Ivica Zubac (; ; born 18 March 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the second round in the 2016 NBA draft. He played for the Lakers until the 2019 trade deadline when he was traded to the Clippers. During the 2021 NBA Playoffs, he helped the Los Angeles Clippers reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Professional career

Europe (2013–2016)

Zubac came through the youth system of

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 ...

and then played for Zrinjevac in the second Croatian division during the 2013–14 season. He made the roster of Cibona's men's team the following season, becoming a part of a group of prospects including

Nik Slavica Nik Slavica (born 7 February 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Adria Oil Škrljevo of the Croatian League. He can play at either the small forward or power forward positions, with small forward being his main position. Earl ...

and

Ante Žižić Ante Toni Žižić (; born 4 January 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL) and the Euroleague. He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft. ...

after the departure of Dario Šarić. He played in Croatia's top-tier level

A-1 League The Hrvatski Telekom Premijer liga ( en, Hrvatski Telekom Premier League, ), also known as HT Premijer liga or simply Premijer liga, is the first tier level men's professional basketball league in Croatia. It began in 1991, following the breaku ...

and the ABA League his first year, and also saw action in the FIBA Europe Cup his second year. In February 2016, he left Cibona because of the financial difficulties of the team, and signed with

Mega Leks Košarkaški klub Mega Basket ( sr-cyr, Кошаркашки клуб Мега Баскет), commonly referred to as KK Mega Basket or as Mega MIS due to sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. The ...

of Serbia.

Los Angeles Lakers (2016–2019)

On 23 June 2016, Zubac was selected with the 32nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the

. On 7 July, he signed with the Lakers and joined the team for the

2016 NBA Summer League The 2016 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Ten teams participated in the week ...

. Zubac made his NBA debut on 2 November 2016, scoring six points as the fill-in starter for Timofey Mozgov, as the Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 123–116. After appearing in only 10 NBA games over the first half of the season, Zubac had a season-best game on 17 January 2017 against the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

. He put together his first double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots in the 127–121 loss. On 12 March 2017, he had 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high four blocked shots in a 118–116 loss to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

. The following night, he had a season-best game with a career-best 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting to go with 11 rebounds in a 129–101 loss to the

. On 31 March 2017, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain in his right ankle. During his rookie season, Zubac had multiple assignments with the

Los Angeles D-Fenders LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

, the Lakers'

D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate. During the 2017–18 season, Zubac had multiple assignments with the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers' NBA G League affiliate due to limited playing time in the regular season. On 17 January 2019, Zubac scored a career-high 26 points along with 12 rebounds including a career-high 6 offensive rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 138–128 overtime win.

Los Angeles Clippers (2019–present)

On 7 February 2019, Zubac and

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...

were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for

Mike Muscala Michael Peter Muscala (/muˈSKĂ luh/; born July 1, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life Muscala was born on July 1, 1991, in St. Louis Park, Minnes ...

. Zubac became a key member for the Clippers during the final stretch of the season, eventually reaching the playoffs for the first time in his career with them. On 22 February 2020, Zubac posted a season-high 15 rebounds in 20 minutes of play against the Sacramento Kings. In a win over the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

, Zubac shot a perfect 6 for 6 from the field and made a season-high 17 points, while also collecting 12 rebounds and blocking 1 shot on 5 March. On 6 August 2020, Zubac posted 21 points and 15 rebounds on 100% shooting in 24 minutes on the court in the 126–111 win against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

. This made Zubac the first player in the shot clock era to accomplish 20+ points and 15+ rebounds on 100% shooting in under 30 minutes’ play time. On 15 February 2021, Zubac scored a season high 22 points, alongside grabbing 8 rebounds, in a 125-118 win over the Miami Heat. On 14 April, Zubac recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds in a 100-98 win over the Detroit Pistons. On 19 January 2022, Zubac scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds during a 130-128 overtime loss against the

. During the

2021-22 NBA season Increment or incremental may refer to: *Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) *Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming *Incremental computing *Incremental backup, wh ...

as a whole, Zubac started a career-high 76 games and averaged career-highs of 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. On 28 June 2022, Zubac signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension with the Clippers. On 27 November, put up 31 points and a career-high 29 rebounds in a 114–110 win over the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

National team career

Zubac represented the Croatian junior national team during the

2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 27th edition of the European Under-16 Basketball Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, which was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, from 8 to 18 August 2013. Turkey were the defending champi ...

. He averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest during 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 ...

in Greece, while receiving All-World Championship Under-19 Second Team honors from the European 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 ...

''. Zubac averaged double digits in scoring (15.8 points per game) and rebounding (12.9 rebounds per game), to go along with 3.0 blocks per game 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 ...

, while making the all-tournament second team (as selected by ''eurobasket.com'').

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 38 , , 11 , , 16.0 , , .529 , , .000 , , .653 , , 4.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , .9 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 43 , , 0 , , 9.5 , , .500 , , .000 , , .765 , , 2.8 , , .6 , , .2 , , .3 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 33 , , 12 , , 15.6 , , .580 , , — , , .864 , , 4.9 , , .8 , , .1 , , .8 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

L.A. Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, 26 , , 25 , , 20.2 , , .538 , , — , , .733 , , 7.7 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .9 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 70 , , 18.4 , , .613 , , .000 , , .747 , , 7.5 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .9 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 72* , , 33 , , 22.3 , , .652 , , .250 , , .789 , , 7.2 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .9 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 76 , , 24.4 , , .626 , , — , , .727 , , 8.5 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 10.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 360 , , 227 , , 19.0 , , .597 , , .100 , , .754 , , 6.5 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , .8 , , 8.3

Playoffs

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

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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

, 4 , , 3 , , 9.8 , , .500 , , — , , .667 , , 5.5 , , .3 , , .5 , , .5 , , 5.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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

, 13 , , 13 , , 24.6 , , .564 , , — , , .811 , , 7.2 , , .6 , , .2 , , .8 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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

, 17 , , 7 , , 17.7 , , .596 , , — , , .796 , , 5.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , .7 , , 6.3 , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 34 , , 23 , , 19.4 , , .569 , , — , , .798 , , 6.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , .7 , , 7.2

Personal life

Zubac was born in Mostar and grew up in Čitluk in Bosnia and Herzegovina, just east of the Croatian border. He is a Croatian citizen. Former NBA player

Zoran Planinić Zoran Planinić (born September 12, 1982) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. Early years Planinić was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the former Yugoslavia. He started his basketball career at HKK Brotnjo Čitluk fr ...

is his cousin.

References

External links

Ivica Zubac
at fiba.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Zubac, Ivica 1997 births Living people ABA League players Basketball League of Serbia players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in the United States Centers (basketball) Croatian expatriate basketball people in Serbia Croatian expatriate basketball people in the United States Croatian men's basketball players Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina KK Cibona players KK Mega Basket players KK Zrinjevac players Los Angeles Clippers players Los Angeles D-Fenders players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players National Basketball Association players from Croatia People from Čitluk, Bosnia and Herzegovina South Bay Lakers players Basketball players from Mostar

Professional career

Europe (2013–2016)

Los Angeles Lakers (2016–2019)

Los Angeles Clippers (2019–present)

National team career

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

See also

References

External links