Ognjen Kuzmić ( sr-cyrl, Огњен Кузмић, ; born May 16, 1990) 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

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 ...

of the

Adriatic 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 EuroLeague. He also represented the senior

Serbian national basketball team Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation) ...

internationally. Standing at , he plays at 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 eccentricity ...

position. He was selected with the 52nd overall pick in the

2012 NBA draft The 2012 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2012, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (2300 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Asso ...

by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

and won the 2015 NBA Championship with that team.

Professional career

Kuzmić started his senior career in

Borac Banja Luka Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of th ...

and the first basketball steps began in Findo Doboj. After one season, he left to play for

Korihait Korihait ( en, Basket Sharks) is a Finnish basketball team from Uusikaupunki. It was formed as Uudenkaupungin Urheilijat, shortly UU, in 1898 and has won one Korisliiga Finnish Championship (1990) and two Finnish Cups (1986, 1988). In 1994 UU had f ...

in the Finnish league. In 2010, he returned to Bosnia to play for KK Čelik Zenica. In 2011, he signed with

Unicaja Málaga Unicaja is a Spanish savings bank based in Málaga and chartered as a caja de ahorros providing retail banking services. The banks full name is ''Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Ronda, Cádiz, Almería, Málaga y Antequera'' after the n ...

but played the 2011–12 season with farm team, Clínicas Rincón Benahavís of the Spanish Second League. He also played two games with Unicaja. In 2012, Unicaja Málaga loaned him to

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

. On September 27, 2013, he signed with the

. During his rookie and sophomore seasons, he had multiple assignments with the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

, earning a mention to the All-NBA Development League Defensive Third Team and winning a D-League championship during the 2014–15 season. To add to his D-League title, he was part of Golden State's championship winning team who defeated the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in the

2015 NBA Finals The 2015 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the Eastern Confe ...

. Kuzmić failed to appear in any post-season action due to a recurring left ankle injury. On July 27, 2015, he signed a two-year deal with the Greek club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

. On April 21, 2016, he left PAO. On July 19, 2016, Kuzmić signed a three-year contract with

. Kuzmić was named MVP for the month of January in the 2016–17 EuroLeague season. On July 26, 2017, Kuzmić signed a two-year deal with

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 October 2017, he tore the ACL in his left knee and was sidelined for the rest of the season. He returned on the court in 2018–19 season, but soon injured his right ankle and missed considerable time. After recovering from injury, he fell out of Real Madrid's rotation and appeared in only 12 games till the end of the season. On July 3, 2019, Kuzmić signed a two-year contract for Crvena zvezda. On October 24, 2019, Kuzmić made a season debut against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, less than four months after sustaining severe injuries in traffic accident. In February 2020, he was loaned to FMP for the rest of the 2019–20 season.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 21 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .385 , , , , .455 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , .1 , , .2 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 16 , , 0 , , 4.5 , , .667 , , , , 1.000 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .1 , , .1 , , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 37 , , 0 , , 4.4 , , .520 , , , , .600 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , .9

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , , , , , , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , , , , , , , 1.3 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 18 , , 13.8 , , .480 , , , , .682 , , 4.1 , , .3 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.1 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 30 , , 30 , , 20.7 , , .549 , , , , .707 , , 7.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 9.4 , , 13.9 , - , style="text-align:left; background:#AFE6BA;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

, 2 , , 0 , , 4.8 , , .333 , , , , , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .5 , - , style="text-align:left;, 2018–19 , 5 , , 1 , , 6.8 , , .364 , , , , .600 , , 2.6 , , .0 , , .2 , , .4 , , 2.2 , , 2.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 62 , , 49 , , 16.3 , , .519 , , , , .695 , , 5.3 , , .6 , , .7 , , .4 , , 6.8 , , 9.3

National team career

Being a

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...

, Kuzmić was eligible to play for either

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. In May 2013, he turned down a call-up from Bosnia and Herzegovina's head coach Aleksandar Petrović for their

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France defeated Lithuania in th ...

training camp. In May 2014, Kuzmić publicly stated his desire to play for the Serbian national team. In June 2014, national team head coach

Aleksandar Đorđević Aleksandar "Saša" Đorđević or Sale Đorđević (Anglicized: Sasha Djordjevic; sr-Cyrl, Александар Саша Ђорђевић, ; born 26 August 1967) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves ...

included him on the preliminary 29-player list for the twelve

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

roster spots. Three weeks later, in early July 2014, Kuzmić further made Đorđević's shortened list of 20 players invited for the training camp, however, a

fibula The fibula or calf bone is a leg bone on the lateral side of the tibia, to which it is connected above and below. It is the smaller of the two bones and, in proportion to its length, the most slender of all the long bones. Its upper extremity is ...

injury he picked up during the

2014 NBA Summer League The 2014 NBA Summer League consists of two pro basketball leagues organized by the NBA and the Orlando Magic just after the 2014 NBA Draft. Ten teams took part in the week-long summer league at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, from July 5 t ...

ruled him out. The following summer at

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

, Kuzmić represented Serbia for the first time at a major tournament. In the first phase of the tournament, the team led by head coach

dominated its round-robin group with a 5-0 record, and then eliminated

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

in the round-of-16 and quarterfinal games, respectively. However, they were stopped in the semifinal game by

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

67–64, and later lost 68–81 to the host team

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the bronze-medal game. Over 9 tournament games, Kuzmić averaged 3.1 points and 3.0 rebounds on 50% shooting from the field. Kuzmić also represented Serbia at the

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 ...

where they won the silver medal, after losing in the final game to

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. Over 9 tournament games, he averaged 7.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. On 1 July 2019, Kuzmić was selected to the Serbia 18-man preliminary roster for the

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 FIBA World Ch ...

in China. On 15 July 2019, he was excluded from consideration due to the unpredictability of the recovery from the traffic accident he had been involved in a day earlier. Nikola Jovanović was called up in Kuzmić's place.

Personal life

2019 traffic accident

In the morning hours of 14 July 2019 on the

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 ...

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

state road near the village of Ramići, Kuzmić was involved in a serious traffic accident. Driving his Porsche SUV, the twenty-nine-year-old professional basketball player reportedly collided with a BMW vehicle going in the opposite direction while traveling at a high speed. He sustained life-threatening injuries in the accident, breaking his

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...

and

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

head bones (upper and lower jaws), as well as his

chest The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the crea ...

. He was immediately placed in

induced coma An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as ...

and airlifted via helicopter to the

Clinical Centre of Serbia The University Clinical Centre of Serbia ( sr, Универзитетски клинички центар Србије; abbr. УKЦС / UKCS) is an academic medical centre located in Belgrade, Serbia. It serves as the main medical centre for both B ...

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. Reportedly, thirty-year-old Bosnian professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Dražan Janjanin was a passenger in the car that collided with Kuzmić's car. Three days later, on 17 July 2019, Kuzmić underwent a

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

in which surgeons removed severe maxillofacial injuries. The next day after the surgery, 18 July 2019, he woke up from the coma. On 25 July 2019, Kuzmić was discharged from the hospital to home care.