Milko Bjelica ( sr-cyr, Милко Бјелица; born June 4, 1984) is a Serbian-born Montenegrin professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Al-Ittihad Jeddah of the

Saudi Premier League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

Professional career

He began his professional career with

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional Association football, foot ...

, where he spent five seasons. He then played in Germany with Phantoms Braunschweig and

Köln 99ers Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

. In 2008 he signed with

Lietuvos rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also ...

, and made his EuroLeague debut during the 2009–10 season. In July 2011 he signed a two-year deal with Saski Baskonia. On October 28, 2013, he re-signed with Saski Baskonia on a short-term deal. On December 30, 2013, he signed with the Turkish Euroleague team

Anadolu Efes Anadolu Efes Biracılık ve Malt Sanayii A.Ş.''(lit. Anadolu Efes Brewery and Malt Industries)'' produces and markets beer and malt and non-alcoholic beverages in a wide geographical area comprising Turkey, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independe ...

for the remainder of the season. On July 9, 2014, he extended his contract with Efes for two more years. On June 22, 2015, he left Efes and signed with Darüşşafaka for the 2015–16 season. On September 8, 2016, Bjelica returned to Crvena zvezda, signing a two-year contract. On April 17, 2018, after parting ways with Crvena zvezda, Bjelica returned to Spain, signing with

Basket Zaragoza Basket Zaragoza 2002 S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Basket Zaragoza and as Casademont Zaragoza for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Zaragoza, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is th ...

for the remainder of the season.

Career statistics

Euroleague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

Lietuvos Rytas ''Lietuvos rytas'' (lit. 'Morning of Lithuania') is a Lithuanian daily newspaper. History and profile "Lietuvos rytas" was established in 1990 on a basis of newspaper "Komjaunimo tiesa". The paper is printed in Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also ...

, 10 , , 2 , , 21.5 , , .462 , , .154 , , .667 , , 4.3 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 11.8 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, 16 , , 10 , , 26.1 , , .533 , , .279 , , .727 , , 4.7 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .4 , , 12.3 , , 12.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=3, Baskonia , 8 , , 2 , , 23.7 , , .492 , , .294 , , .842 , , 3.9 , , .8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 10.6 , , 9.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 27 , , 19 , , 17.3 , , .406 , , .378 , , .750 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.4 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , 8 , , 3 , , 21.3 , , .594 , , .353 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .952 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .4 , , 12.8 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2,

, 14 , , 3 , , 22.8 , , .459 , , .270 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .913 , , 2.5 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 9.4 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , 28 , , 7 , , 16.2 , , .462 , , .415 , , .736 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .2 , , .3 , , 7.8 , , 6.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Darüşşafaka , 24 , , 6 , , 19.1 , , .434 , , .354 , , .679 , , 3.4 , , .8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.5 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 1 , , 15.6 , , .385 , , .193 , , .795 , , 3.0 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .3 , , 7.4 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , 26.0 , , .397 , , .297 , , .703 , , 3.7 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .2 , , 9.2 , , 8.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 194 , , 82 , , 20.2 , , .446 , , .305 , , .750 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 8.6 , , 8.1

Personal life

Born and raised in Belgrade, Serbia, he internationally represents

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, where his grandfather is from. One of his sisters,

Milka Milka is a brand of chocolate confectionery, originally made in Switzerland in 1901 by Suchard. It has then been produced in Lörrach, Germany for the past 100 years. Since 2012 it has been owned by US-based company Mondelez International, when ...

, is also a basketball player, while another, Ana is a Serbian

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

player.

References