MIES (Switzerland) - Former Olympic and FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Finalist and three-time European Player of the Year, Danira Nakic-Bilic is being inducted to the FIBA Hall of Fame.

A skilled and intelligent basketball player, the guard was a tough defensive assignment for opposing teams due to being a scoring machine. An intense competitor, Nakic-Bilic showed her class throughout her club and national team career. 

The Croatian was a leading light with Yugoslavia on the global stage, dropping more than 16 points per game at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 as her team made a run to the title game in the Korean capital. They fought hard and pushed USA all the way in a 77-70 defeat, with Nakic-Bilic netting 23 points. 

Two years later and it was a silver medal again as Yugoslavia once again relied on their scoring ace for the main offensive punch at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Malaysia. Nakic-Bilic amassed a sparkling 21 points per outing as her side lost only once - going down 88-78 in the Final against USA.

Also stepping out at four editions of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket, she made the Final of the competition in both 1987 and 1991. This was the period when Nakic-Bilic was almost unstoppable at times.

It was not a surprise that individual accolades began to flow during that time and she was crowned European MVP for three consecutive years in 1988, 1989 and 1990. This came prior to an extra proud moment when handed the highest possible sporting honor from the Republic of Croatia in 1991 with the Franjo Bucar State Award for Sport.

She also then played her part in a historical moment in 1995 when suiting up for Croatia at their first ever appearance at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket.

At club level, Nakic-Bilic collected Yugoslavian silverware in the form of a League Championship and two Cups. That came before she dominated proceedings in her homeland in the mid-1990's with three Croatian titles and two Cups.   

Since her retirement, the Sibenik native has maintained an active involvement in sport off the court through various administrative and political roles. This includes being a member of the Croatian Parliament and Director of the Croatian Sport Museum.

Nakic-Bilic is being enshrined in the Class of 2024 which includes two other female players in Miao Lijie (China) and Skaidrite Smildzina-Budovska (Latvia). The Class also includes Reggie Miller (USA), Kirk Samuel Penney (New Zealand), Romain Sato (Central African Republic) and Predrag Stojakovic (Serbia). There is also coaching recognition for renowned playcaller Daniel Lowell Peterson (USA)

The 2024 FIBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Singapore later this year, during September. 

FIBA