Nikola Popović ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Поповић; born 19 July 1997), also known as Nik Popovic, is a Serbian 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 Lietkabelis Panevėžys of the

Lithuanian Basketball League Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

(LKL). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...

Early career

Popović was born in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was a member of the Crvena zvezda under-18 team that lost to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

in the 2014–15 Euroleague Next Generation Tournament Final. Over four games in the final tournament, he averaged 5.8 points and five rebounds per game.

High school career

Popović began playing high school basketball in 2015 with the

Sagemont School The Sagemont School is a private preparatory school in Weston, Florida, United States operated by the for-profit Spring Education Group. Overview The Sagemont School operates two campuses in Weston. The Sagemont Lower School Campus serves studen ...

Weston, Florida Weston is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just west of Fort Lauderdale. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which is anchored by Miami. The population was 68,107 at the 2020 census. Weston is 30 miles northwest of Miami, F ...

. In his senior year, he averaged 8.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game, earning him All-County First Team honors.

College career

Popović posted 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a freshman at Boston College. As a sophomore, Popović averaged 9.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, starting 33 games. He had 20 points against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

Tournament. Popović averaged 14.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a junior at Boston College. As a senior, Popović averaged 10.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. His season was marred by a back injury that forced him to miss a substantial number of games. Popović had a season-high 23 points in a 100–85 loss to Belmont. He played the forward position as #21.

Professional career

2020–2021 season

On 7 June 2020, Popović signed a four-year contract 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 football club based in B ...

. On the same day, he was loaned to FMP for the 2020–21 season. On 24 December 2020, Popovic decided to leave FMP. He played only one game for FMP in 2020. In January 2021, Popović parted ways with the FMP to sign with Chemidor Qom of the Iranian SuperLeague. He averaged 15.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Okapi Aalst (2021–2023)

On 9 August 2021, Popović signed with the Belgian team

Okapi Aalst Okapi Aalst is a Belgian professional basketball club from Aalst, Belgium. The club competes in the top tier BNXT League and plays its home games in the Okapi Forum, which has a seating capacity of 2,800 people. Okapi is a long-time participant o ...

Lietkabelis Panevėžys (2023–present)

On 16 January 2023, Popović signed with Lietkabelis Panevėžys of the

(LKL) until the end of the season.

National team career

Popović was a member of the Serbian under-17 team that won the bronze medal at the

2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship The 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship (Arabic: بطولة العالم لكرة السلة 2014 تحت 17 سنة ) was the 3rd edition of the FIBA Under-17 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship cont ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, United Arab Emirates. Over six tournament games, he averaged 7.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Also, he was a member of the Serbian under-18 team that finished 5th at the

2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 32nd edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, which was held in Volos, Greece, from 23 July to 2 August 2015. Participating teams * * * * (3rd ...

Volos Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...

, Greece. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 5.6 points, four rebounds, and one assist per game.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, 29 , , 1 , , 13.8 , , .488 , , .294 , , .531 , , 3.5 , , .4 , , .1 , , .3 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 33 , , 26.0 , , .507 , , .200 , , .713 , , 6.2 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .8 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 28 , , 24 , , 29.6 , , .526 , , .256 , , .714 , , 7.2 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .8 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 13 , , 25.6 , , .435 , , .333 , , .660 , , 5.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 10.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 112 , , 71 , , 23.7 , , .496 , , .277 , , .682 , , 5.6 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .6 , , 10.2

References

External links

Boston College Eagles bioNikola Popovic
at proballers.com
Nikola Popovic
at

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Nikola 1997 births Living people ABA League players BC Lietkabelis players Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Centers (basketball) KK FMP players KK Crvena zvezda (youth) players Power forwards (basketball) Serbian expatriate basketball people in Belgium Serbian expatriate basketball people in Iran Serbian expatriate basketball people in Lithuania Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Serbian men's basketball players Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sportspeople from Banja Luka