Goga Bitadze ( ka, გოგა ბითაძე; born 20 July 1999) is a Georgian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Listed at and 250 lbs (113 kg), he plays the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position. He was drafted 18th overall by the Pacers in the 2019 NBA draft. Born in

Sagarejo Sagarejo ( ka, საგარეჯო) is a town in Kakheti, Georgia. It is situated east of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, and has the population of 10,871 (2014 census). It serves as an administrative center of the Sagarejo district. The town i ...

, Bitadze started playing basketball professionally with VITA Tbilisi in the

VTB United League VTB United League (russian: Единая Лига ВТБ) is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2008. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it ...

. In 2015, he moved to Serbian club Mega Basket and was loaned to

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer of ...

team Smederevo 1953 in the following year. Upon his return to Mega in 2017–18, Bitadze was named

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) of the

Junior ABA League The Junior ABA League, officially known as the U19 ABA League Championship, is a regional boy's youth age basketball tournament that is contested between the youth selections of basketball clubs from the ABA League. It is run by the ABA League JTD. ...

and became a key player for the senior team. At the end of 2018, he was loaned to Budućnost in

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and was named EuroLeague Rising Star for the 2018–19 season. Bitadze is a member of the

Georgian national basketball team The Georgia men's national basketball team ( ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული საკალათბურთო ნაკრები) represents the country of Georgia in international basketball matches, and is ...

. He was named to the national team at

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

and made his debut at FIBA World Cup qualifiers in 2017. Previously, Bitadze represented Georgia at the junior level in

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

competition.

Early life and career

Bitadze was born in

, a town in eastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. His father was a professional basketball player whose career was cut short by injury. Although Bitadze did not watch basketball in his childhood, he started playing the game when he was 6 years old, because he saw himself as "active and tall." As he became more involved in basketball, he began idolizing Georgian players

Zaza Pachulia Zaza Pachulia ( ka, ზაზა ფაჩულია; born Zaur Pachulia; February 10, 1984) is a Georgian professional basketball executive and former player who is a basketball operations consultant for the Golden State Warriors of the Nati ...

and

Tornike Shengelia Tornike "Toko" Shengelia ( ka, თორნიკე შენგელია; born October 5, 1991) is a Georgian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna. At a height of 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) tall, he plays at the power forward posi ...

, as well as NBA stars

Pau Gasol Pau Gasol Sáez (, ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish former professional basketball player. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol won two NBA champion ...

and

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

. On 31 May 2013, Bitadze scored 17 points to help his school team

Hyundai Hyundai is a South Korean industrial conglomerate ("chaebol"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Mobis, Korean car parts company ** Hyundai ...

win the national under-14 championship over Gori. He also played in the Georgian under-16 league for three years. In 2014–15, his final season with Hyundai at the under-16 level, Bitadze averaged 23.1 points, 16.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3.8 blocks per game. Through his early career, Bitadze trained in the junior ranks of Georgian club VITA Tbilisi.

Professional career

VITA Tbilisi (2015–2016)

In the 2015–16 season, Bitadze played professionally for VITA Tbilisi in the

. He made his debut at age 16 and consequently became the youngest player in league history. Through 6 games, Bitadze averaged 2.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks in 13.8 minutes per game.

Mega Basket (2015–2019)

Junior success and Smederevo loan (2015–2017)

On 2 December 2015, Bitadze signed with Mega Basket of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашка лига Србије, Košarkaška liga Srbije; abbr. КЛС or KLS), is a top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia. Founded in 2006, it is run by the Basketball Federatio ...

(KLS) and

ABA League The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mace ...

. Bitadze was drawn to the club because it had produced many NBA players like Nikola Jokić and

Ivica Zubac Ivica Zubac (; ; born 18 March 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round in the 2016 NBA draft. He ...

, and he thought the Serbian league was "well run." He described the move, "It was hard for me for a couple of months. I was really frustrated, far away from my family and far away from my friends. It was hard, but then slowly I got used to it... you have to sacrifice in order to achieve something big and get something even bigger." In December 2015, Bitadze averaged 7.8 points and 4 rebounds per game to help Mega's junior team win the Torneo Città di Roma and qualify for the 2015–16 Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT). In three games at the ANGT, he averaged 4.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. For the 2016–17 season, Bitadze was loaned to Serbian club Smederevo 1953, which competed in the KLS. Through 19 games, he averaged 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. Bitadze debuted on 8 October 2016, recording 5 points and 4 rebounds in a 75–71 loss to

Borac Čačak Borac may refer to: * FK Borac Banja Luka, a football club from Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina ** RK Borac Banja Luka, an affiliated team handball club ** OK Borac, an affiliated volleyball club * FK Borac Čačak, a football club from Čačak ...

. On 29 October versus

Napredak Kruševac Napredak may refer to: *HKD Napredak, cultural society of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina *FK Napredak Kruševac, Serbian football club *FK Napredak Aleksinac, Serbian football club *FK Napredak Banatska Topola Fudbalski klub Napredak () is a f ...

, he scored a season-high 18 points, a mark he would match three more times in the season. Bitadze recorded his first

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

on 1 April 2017 against Dunav Stari Banovci, with 18 points and 11 rebounds. In addition, he assumed a leading role for the Mega Basket junior team at the 2016–17 ANGT. Bitadze averaged 17.7 points per game and led the tournament with 10 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per contest, en route to making the All-Tournament Team.

Rise to stardom (2017–2018)

He returned to Mega entering the 2017–18 season and mainly played with the senior team. Through 22 games in the ABA League, Bitadze averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game, and through 12 games in the KLS, he averaged 15.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He debuted on 1 October 2017, recording 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a 95–88 win over

Cibona Košarkaški klub Cibona, commonly referred to as Cibona Zagreb or simply Cibona, is a men's professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. The club is a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association, and competes ...

. In January 2018, Bitadze briefly played for Mega's junior team and helped capture the

championship. After averaging 17 points and 11 rebounds in the final tournament, he was named league MVP and earned Ideal Five recognition. On 20 January, Bitadze scored 23 points versus

Cedevita Cedevita d.o.o. is a Croatian company which produces a wide range of teas, instant drinks, and dietetic products. A notable owner of the company was the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva d.d. Since 2001 Cedevita has been part of the Atlantic ...

, his season-high mark in the ABA League. He declared for the 2018 NBA draft on 12 April and was considered a possible second-round pick. Bitadze recorded 19 points and season-bests of 15 rebounds and 6 blocks on 24 April, in a 92–90 loss to Mladost Zemun in the KLS. On 30 May, he had his best scoring effort of the season, posting 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting in an 83–61 victory over

Vršac Vršac ( sr-cyr, Вршац, ; hu, Versec; ro, Vârșeț) is a city and the administrative centre of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2011, the city urban area had a population of 35,701, while ...

in KLS play. Bitadze withdrew from the 2018 NBA draft on 11 June, less than two weeks from draft night. To start the 2018–19 season, he continued playing for Mega. In an exhibition game versus

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

team

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

on 11 August 2018, Bitadze suffered an injury towards the end of the first half and did not return. On 30 September, in his ABA League season debut, he chipped in 24 points and 12 rebounds in an 80–79 win over Igokea. On 30 October, two days after recording 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks against Mornar Bar, Bitadze was named monthly MVP in the ABA League. In his following appearance on 3 November, he scored a season-high 28 points, shooting 10-of-11 from the field, while posting 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in an 81–74 loss to

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

. On 24 November, Bitadze scored 28 points again, leading his team to an 82–80 victory over Cibona. Through 11 games for Mega, all of which were in the ABA League, he averaged 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game.

Budućnost loan (2018–2019)

On 20 December 2018, Bitadze was loaned to Montenegrin club Budućnost, which at the time competed in top-tier continental EuroLeague. He joined the team for the remainder of the season. Reflecting on the transition to his new club, Bitadze said, "It was not an easy situation, especially the first couple of days. I mean, it is still hard now to get used to things. But my teammates and coaches helped me." In his first game for Budućnost, on 24 December, he recorded 12 points and 4 rebounds versus Krka in the ABA League. Four days later, Bitadze made his EuroLeague debut, chipping in 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a 93–88 loss to Bayern Munich. On 3 January 2019, he had another strong EuroLeague performance, posting 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks off the bench in a 111–94 defeat to

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

. Over 13 EuroLeague games, Bitadze averaged 12.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game and claimed EuroLeague Rising Star honors as the best under-22 player in the EuroLeague. After Budućnost failed to qualify to the Playoffs of the EuroLeague, Bitadze returned to Mega for the rest of the season.

Indiana Pacers (2019–present)

On 20 April, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft, for which he was considered a possible

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

pick. On 19 June, during media availability for the draft, Bitadze appeared in a viral photo that showed him being ignored by reporters, who instead surrounded

Zion Williamson Zion Lateef Williamson (born July 6, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the power forward position. Following a freshman-year stint with the ...

, the eventual first overall pick, in the background. A number of NBA players, including Dwyane Wade and

Draymond Green Draymond Jamal Green Sr. (born March 4, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the power forward position, is a four-time N ...

, suggested him to use the photo as motivation. He was drafted by the

with the 18th pick overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. On 15 July 2019, the

announced that they had signed Bitadze. On 28 October 2019, Bitadze made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 99–110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers with two points and a rebound.

National team career

Junior national team

Bitadze played for the Georgian national under-17 team at the 2015

FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The FIBA U16 European Championship, previously known as the FIBA Europe Championship for Cadets, is a youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1971 edition. Through the 2003 edition, it was held every second year, but since th ...

Division B, averaging 14.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game en route to a fifth-place finish. He had his best scoring display in the tournament on 13 August 2015, posting 24 points and 11 rebounds in an 80–66 loss to Sweden. At the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B, Bitadze averaged 11.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks per game for the Georgian under-18 team. On 6 August 2016, he recorded tournament-best marks of 23 points and 9 blocks while grabbing 13 rebounds in a 103–101 win over Bulgaria. Bitadze returned to national team play in 2017, averaging 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game at the

FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The FIBA U20 European Championship, previously known as the European Championship for Men '22 and Under', is a men's youth basketball competition that was inaugurated with the 1992 edition. Through the 2004 edition, it was held biennially, but ...

Division B.

Senior national team

Bitadze was first named to the Georgian senior national team at

, but a calf ligament injury forced him to sit out of the entire competition. Regardless, he "learned a lot on and off the court" by observing his veteran teammates, including Zaza Pachulia and

Giorgi Shermadini Giorgi Shermadini ( ka, გიორგი შერმადინი) is a Georgian professional basketball player for Lenovo Tenerife of the Spanish Liga ACB. He was born in the village of Natakhtari, Georgia on April 2, 1989. He is tall, a ...

. On 24 November 2017, Bitadze debuted for the senior national team versus

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during

qualification Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...

for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, scoring 4 points in 17 minutes.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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, 45 , , 3 , , 12.5 , , .428 , , .253 , , .738 , , 3.3 , , .8 , , .2 , , 1.3 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 50 , , 16 , , 14.6 , , .520 , , .288 , , .681 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .8 , , 7.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , , 149 , , 21 , , 11.8 , , .477 , , .254 , , .707 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .3 , , .9 , , 5.0

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Budućnost , 13 , , 4 , , 24.2 , , .548 , , .313 , , .714 , , 6.4 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 2.3 , , 12.1 , , 16.3 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 13 , , 4 , , 24.2 , , .548 , , .313 , , .714 , , 6.4 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , 2.3 , , 12.1 , , 16.3

National team

''Source'' {, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" , - ! Year ! Competition ! GP ! MPG ! FG% ! 3P% ! FT% ! RPG ! APG ! SPG ! BPG ! PPG , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019 , style="text-align:left;",

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification was the first FIBA Basketball World Cup, World Cup for which teams had to qualify for under the new qualification system. The process determined 31 out of the 32 teams that participated at the 2019 ...

, 10 , , 22.0 , , .455 , , .238 , , .612 , , 5.9 , , .9 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , 11.5 , -