Nik Slavica (born 7 February 1997) 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 Adria Oil Škrljevo of the Croatian League. He can play at either 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 ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

positions, with small forward being his main position.

Early career

He was born in

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

to a father Nenad, former basketball player. Slavica moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, as a 10-year-old, to play for

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 ...

's youth teams, and he spent one season on

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

KK Zrinjevac Košarkaški klub Zrinjevac 1937 ( en, Zrinjevac 1937 Basketball Club) is a professional men's basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. It competes in the Croatian First Basketball League. Name changes *KS Martinovka (1937–1945) *Element (1945 ...

Professional career

Following the conclusion of his

spell at

Zrinjevac Zrinjevac may mean: * Zrinjevac (Mostar), a central park in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Zrinjevac (Osijek), a park in Osijek, Croatia * Nikola Šubić Zrinski Square (AKA Zrinjevac), a park and square in Zagreb, Croatia {{disambig ...

, during the 2013–14 season, Slavica returned to his parent club of Cibona, and he became a regular on the club's senior men's team,

Cibona Zagreb 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 ...

, seeing action in the Croatian League, 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 ...

, and the lower-tier level European-wide competitions of the

FIBA Europe Cup The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in nation ...

, and the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontin ...

. Slavica's name was included on a list of early entry candidates for the 2016 NBA draft, but he ultimately withdrew from the draft before the draft withdrawal deadline. On 30 September 2017, Slavica signed a multi-year contract with

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 ...

. In August 2018, he signed with Cibona. Cibona parted ways with him on 28 December 2018. On 4 January 2019, he signed with home town club GKK Šibenka, but after the end of the season, the club parted ways with him. In January, 2020, Slavica signed with Adria Oil Škrljevo of the Croatian League. His stay at Škrljevo ended with the Croatian League being halted due to the covid-crisis. A year and eight months later, in November, 2021, he was re-signed with Škrljevo.

International career

Slavica played for the Croatian under-16 junior national team at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. He helped the Croatian under-18 junior national team win the bronze medal 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 ...

. He also captured a silver medal with Croatia’s under-19 junior national team 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 ...

, while also receiving an All-World Championship Under-19 Honorable Mention status by the basketball website ''

eurobasket.com Eurobasket.com also commonly referred to as "Eurobasket News", is a basketball-centered website that provide coverages of every professional and semi-professional leagues around the world. Although primarily focusing on European basketball, th ...

''.

Early career

Professional career

International career

References

External links