The story of Darko Milicic is well known even beyond NBA borders and his name is often mentioned in the context of failure.
However, there was a reason why the Serbian left-handed center was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the second overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, right behind LeBron James .
His pre-draft workouts, according to witnesses from that time, left absolutely no doubt that he was the best player in that class after LeBron, even though the same draft featured the likes of Carmelo Anthony , Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh .
Still, although he became an NBA champion with the Pistons in 2004, his career never came close to the heights that were predicted. That said, it must be noted that during one stretch of his career with the Orlando Magic , he played truly excellent basketball, which brought him to the verge of signing the contract of his life.
"I really expected to get some kind of offer from them, bro," recalled the former No. 2 overall pick on the "Luka i Kuzma Podcast".
"A year before that, they offered me $40 million and then pulled it back the next day. They got scared and told me, 'Your head isn't stable.' They offered it themselves and pulled it themselves. On top of all the games they were playing with my head, you've got that — offering and then withdrawing. Forty million over four years," he said.
"I would've accepted it right away, without even thinking about the financial side at that moment," Milicic added. "Even if they had offered less, I would've accepted because I liked it there. But they pulled it back. I accepted it for what it was, played pretty well and told them it would be an honor to stay. Then Brent Forrester got fired, Van Gundy came in and he didn't want to see me even in a picture, bro."
Milicic, who spent 10 seasons in the league, was on the brink of signing the deal of a lifetime, but a series of unfortunate circumstances pushed him away from that achievement.
It was the 2005–06 season when he was traded to Florida at midseason, and in 30 games off the bench he averaged an impressive 2.1 blocks per game while also looking increasingly confident on offense.
Finally, the consistency everyone had long been waiting for arrived. He played 80 games in a season, averaging 8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while shooting 45.4 percent from the field.
He formed a strong center pairing with Dwight Howard at the time, which led Orlando's front office to seriously consider offering him $40 million over four years.
However, Milicic already had a reputation as an unpredictable player who could fall into a dark mental place at any moment and struggle to get out, which ultimately pushed Orlando to back out of the deal. He raised his level of play in the playoffs that season as well, averaging 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds on 58.8 percent shooting, but it wasn't enough, and his exit from Orlando became inevitable.
Stan Van Gundy was named head coach the following season after replacing Brian Hill, who had led the team to the playoffs. As Milicic himself admitted, he and Van Gundy did not see eye to eye, and he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies .
He later put together a few solid seasons with Memphis and the Minnesota Timberwolves , showing flashes of the player many once believed he would become. But consistency was always missing for a player who was extremely talented, yet for whom everything clearly came too fast in life.
The 7-foot center retired from NBA courts in 2012 after playing just one game for the Boston Celtics , at only 27 years old, although his official retirement was not announced until 2014.
Over the course of his NBA career, Darko earned around $53 million, which is certainly a significant amount of money. Still, the feeling remains that he could and should have earned much more.
But an 18-year-old coming into the league as the pick right after LeBron simply wasn't ready for all the obstacles the NBA had to offer.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
