Ballies Ambassadors

We are excited to share with you the incredible team of Ballies ambassadors who have joined us on this journey. Let’s take a closer look at them and their impressive careers. Get ready to be inspired!

DINO RADA
NBA HALL OF FAMER

Dino Rađa is a retired Croatian basketball player who was born on April 24, 1967. He is considered one of the best European basketball players of all time. Rađa started his professional career in Yugoslavia with KK Split before moving to play for Italian teams. He played in the NBA for the Boston Celtics from 1993–1997.

Some of Rađa’s career highlights include winning two EuroLeague championships with KK Split and Jugoplastika Split, winning two silver medals and one bronze medal with the Croatian national team in the FIBA European Championships, and winning the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 1989. Rađa was also named the Italian League MVP in 1992 and was a two-time Croatian Sportsman of the Year. In 2018, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

♕ 2× EuroLeague champion
♕ EuroLeague Final Four MVP
♕ NBA All-Rookie Second Team
♕ FIBA’s 50 Greatest Players
♕ 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors
♕ One of the European pioneers in the NBA
♕ NBA Hall of Fame (2018 class)

JUSUF NURKIC
NBA PLAYER

♕ Played for Portland Trailblazers, Denver Nuggets

Jusuf Nurkić is a Bosnian professional basketball player who currently plays as a center for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Nurkić started his professional career in Europe, playing for teams in Croatia and the Czech Republic before being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2014. He was then traded to the Denver Nuggets, where he spent two and a half seasons before being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017.

Throughout his career, Nurkić has established himself as a dominant force in the paint, with strong rebounding, shot-blocking, and post-scoring abilities. He has also shown versatility, being able to play both the power forward and center positions.

Some of Nurkić’s career highlights include being named the Western Conference Player of the Week in March 2019, recording his first triple-double in January 2020, and helping lead the Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs in 2019 and 2020.

KYLE HINES
EUROLEAGUE LEGEND

Kyle Hines is an American professional basketball player who currently plays as a power forward/center for Olimpia Milano in the Lega Basket Serie A and EuroLeague. He was born on September 2, 1986, in Sicklerville, New Jersey, USA.

Hines played college basketball for UNC Greensboro before starting his professional career in Europe. He has played for several European teams, including Brose Bamberg, Olympiacos Piraeus, CSKA Moscow and Olimpia Milano.

As a versatile and skilled big man, Hines is known for his ability to score inside the paint, grab rebounds, and play strong defense. He is a respected veteran in European basketball and is considered one of the top players in the continent.

♕ 2010–20 EuroLeague All-Decade Team
♕ 4x EuroLeague Champion
♕ 2x EuroLeague Best Defender
♕ 6x VTB League Champion
♕ Played for Brose Bamberg, Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow & Olimpia Milano

MARKO MILIC
FORMER NBA PLAYER

Marko Milič (born May 7, 1977) is a Slovenian basketball coach and former player. He represented the senior Slovenian national basketball team.

After being selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1997 NBA draft (34th pick overall), Milič’s rights were traded to the Phoenix Suns. After seeing limited NBA duty (44 career games) during his two seasons with the Suns,[1] he returned to Europe and played for Union Olimpija (where he started playing senior basketball), Real Madrid (two stints), Fortitudo Bologna (Italian League runner-up), Pesaro (2004 Italian Cup finalist) and Virtus Bologna. He also represented Fenerbahçe in the first part of the 1998–99 season, due to the NBA season’s lockout, returning to Phoenix in January 1999.

Milič won four Slovenian Leagues and four Slovenian Cups with Union Olimpija and led the team to its only EuroLeague Final Four appearance so far, in 1997. With Real Madrid he had his biggest success as a player with the ULEB Cup title of 2007 paired with a Spanish League title that same year. He also won the Kuwait League in 2014.

On October 14, 2015, he announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.[2] On October 29, 2015, Union Olimpija retired Marko Milič’s #12 jersey.

♕ First Slovenian to play in the NBA
♕ ULEB Cup champion
♕ 3× FIBA EuroStar
♕ Spanish League champion
♕ 4× Slovenian League champion
♕ 4× Slovenian Cup winner
♕ 2× Slovenian League All-Star MVP (1997, 2000)
♕ Played for Phoenix Suns, Fenerbahce, Union Olimpija, Real Madrid and Virtus Bologna

KEVIN PUNTER
EUROLEAGUE TOP PLAYER

Kevin Xavier Punter Jr. is an American-born naturalized Serbian professional basketball player for KK Partizan of the Serbian KLS, the Adriatic League and the EuroLeague.

Punter signed a deal with Virtus Bologna for the 2018–19 season. He led the team to winning the Basketball Champions League crown by posting 21 points and eight rebounds in the semifinal over Brose Bamberg, plus 27 points and seven rebounds in the Final against Iberostar Tenerife. He claimed MVP of the Final Four, after also being named to the competition’s Star Lineup.

♕ 2× Champions League champion
♕ Champions League Final Four MVP
♕ EuroLeague Final 4 appearance
♕ Played for: Virtus Bologna, Olympiacos, Crvena Zvezda, Olimpia Milano

GREGOR GLAS
RISING STAR

Gregor Glas (born 29 April 2001) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for KK Mornar Bar of the Montenegrian Prva A Liga and the Adriatic ABA League. He is a 1.97 m tall shooting guard.

Glas started playing professional basketball for Primorska. In August 2018, he attended the Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in Belgrade, Serbia.

On October 24, 2019, he signed with Serbian club Dynamic VIP PAY. Following the 2020–21 season Glas declared for the 2021 NBA draft. On July 19, 2021, he withdrawn his name from consideration for the 2021 NBA draft.

On September 26, 2021, he signed with Serbian powerhouse KK Partizan.

Glas made his debut for the Slovenian national team on September 14, 2018, at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification game against Latvia national team. Glas thereby became the youngest player to ever play for Slovenia on a senior level.

♕ Youngest member of Slovenian Senior National Team
♕ Jordan Brand Classic attendee
♕ European Championship U18 Bronze medal
♕ FIBA U20 European Challenger MVP
♕ Slovenian League champion
♕ Played for: Sixt Primorska, Dynamic, Partizan Belgrade,
Cedevita Olimpija and Mornar Bar