Žarko Čabarkapa


Žarko Čabarkapa is a Montenegrin–Serbian professional basketball executive and former player. He is currently serving as the sports director for Crvena zvezda.
Standing at, he played in the power forward position for Beopetrol, Budućnost, Phoenix Suns, and Golden State Warriors. Čabarkapa finished his playing career in 2009 due to injury.
A Yugoslav international, Čabarkapa won the gold medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

Playing career

YUBA

Čabarkapa played for a Belgrade-based team Beopetrol and Podgorica-based team Budućnost, both of the YUBA League. When playing there, he averaged 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.

NBA

Čabarkapa was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 1st round in the 2003 NBA draft. He moved to the United States, but in his rookie season he was injured, and this limited him to only 49 games that season. In 2005, the Suns traded him to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for two second-round draft picks. With the Warriors, he played in 37 games in 2004–05, and 61 games in 2005–06. He had problems with a back injury, and his contract with the Warriors ended in 2007.

Budućnost

After leaving the NBA in 2007, Čabarkapa stopped playing competitive basketball at the age of 26, as he recuperated from injuries. In late November 2008, it was announced that he joined his old club Budućnost, but only in practices, as he looked to get himself back into competitive shape.
On January 16, 2009, Čabarkapa signed with Budućnost. Two days later, on January 18, he played his first competitive game in more than two years, appearing for 4 minutes in the Adriatic League clash at home versus KK Cibona. He recorded 2 points, no rebounds, and no assists.

National team career

Čabarkapa was a member of the FR Yugoslavia U-20 team at the 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship in Ohrid, Macedonia. Over eight tournament games, he averaged 8.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. He was a member of the Yugoslavian university team that won the silver medal at the 1999 Summer Universiade in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
Čabarkapa was a member of the FR Yugoslavia national team that won the gold medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis. Over five tournament games, he averaged 1.6 points and one rebound per game.

Post-playing career

Čabarkapa was a sports director of the Adriatic Basketball Association from September 2015 to June 2019.
On 2 October 2019, Čabarkapa was named as a new sports director for Crvena zvezda.