Luka Božić (born April 29, 1996) is a Croatian 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

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

of the Croatian League and the

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 ...

. Standing at 2.00 m, he plays at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

positions.

Playing career

Early years

A native of

Bjelovar Bjelovar ( hu, Belovár, german: Bellowar, Kajkavian: ''Belovar'') is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. At the 2021 census, there were 36,433 inhabitants, of whom 93.06% were Croats. History ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, Božić played in the second tier of Croatian basketball for KK Bjelovar until he was picked up by

KK Zagreb Košarkaški klub Zagreb ( en, Zagreb Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Zagreb or simply Zagreb, was a professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. It competed in the ABA League and the Croatian League. In the 2011–12 season ...

, a member of the country's top-flight

A-1 Liga The Hrvatski Telekom Premijer liga ( en, Hrvatski Telekom Premier League, ), also known as HT Premijer liga or simply Premijer liga, is the first tier level men's professional basketball league in Croatia. It began in 1991, following the breakup ...

, in 2014. He immediately established himself as a scoring threat, averaging 15.1 points a game in the 2014-15 campaign. In the 2015–16 season, Božić increased his scoring output to 17.3 points per contest, draining 48.4 percent of his shots taken (177-366) including 38.4 percent (61-159) from three-point range. In 2016–17, he emerged as the second-leading scorer of the A1 league, compiling averages of 22.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 24 A1 contests, shooting 57.6 percent from inside the arc and 31.5 percent from three-point territory. In April 2017, Božić entered his name for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

. At the end of the June 12 NBA Draft deadline, he would be only one of 10 international underclassmen to officially hold his name for the NBA Draft that year. However, he was not drafted.

Zadar (2017–19)

In September 2017, he signed a two-year contract with

. Playing for Zadar, Božić was the rebounding leader in consecutive

seasons (2017–18 and 2018–19 season), averaging 7.8 rebounds and 7.2 rebounds per game, respectively.

Budućnost (2019–20)

For 2019–20 season, he signed with the Montenegrin club Budućnost. He had limited role in the club, averaging only 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds over 15 games. He missed the entire 2020–21 season without a club.

Široki (2021–22)

In July 2021, after one-year absence, he signed with the Bosnian-Herzegovian club Široki. Playing for Široki, Božić averaged 21.5 points and 7 rebounds over 13

ABA League Second Division The ABA League Second Division, also ABA League 2, is the 2nd-tier men's basketball division of the ABA League system. It is run by the ABA League JTD. It is a regional competition between men's professional clubs from six countries: Bosnia and Her ...

games.

Second stint with Zadar (2022–present)

In August 2022, Božić returned to

signing a short-term contract with a possibility of renewal. Over 2022–23 season, Božić averaged 22 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists over 25

regular season games. For his performances, he was named the

ABA League MVP The ABA League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual ABA League award given since the inaugural season to the best performing player of the regular season. The League is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that ...

National team career

He was part of the Croatia youth selections at the

2012 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2012 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 26th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. 16 teams featured in the competition, which was held in Latvia and Lithuania, from 19 to 29 July 2012. Turkey won the title for the third ti ...

, at the

2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 31st edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in Konya, Turkey, from 24 July to 3 August 2014. The tournament served as the qualifying tourn ...

taking the bronze medal, at the

2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Greek: Παγκόσμιο Πρωτάθλημα FIBA Under-19 2015) was the 12th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested by th ...

taking the silver, the

2015 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2015 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 18th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The competition took place in Lignano Sabbiadoro and Latisana, Italy, from 7 to 19 July 2015. Participating teams * (Runners-up, 2014 FIBA ...

and the

2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B The 2016 FIBA U20 European Championship Division B was the 12th edition of the Division B of the FIBA U20 European Championship, the second-tier level of the European Under-20 basketball championship. The tournament was played in Chalkida, Greece, ...

References

External links and sources

Luka Božić
at aba-liga.com

at fiba.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Bozic, Luka 1996 births Living people ABA League players Croatian men's basketball players KK Budućnost players KK Zadar players KK Zagreb players HKK Široki players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Bjelovar