“Did this guy really just announce his retirement on WhatsApp?”
Yes.
That’s Nikola Kalinić for you.
“In our country, anyone who thinks differently or behaves outside the established patterns is considered strange. He carried that label because he didn’t always say what people wanted to hear, whether it was true or not,” says Luka Mitrović, Kalinić’s teammate at both Crvena zvezda and with the Serbian national team.
“He probably paid the price for that many times, but he stayed true to himself. That’s part of his character, and it’s one of the things that got him as far as he did in basketball.”
For many, the news came as a surprise.
After 17 years, Nikola Kalinić said goodbye to professional basketball.
At first glance, it was. But last season, you could sense that it just wasn’t quite the same anymore. Kalinić didn’t seem to enjoy being on the court the way he once did.
It wasn’t about slowing down. He had more than enough experience, savvy and basketball IQ to play for at least another couple of seasons.
He had always known how to adapt.
But, as always, Kalinić chose to do things his own way.
He still had another year left on a lucrative contract with Crvena zvezda, but he had no interest in simply going through the motions.
He was honest with himself, honest with the club he loves and honest with the game that gave him a good life.
“Guys, I’m retiring. I’m becoming an assistant coach at Zvezda. Because of my family situation, I want to stay close to Belgrade. Thank you all for being part of this crazy ride,” he wrote on his WhatsApp status.
He’ll be close to his daughter.
And he’ll get to stay close to the game he loves.
The Game Goes On
Throughout his career, Kalinić worked with some outstanding coaches, many of whom described him as an extension of themselves on the court.
It wasn’t unusual to see him directing teammates into position, reading plays and seeing what was coming next.
“He knows basketball inside out and sees the game in a unique way. As a player, he had tremendous basketball IQ, the ability to improvise and the ability to recognize the right solution in any situation,” Mitrović says.
“He’ll also know how to deal with players and personalities similar to his own,” he adds with a laugh.
“He has a good foundation. Now he needs to build on it and get used to his new role.”
A Life Outside the Lines
Codi Miller-McIntyre has talked about Kalinić teaching him about Serbian history and culture. Nemanja Nedović once said that whenever the conversation turned to history, Kalina and Miloš Teodosić were always the ones leading the discussion.
Kalinić really does stand apart from the stereotypical professional athlete.
You might run into him at a late-night screening at an independent film festival, sitting in a theater with maybe ten other people.
Or at the night market in Đeram (part of Belgrade).
He’s traveled the world and made plenty of money, but he’d still rather sit somewhere in nature with his childhood friends and simply enjoy himself.
At an easygoing Vojvodina pace.
Sometimes.
Other times, not quite so easygoing.
“Having Kalina as a friend can be pretty stressful. It’s always a lottery whether he’ll reply to your message in two minutes or two days,” Mitrović says with a laugh.
“Joking aside, we’ve always been close. Kalina is one of those friends you definitely won’t talk to every day, but whenever you see each other, you’re guaranteed a great time and plenty to talk about.”
Some of his coaches might tell you that there were times when he enjoyed life away from basketball a little too much.
But two things nobody could ever question were Kalinić’s effort and his character.
Whatever It Takes
He brought energy to every team he played for.
He was the kind of teammate you wanted beside you on the court – ready to take on a leading role when necessary, ready to step forward when even some bigger names shrank from the moment, yet without the ego that demanded the spotlight or a certain number of points.
Only one thing mattered.
Winning.
“At any moment, he was ready to do whatever it took to beat the opponent – as a team or individually,” Mitrović says.
“That dunk over Bourousis is probably the best reflection of his character and his career – no fear and a refusal to accept that something was ‘impossible.'”
The Road Always Led Home
It all started in his hometown of Subotica, with Spartak.
Kalinić wasn’t a wonderkid. He wasn’t the kind of prospect the media couldn’t stop talking about or agents were fighting over.
He built his career step by step.
Spartak. Vojvodina. Then Radnički Kragujevac under Miroslav “Muta” Nikolić.
From there, his rise was anything but gradual.
A brilliant 2014 World Cup introduced him to the basketball world almost overnight, and he soon became one of Crvena zvezda’s most important players.
Željko Obradović took notice.
He brought Kalinić to Fenerbahçe, where the Serbian forward would eventually become a EuroLeague champion.
With Serbia, he won Olympic silver in 2016.
And his performances at the 2017 EuroLeague Final Four are still talked about today.
A coach’s dream, Kalinić became one of the best European players at his position.
If not the best.
He spent five years in Istanbul before his career took him to Valencia and Barcelona.
But somehow, the road always led back to the same place.
His Crvena zvezda.
When he first arrived in 2014, he never imagined he would stay for only one season.
He returned in 2021 and delivered the line that Zvezda fans still remember:
“I couldn’t leave my guys hanging!”
He won the treble with Zvezda, just as he had during his first spell.
After two years in Barcelona, he returned once again.
And it was at Zvezda, fittingly enough, that he finally said goodbye.
“Kalina is the kind of teammate I always loved having next to me. I remember feeling a certain sense of security when I saw that he was coming back to Zvezda,” Mitrović says.
“He’s a teammate who always gives everything and someone who always pushes others forward. He can get pretty angry and be very direct when he doesn’t see the same approach from everyone else.
“As an opponent, he’s the complete opposite – he’s incredibly annoying to play against. He’s crafty and knows exactly how to get under an opponent’s skin.”
Kalinić has a summer of rest and enjoyment ahead of him.
But the moment he takes his place alongside Ibon Navarro as an assistant coach, he’ll approach the new job the only way he knows how.
Full throttle.
