Saša Vujačić at the award ceremony of the 29th Fair Play Menarini, winner of the category “A Lifetime for Sport”

On the evening of 3 July 2025, the Roman Theatre of Fiesole provided a fitting backdrop for an evening devoted entirely to sport and its stories. Amid heartfelt applause and a palpable sense of occasion, the 29th Fair Play Menarini International Award reaffirmed the values that give every victory its deeper meaning: respect, dedication, and the bonds that hold a team together.

Among those honoured that night was basketball player Saša Vujačić, who received the award in the “A Lifetime for Sport” category, in recognition of a career that has consistently stood as a model for others. A two-time NBA champion and a familiar presence in Italy’s Serie A – where he played for Udine, Venice, Turin and Verona – Vujačić has long embodied competitive sport at its most genuine: driven by passion, grounded in integrity, and sustained by an unfailing spirit of sacrifice.

Born in Slovenia in 1984, Vujačić made his way through the ranks of international basketball with remarkable speed, carving out a reputation that extended well beyond European courts. His finest years, however, came in Los Angeles, where as a Laker he claimed the game’s highest honours and forged an enduring partnership with the legendary Kobe Bryant.

His bond with Italy, interestingly, is one he shares with Bryant. The future NBA icon grew up across several Italian cities – Rieti, Reggio Calabria, Pistoia, Reggio Emilia – where he had moved as a child to follow his father, Joe Bryant, then a professional player in the Italian league during the 1980s.

On 17 June 2010, with the second NBA title almost within reach, Bryant approached Vujačić just before two crucial free throws and, in a moment that no one in the arena – or watching at home – had anticipated, addressed him in Italian. The gesture was entirely unscripted, and it stopped millions of television viewers in their tracks. It has never quite left the collective memory of the game.

Vujačić’s career did not end with American glory. Returning to Europe, he pulled on the colours of Baskonia, Efes and Istanbul BB, extending a professional journey that spanned nearly two decades.

Today, Vujačić’s life unfolds far from any court. He has turned to winemaking, yet the lessons of nearly two decades in professional sport remain very much with him. «Winning the right way» is a phrase he has earned the right to use: not a slogan, but a quiet conviction, visible in the way he treats opponents, stands by his teammates, and holds to the belief that competition only has value when it is conducted with honesty.

Fair play has never been something Vujačić has had to consciously display; it is simply part of how he competes. His words at Fiesole reflected that same unaffected quality: «Receiving this is a tremendous honour. This award stands for everything I believe in». There was no performance in it, no reaching for effect. Just the straightforward sincerity of someone who has long understood what sport, at its best, is really about.

That same quality shaped his return to Italian basketball after the NBA years. He arrived not as a fading star looking for an easy farewell, but as a genuine presence in the dressing room: a teammate first, and a point of reference for younger players, ready to show them by example what it means to train with real intent, to lose without excuses, and to win without losing sight of what matters.

Watch the 29th Fair Play Menarini International Award Prize-giving Ceremony

The ceremony of 3 July 2025 was ultimately a tribute to sport as a formation for life. On a stage shared with figures of the stature of Luis Figo, Demetrio Albertini and Billy Costacurta, Vujačić brought something less spectacular than a career of memorable moments, but no less significant: the account of an athlete who competed and won at the very highest level, and never had to become someone else to do it.

As the evening drew to a close, he spoke of what lies ahead: in particular, his commitment to supporting young athletes by setting a visible, consistent example.

For Saša Vujačić, the Fair Play Menarini International Award is not an accolade to display on a shelf: it is a reminder of what he owes to himself, and to the next generation of champions.