki. In 1995 he returned to Slovenia to play for Olimpija Ljubljana.

Nesterovič was the Most Valuable Player of the Eurobasket 1996 for players under 22 years. He started his professional career with KK Union Olimpija in the season 1995-96, where he played in the domestic cup in average of 20 minutes and scoring 7 points and grabbing 4 rebounds per game. In the season 1996-97 he was a part of that legendary Olimpija team, where he helped his team reach the Euroleague final four in Rome. In that season, he played on average of 17 minutes, scoring 8 points and grabbing 4 rebounds per game in the Euroleague. His path then led him to Italian power Virtus (Kinder) Bologna in 1997.

In the first season with his new club, he scored on average of 7 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in the Italian domestic cup, but was much more successful in the Euroleague, where he scored on average 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds per game. He helped Virtus win the Euroleague title, in which he played against legendary players such as Predrag Danilović, Zoran Savić, and Antoine Rigaudeau. In the grand final, Nesterovič scored 6 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

Nesterovič was a first-round pick (17th overall) of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1998 NBA Draft. He joined the Timberwolves just before the end of the 1998-99 season and played there through the 2002-03 season.

Nesterovič stayed in Minnesota for 4 full seasons, or 5 years, because he played only the last two regular-season games, plus all of his team's games in the playoffs, in his first season. His best season with the Timberwolves was 2002-03, when he scored 11 points and grabbed almost 7 rebounds per game on average. He then signed a 6-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs in 2004. In his first season, he scored 9 ppg and grabbed 6 rpg. In his second season with the Spurs, 2004-05, he had an ankle injury, so he did not play as much as he did before. Nevertheless, along with his colleague from the national team, Beno Udrih, he scored 6 points and grabbed 6 rebounds per game, and ultimately helped his team win the NBA title.

On June 21, 2006, Nesterovič was traded to the Toronto Raptors with cash for Matt Bonner, Eric Williams and a second round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Nesterovič is the current captain of the Slovenian national basketball team. He helped his team win 6th place on Eurobasket 2005 in Belgrade, and secure a place in the Basketball World Championship of 2006. In Eurobasket 2005, he played an average of 21 minutes, where he scored 6 points and grabbed 6 rebounds per game.