One Macedonian wasn’t going to leave disappointed.
He and 99 of his flag-waving, chanting countrymen had come to Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena to see native son Pero Antic play for the Hawks in a game against the Cavaliers last month.
The large group waited … and waited … and waited.
One fellow took it upon himself to do something about the perceived injustice that Antic had not gotten into the game. He made his way near the Hawks’ bench to inform coach Mike Budenholzer that he needed to put Antic in the game. He nearly made it before being stopped by a security guard.
“One old guy came behind the bench and yelled,” Antic recalled the event. “That is normal in Europe. (He yelled) ‘Coach Bud, put Pero in the game. Put Pero in the game.’ He was loud. He was yelling and yelling. I met him after. He is a good guy. He yelled until security came, and then he said ‘OK, I go.’
“I understand them. Here, this is a team. Everybody has certain roles. I know that they want to see me play, like in Europe, 30 or 40 minutes every game. But it’s different here.”
For the record, Budenholzer was unaware of the demand. His amused assistant coaches made sure he knew later.
Antic finally got in that game, for the final five seconds of the first and all of the second overtime periods. Antic made a key 3-pointer in the second extra period to help the Hawks score a victory.
Macedonians everywhere celebrated.
It has become commonplace in Atlanta and arenas around the country this season for transplants from the tiny country of 2.1 million people on the Balkan Peninsula to come out in force to see Antic. The 31-year-old rookie, the first Macedonian to play in the NBA, almost always meets, greets, takes photos, chants and sings with those who come out to see him.
“It’s always been like that in my country, even when you play for the national team,” Antic said. “You respect the fans. We love our fans. We know they are crazy. We are going to respect them because they pay for their tickets and come a long way just to support you. And they are happy there is a player from their country (in the NBA). I just want to give them something to show my appreciation.”
According to the Hawks, the team has 12,068 Facebook fans from Macedonia, third among all countries and territories behind only the United States and the Philippines. Posts about Antic get an average of four times more engagement (likes, comments, shares) than other posts.
Countrymen have started a Facebook page (
) in an effort to get Antic in the Rookie-Sophomore game as part of All-Star weekend in February.
All this support comes from a country roughly one-third the size of metro Atlanta.
Antic had a long career playing professionally in Macedonia, Russia, Bulgaria and Greece. He had chances to play in the NBA before, but this summer he answered when the Hawks called, eager to prove he could play at this level.
Antic was used sporadically to start the season, disappointing many who attended games in different cities. In Detroit, the “We want Pero” chant went unanswered. However, with the recent season-ending injury to Al Horford, Antic has started the past three games.
Antic is one of four international players on the Hawks roster, along with Horford (Dominican Republic), Gustavo Ayon (Mexico) and Dennis Schroder (Germany). All get significant attention in certain cities. German magazine writers and TV networks visited Atlanta for a story during of much training camp and the early part of the season.
“It’s something that you carry with you,” Horford said. “You know that you want to represent well at all times and show a good example. I take pride in that.”
According to the NBA, a record 92 international players from 39 countries and territories were on opening-night rosters for the 2013-14 season. The previous record was 84 players from 38 countries and territories in 2010-11. Twenty-seven of the 30 teams featured at least one international player to start the season.
The Spurs have the most international players, with 10 representing a high of seven different countries. France, with 10 players, is the most-represented country.
Budenholzer, a long-time Spurs assistant, knows about looking far and wide for talent in the global game of basketball.
“We are willing and interested in finding good players anywhere,” Budenholzer said. “I think the whole NBA is open-minded, willing and interested in the international players. If they fit the characteristics that we are looking for, we’ll take them from anywhere.”
Roster move: The Hawks waived Cartier Martin on Tuesday, reducing their roster to 14 players. Martin was signed near the end of training camp to a non-guaranteed contract worth $884,293. His contract would have become guaranteed Friday. The forward has three days to clear waivers, at which time the Hawks could sign him to a 10-day contract.
Mike Scott and Shelvin Mack remain under non-guaranteed contracts.
Martin appeared in 25 games for the Hawks, including two starts, and averaged 6.6 points and 2.0 rebounds in 17.5 minutes.
The move gives the Hawks roster flexibility with the Feb. 20 trade deadline approaching. The team is exploring options to replace Horford.
