FORMER NBA star Toni Kukoc went from knocking down deep three-point shots to smacking long-range golf putts.

Kukoc played six seasons with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, and when he retired from the NBA in 2006, he took his competitive spirit to the golf course.

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Toni Kukoc was elected into the NBA Hall of Fame after 13 NBA seasonsCredit: Getty

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Kukoc won three NBA championships with Michael Jordan and the Chicago BullsCredit: Getty
Kukoc spent 13 seasons in the NBA and played for four teams.

The Croatia-born forward grew up playing basketball, table tennis, and soccer.

The Bulls selected him in the second round of the 1990 NBA draft.

However, he would come over to play in the 1993 NBA season after the Summer Olympics.

Kukoc got a taste of his Bulls teammates, Jordan and Scottie Pippen, during the 1992 Summer Olympics when he competed against the Legends.

“I’ve never seen that kind of defense before,” Kukoc said afterward, according to The New York Times,

Once arriving, Kukoc played a critical role during the Bulls’ three straight championships from 1996–98.

The Hall of Fame forward was selected to the All-NBA rookie team during that span and won Sixth-man of the Year.

He finished his career with the Milwaukee Bucks, and after retiring, he moved back to the Chicago area and started taking golf more seriously.

Kukoc documented his golf journey in an interview with CDGA.

“After I was done with basketball, I really got into golf. It was probably around 2003 or 2004.”

“A friend of mine got me introduced to Dr. Jim Suttie, who is a PGA teaching pro… I went there and took about ten lessons from him.”

“It got me from shooting 120s to mid-80s.”

Kukoc expressed he never played with Jordan during their playing days since MJ was too good but now the two play often.

“Never played with MJ when we were teammates. Because he was good, he had his games, and I was just starting. It wasn’t that exciting for him to play with me.”

“Since I quit basketball, we have played a lot.”

“We played once in the Bahamas. That was the first time he invited me to play in his charity match. Everybody was competitive there. You had hockey players, baseball players, athletes who knew how to play.”

“Nobody really knew how good I was as a golfer.”

“So when MJ took me for his twosome the last two days when celebrities played each other, people thought they were going to beat us easily. By the end of the second day, we had a nine-shot lead going into the back nine.”

The former NBA star says he golfs four or five times a week.

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He played with Jordan for six seasonsCredit: Getty

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Kukoc spends four to fives days a week golfingCredit: Getty