Former NBA star Rasheed Wallace spoke about Serbian player Darko Milicic and the impact he had during his time in the NBA.
Wallace mentioned what it took for the second overall draft pick to “wake up” and play the way he knows. He appreciated his qualities.
“Darko was one of those players you had to rough up to get under his skin, and then he would start playing. He could put the ball on the floor from the wing, make a few moves, finish with both hands, had a good three-point shot, but he simply lacked confidence,” Wallace said during a guest appearance with Gilbert Arenas.
It’s known that Milicic joined the Detroit Pistons, who were gearing up to contend for a championship. Rasheed Wallace was part of that team.
“We all know how NBA coaches can quickly destroy a player’s confidence. If you’re not mentally prepared for that, which he wasn’t because he came from where he came from at 16-17 years old… And now he was supposed to be the main guy? I don’t think it was as big a mistake as everyone talks about when Joe Dumars chose him over Carmelo Anthony. He was what we needed at that moment,” Wallace was clear about.