Vlatko Čančar (born 10 April 1997) is a Slovenian 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 the Denver Nuggets of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). Standing at , he plays as

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 ...

Professional career

Union Olimpija (2015–2016)

On 16 April 2015, Čančar signed a five-year contract with

Union Olimpija Košarkarski klub Olimpija ( en, Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They ...

Mega Leks (2016–2018)

On 30 June 2016, Čančar left Olimpija and signed with Serbian team Mega Leks.

Burgos (2018–2019)

On 13 June 2018, Čančar signed a two-year deal with Spanish club San Pablo Burgos.

Denver Nuggets (2019–present)

On 22 June 2017, Čančar was selected with the 49th overall pick in 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. ...

by the Denver Nuggets. On 1 August 2019, Čančar signed his rookie contract with the Denver Nuggets. On 13 May 2021, Čančar scored a career-high 14 points off the bench in a 114–103 win over the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. On 3 January 2022, during a 89–103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Čančar suffered a right foot injury. Two days later, he was diagnosed with a fracture of his right

fifth metatarsal The fifth metatarsal bone is a long bone in the foot, and is palpable along the distal outer edges of the feet. It is the second smallest of the five metatarsal bones. The fifth metatarsal is analogous to the fifth metacarpal bone in the hand. As ...

. On 7 January, Čančar underwent surgery for the fracture and was ruled out for at least three months. On April 10, in the regular season finale Čančar returned to the Nuggets and played a season high 24 minutes in an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Čančar recorded 2 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in his last regular season game. On July 7, 2022, Čančar re-signed with the Nuggets on a three-year deal. On November 23rd, 2022, Čančar scored a career high 20 points, along with 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in an overtime win against the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

National team career

Čančar has been a member of the

Slovenia national basketball team The Slovenia men's national basketball team ( sl, Slovenska košarkarska reprezentanca) represents Slovenia in international basketball competitions, and is managed by the Basketball Federation of Slovenia. Since the independence of Slovenia in ...

. He played with the team at

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 he won the gold medal with his country. Čančar represented the Slovenian national basketball team at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in Tokyo, Japan.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

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Playoffs

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2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...