Looking at Bogdan Bogdanovic’s relatively unstylish haircut and his complete lack of facial hair, I was suddenly reminded of a former Kings player who was from the same approximate region of the world and had a similar plain appearance. I’ll give you a little while for you to figure out who I’m thinking of. Remember the clues I gave you: he’s from the Balkans, and he had school-boyish look going.
It’s not Peja Stojakovic. That’s another hint I’m giving you, but it’s the last one. You’re on your own now.
Got it?
It’s Beno Udrih! In later years, the Sloppy Slovenian did adopt some kind of unique hairstyle (a topknot which he dyed silver and which prompted a concerned tweet from yours truly), but in his Kings days he looked like a generic 2K player. The Kings era of Udrih occurred just as I was starting to pay attention to basketball (I sort of knew who he was when he got traded to the Bucks), but I wasn’t paying close enough attention to know if he got anywhere near the level of hype that Bogdanovic is getting now. I’m guessing not. The ardor of Slovenes is impressive, but doesn’t compare to the ardor of Serbs.
Bogdanovic is currently averaging more points (15.1) than Udrih ever did for the Kings (13.7), so Udrih’s title of “best Balkan guard in King’s history” might be in danger. I can’t stay that anybody will be too sad when the crown is passed.