This article has been submitted by Adam Conn, making his long-awaited ODC debut.

Who is Primož Breže??

Brezec Background
On February 21, 2008, the NBA trade deadline, the Toronto Raptors acquired centre Primoz Brezec from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Juan Dixon.
So where did this 7’1” mystery centre come from?

Brezec was born on October 2, 1979 in Postojna, Slovenia. Brezec would play for his high school team, where he would become a star of the Slovenian high school league, ŠKL. At an early age he moved to Sežana, where he played basketball in the Slovenian basketball league for a local team called KraskiZidar.

At the professional level in Slovenia, Primoz played for KK Union Olimpija for four years. He soon declared for the 2000 NBA Draft and was selected with the 27th overall pick by the Indiana Pacers.

After playing limited minutes for the Pacers for three years, Brezec was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 NBA expansion draft. In Charlotte, he started at centre for three seasons, where for two years he was highly productive - averaging 13 points and 7.4 rebounds in 2004-05 and 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds in 2005-06.

Unfortunately, Brezec’s production took a hit in the 2006-07 season, where he saw limited minutes. According to a recent interview with Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper, Brezec was having issues with Charlotte head coach Sam Vincent.

“Sam Vincent, he changed it up… He wanted to go more run-and-gun. I have no problem with that, I can run three days in a row. But I think I set a record in the NBA; out of 50 games (actually 18) I started, I didn’t get the ball, I didn’t get a shot off.”

“So I was like, ‘You know what, Sam? You don’t need me, you don’t like me and I don’t like you, so get me out of here.’ And see how they’re doing this year?,” Brezec added.

Evidently the situation in Charlotte was not working for Brezec and on December 14, 2007, he was traded along with Walter Hermann to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Nazr Mohammed. Brezec was initially pleased with the move to Detroit, giving him the opportunity to win a ring. However, soon Brezec realized that he would have to ride the pine the entire way.

Now that Primoz is in Toronto, he is extremely happy with the situation.

“I love the city, love the organization, they sell out every night. I want to be here. Hopefully I’m not going to be here for one year, hopefully I’m going to be here long term…it’s a perfect situation here, it’s a perfect fit.”

Brezec - On JeGangsta
Listen to Primoz Brezec speak English and you will notice something quite unique. Brezec certainly has a grasp of the language; however, he speaks a fluent “gangster-like” slang, complimented by his Slovenian accent.

So why does the Raptor’s newest player sound like Snoop Dogg’s European brother? According to fellow Slovenian Rasho Nesterovic, this can be attributed to where he started his NBA career.

“[Your English] depends on where you start in the NBA,” said Nesterovic. “I started in Minnesota, he started in Indiana. That’s a pretty tough organization to pick up English.”

According to several sources, Primoz used the art of movies and rap music to master the language. In a recent interview, head coach Sam Mitchell was laughing at his newest player’s style of English.

“Everything starts with gangsta and ends with pimp.” Mitchell said.“I don’t know who he was around or what movies he was watching [but] I don’t think my name is coach any more or Sam. It’s gangsta.”

So what did Brezec have to say about his new head coach?

“Sam’s gangsta too, man,” said Brezec. “He’s not scared, he trusts his players … he doesn’t take [anything] from anybody. If you do something wrong, I don’t have problem if you cuss me out … that’s how it should be.”

Brezec’s Debut
In Primoz’s first game as a Raptor he registered 13 minutes of perfection. He finished with 11 points, converting on all five of his field goal attempts and his lone trip to the free throw line. This, however, does not include his energetic gestures, comprised of numerous fist-pumps, finger pointing, and back-board slapping.

“He did well,” Coach Mitchell said. “He was talking on defense, he was active. For Primoz, he was running the court. He battled. I just think someone with that kind of enthusiasm can pick you up a little bit 50-plus games into the season.”

And what did Brezec have to say?

“Every time I step on the court I give my best, 100 per cent, no matter if I play one minute, two minutes, I don’t care. That’s just me, that’s the way I play, you can expect the same thing here,” he said.”I had a lot of fun today.”

Although Brezec might not play or contribute in every Raptors game, one thing is certain – he is an upgrade from Juan Dixon, on the court and in the newspapers.

This article has been submitted by Adam Conn, making his long-awaited ODC debut.