{"id":1961179,"date":"2026-05-29T02:51:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T23:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1961179"},"modified":"2026-05-29T02:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T23:51:17","slug":"history-with-snowbrains-how-a-snowboarding-injury-nearly-cost-an-nba-player-his-lakers-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1961179","title":{"rendered":"History with SnowBrains: How a Snowboarding Injury Nearly Cost an NBA Player His Lakers Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_407698\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-407698\" style=\"width: 958px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"wp-image-407698 lazyload\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAGBAQMAAADMt5JYAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAADVJREFUeNrtwQENAAAAwqD3T20PBxQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMC5AXnRAAFf+jIAAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"385\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?resize=640%2C385&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?w=1908&amp;ssl=1 1908w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?resize=300%2C180&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?resize=1200%2C721&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?resize=768%2C461&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?resize=1536%2C923&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"385\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\" wp-image-407698\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vladimir-radmanocic.jpg?resize=640%2C385&amp;ssl=1\" alt width=\"640\" height=\"385\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-407698\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vladimir Radmanovi\u0107 (left) shared the court with NBA legend Kobe Bryant (right) for multiple seasons. | Credit: Los Angeles Lakers Balkan Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\" style=\"margin: 8px auto;text-align: center;display: block;clear: both\">\n<!-- GAM 71161633\/SNWBR_snowbrains\/article_hrec_1 --><\/p>\n<div data-fuse=\"article_hrec_1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers is a dream that millions of young basketball players have.\u00a0<\/strong>That became a reality for Serbian hooper Vladimir Radmanovi\u0107.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Radmanovi\u0107 began his NBA career in 2001 after being drafted 12th overall by the Seattle Supersonics. <\/strong>He spent four years with Seattle before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for the 2005-06 season.<\/p>\n<p><strong>After a year with the Clippers, Radmanovi\u0107 became a free agent and signed a five-year, $30.2 million contract with the Lakers on July 13, 2006. <\/strong>There, he joined Kobe Bryant under head coach Phil Jackson in one of the NBA\u2019s most high-profile franchises. Radmanovi\u0107 would start in all 21 games in the 2007-08 playoffs and contributed with solid scoring and rebounding numbers.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/snowbrains.com\/harlem-globetrotter-basketball-ski-lesson\/\">VIDEO: Harlem Globetrotter Takes First Ever Ski Lesson and Combines with Some Basketball Skills<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>On February 18, 2007, one day before the 2007 All-Star Game, Radmanovi\u0107 told the Lakers he had separated his shoulder after falling on a patch of ice in Park City, Utah. <\/strong>But just days later, on February 23, Radmanovi\u0107 admitted that he was lying, and that the true cause of injury was snowboarding. The injury forced the Serbian to miss eight weeks of play.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Participating in snowboarding was a violation of Radmanovi\u0107\u2019s contract, which explicitly banned him from taking part in activities that pose a significant risk of injury. <\/strong>The injury put the 26-year-old\u2019s contract in jeopardy, but Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak decided to view the injury as a mistake. Radmanovi\u0107\u2019s contract was not voided, despite his rough start with the Lakers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rather than voiding his contract, the Lakers fined Radmanovi\u0107 $500,000. <\/strong>He was scheduled to earn $5.2 million in 2006-07, but the fine amounted to roughly 10% of his salary. Despite the fine, Radmanovi\u0107 was grateful for the Lakers\u2019 decision.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cI made a mistake, and I\u2019m paying the price for it right now.<\/strong> It\u2019s fair for what I did. I just want to move forward and try to get healthy and get back on the court,\u201d Radmanovi\u0107 said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketballnetwork.net\/off-the-court\/how-ex-laker-reacted-after-fined-500000-for-lying-about-his-shoulder-injury-snowboarding\">Basketball Network article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/snowbrains.com\/top-7-sports-most-similar-to-skiing-and-snowboarding\/\">Top 7 Non-Winter Sports That are Most Similar to Skiing and Snowboarding<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Radmanovi\u0107 would spend two and a half seasons with the Lakers, playing a key role in the 2008 season, where the Lakers ultimately fell to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.<\/strong> In 2009, Radmanovi\u0107 was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats, just months before the Lakers would win their 12th NBA Championship later that year. He bounced between teams for another five years before retiring as a Chicago Bull in 2013. He played a total of 12 seasons in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>While Radmanovi\u0107 got off to a hot start in the NBA, he was never able to reach the stardom of the league\u2019s biggest names.\u00a0<\/strong>Despite this, Radmanovi\u0107\u2019s time playing in the Lakers\u2019 purple and gold is one that very few will ever experience.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Related: <\/strong><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/snowbrains.com\/mt-hood-skiway-flying-bus-history\/\">History with SnowBrains: Remembering the Time Oregon Put a City Bus on a Cable to Access Mt. Hood<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_407699\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-407699\" style=\"width: 1486px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-407699 lazyload\" src=\"image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAoAAAAEMAQMAAABumZVeAAAABlBMVEUAAAD\/\/\/+l2Z\/dAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAACxJREFUeNrtwYEAAAAAw6D5Ux\/hAlUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB8A1TMAAFxylgqAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC\" alt=\"staples center la lakers\" width=\"640\" height=\"268\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/staples-center.jpg?resize=640%2C268&amp;ssl=1\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/staples-center.jpg?w=1486&amp;ssl=1 1486w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/staples-center.jpg?resize=300%2C126&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/staples-center.jpg?resize=1200%2C502&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/staples-center.jpg?resize=768%2C321&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/staples-center.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-eio-rwidth=\"640\" data-eio-rheight=\"268\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"size-full wp-image-407699\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/snowbrains.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/staples-center.jpg?resize=640%2C268&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"staples center la lakers\" width=\"640\" height=\"268\" data-eio=\"l\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-407699\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Radmanovi\u0107\u2019s career, despite disappointment, saw him playing for one of the world\u2019s most famous sports franchises. | Credit: ESPN<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vladimir Radmanovi\u0107 (left) shared the court with NBA legend Kobe Bryant (right) for multiple seasons. | Credit: Los Angeles Lakers Balkan Facebook Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers is a dream that millions of young basketball players have.\u00a0That became a reality for Serbian hooper Vladimir Radmanovi\u0107. Radmanovi\u0107 began his NBA career in 2001 after being [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,267],"class_list":["post-1961179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-snowbrains-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1961179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961179\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1961179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1961179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1961179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}