Marko Kešelj

Marko Kešelj
State Secretary in the Ministry of Sports
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 November 2022
Minister	Zoran Gajić
Member of the National Assembly of Serbia
In office 1 August 2022 – 10 November 2022
President	Vladimir Orlić
Personal details
Born	(1988-01-02) 2 January 1988 (age 37) Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
Political party	SNS (2022–present)
Basketball career
Personal information
Nationality	Serbian
Listed height	2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)
Listed weight	94 kg (207 lb)
Career information
NBA draft	2010: undrafted
Playing career	2004–2019
Position	Small forward
Number	4, 6, 10
Career history
2004–2006	Avala Ada / Mega Ishrana
2006–2007	Akasvayu Girona
2007–2008	Köln 99ers
2008–2010	Crvena zvezda
2010–2012	Olympiacos
2012–2013	Valencia
2013	Le Mans Sarthe
2013–2014	ASVEL Basket
2014–2015	Mega Vizura / Leks
2016	Lavrio
2016–2017	Oostende
2017–2019	Crvena zvezda
Career highlights and awards
EuroLeague champion (2012) FIBA EuroCup winner (2007) Adriatic League champion (2019) 2× Serbian League champion (2018, 2019) Greek League champion (2012) Greek Cup winner (2011) Adriatic Supercup winner (2018)
Medals Men's basketball Representing  Serbia Universiade 2009 Belgrade National Team U20 European Championship 2008 Latvia U20 National Team U19 World Championship 2007 Serbia U19 National Team

Marko Kešelj (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Кешељ, born 2 January 1988) is a Serbian politician and retired professional basketball player serving as the state secretary in the Ministry of Sports since 4 November 2022.^[1] He previously served as a member of the National Assembly from 1 August 2022 until his resignation on 10 November 2022.^[2]

He is also a presidency member of Crvena zvezda. He represented the Serbia national team in the international competitions. He is a 2.08 m (6'10") tall small forward.^[3]

Professional career

Kešelj started his career in his hometown with a club called Mega Ishrana. Despite his young age, Kešelj already has the experience of playing for two top-quality foreign clubs, the Spanish ACB League club Akasvayu Girona and the German League club Köln 99ers. During the summer of 2006, his talents were spotted by Serbian coach Svetislav Pešić, who brought him to Girona in the Spanish ACB League at the age of 18.

However, Kešelj could not establish himself in the squad and got very little playing time. In the summer of 2007, he transferred to the German League to the Köln 99ers, which were led by another Serbian coach, Saša Obradović. Following a so-so season, Obradović left to coach Kyiv, and Kešelj also started looking for a transfer.

Upon rumors that Pešić, his mentor from his Girona days, might be taking over Crvena zvezda, Keselj decided to sign with the club during the summer of 2008, even before Pešić's arrival had become official. In 2010, he signed a 3-year contract with the Greek League club Olympiacos.^[4] With Olympiacos, he won the EuroLeague and Greek League championships in 2012.^[5]

On 14 August 2012 Kešelj signed one-year contract with Valencia.^[6] On 5 February 2013 he left Valencia and signed with Le Mans Sarthe Basket for the rest of the season.^[7] On 8 August 2013 he signed a one-year contract with ASVEL Basket.^[8]

On 14 October 2014 he signed an open contract with the Serbian team Mega Vizura.^[9] On 17 June 2015 it was confirmed that Kešelj would play with the Portland Trail Blazers at the 2015 NBA Summer League.^[10]

On 6 January 2016 Kešelj signed with the Greek club Lavrio for the rest of the 2015–16 Greek Basket League season.^[11] On 18 September 2016 Kešelj signed with Belgian club Telenet Oostende.^[12]

On 28 July 2017 Kešelj returned to Crvena zvezda, signing a two-year deal.^[13] On 4 January 2019 he scored 20 points for the night and his 1,000th point for the Zvezda.^[14][15]

National team career

Kešelj was a member of the Serbian junior national teams, and he played at the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Novi Sad and at the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. Kešelj was also a member of the senior Serbia national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where Serbia was defeated by Lithuania, in the game for the bronze medal. He was also capped for the national team of Serbia at the EuroBasket 2011, in Lithuania, where Serbia finished in 8th place.

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

EuroLeague

†	Denotes seasons in which Kešelj won the EuroLeague

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2010–11	Olympiacos	12	3	12.3	.476	.435	.500	1.0	.2	.3	.3	3.8	2.1
2011–12†		14	8	15.6	.396	.270	.600	2.0	.3	.4	—	3.9	2.4
2017–18	Crvena zvezda	6	0	6.0	.000	.000	—	1.0	.5	—	—	0.0	-0.3
Career		32	11	12.6	.398	.308	.538	1.4	.3	.3	.1	3.2	1.8

Post-playing career

In August 2020, Kešelj was appointed as a presidency member of Crvena zvezda in charge of the sport issues.^[16] He was re-elected for 5-year term on 27 December 2021.^[17][18] Following the resignation of Predrag Danilović as the president of the Basketball Federation of Serbia (KSS), Sport Klub mentioned Kešelj as one of the main contenders for the position.^[19]

Political career

Kešelj appeared on the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS)-led Together We Can Do Everything ballot list for the 2022 general election, as an independent candidate.^[20] Following the election, Kešelj was elected to the National Assembly as MP.^[21] Kešelj was appointed state secretary in the Ministry of Sports on 4 November 2022.^[1] On 10 November, he resigned as MP.^[2] Kešelj is a member of the main board of SNS.^[22]

Personal life

Kešelj owns and operates a blueberry orchard.^[23]

See also

• List of Serbian NBA Summer League players
• List of Serbia men's national basketball team players

References

1. "Marko Kešelj imenovan za državnog sekretara u Ministarstvu sporta". N1 (in Serbian). 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
2. "Marko Kešelj". otvoreniparlament.rs. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
3. KESELJ, MARKO HEIGHT: 2.08.
4. Skountis, Vassilis. "OLYMPIACOS adds talent with Keselj". Euroleague.net. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
5. Woods, Mark (13 May 2012). "OLYMPIAKOS STUN CSKA FOR EUROLEAGUE CROWN". mvp247.com. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
6. "Valencia tabs Marko Keselj". Sportando. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
7. "Marko Keselj dissatisfied with playing time, moves to Le Mans". court-side.com. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
8. "ASVEL VILLEURBANNE inks forward Keselj". Eurocupbasketball.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
9. "VELIKO POJAČANJE ZA MEGA VIZURU! KEŠELJ DEBITUJE PROTIV CRVENE ZVEZDE!!". .bcmegabasket.net (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
10. "Marko Keselj will play the NBA Summer League for the Blazers". Sportando.com. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
11. "Marko Keselj inks with Lavrio GS". Sportando.com. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
12. "Marko Keselj signs with Oostende". Eurohoops.net. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
13. Crvena Zvezda acquired Marko Keselj
14. "🚨 @keselj11 u klubu 1000 crveno-belih👏🏼🔴⚪️". twitter.com. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
15. "Kešelj već "prebacio" 1000 poena za Zvezdu: Markov jubilej za ponos, a kod Alimpijevića je samo popunjavao broj". telegraf.rs. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
16. "Kešelj i Dozet ponovo u Zvezdi – u novoj ulozi". b92.net. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
17. "Čović još pet godina na čelu Zvezde, najveći saziv Skupštine u istoriji kluba". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
18. "Čoviću novi mandat, u Skupštini Vučević, Miličić, sportisti, glumci..." b92.net. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
19. Janković, Nikola (2024-08-13). "SK saznaje: Ko i šta se krije iza Danilovićevog povlačenja". Sportklub (in Serbian). Retrieved 2024-09-09.
20. "Lazar Ristovski i dr Danica Grujičić - neke od nestranačkih ličnosti na listi SNS". www.021.rs (in Serbian). 2022-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
21. "MARKO KEŠELJ". Narodna skupština Republike Srbije. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
22. "Član Glavnog odbora SNS-a Marko Kešelj posetio GO SNS Šabac". Podrinske (in Serbian). 2023-03-10. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
23. "Intervju, Uroš Tripković: Od "bloka za Uroša" do plantaža borovnica". moravainfo.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 5 March 2019.

External links

• Marko Kešelj at aba-liga.com
• Marko Kešelj at euroleague.net
• Marko Kešelj at fiba.com
• Marko Kešelj at nba.com
• Marko Kešelj on Twitter