Ante Toni Žižić (; born 4 January 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish

Basketball Super League 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 ...

(BSL) and the Euroleague. He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft.

Professional career

Kaštela (2013–2014)

Žižić's first team was KK Split, in the 2013–14 season, but he played for their junior team, in which he only played in 3 games. He then moved to the Cedevita Zagreb's junior team, and with them he played in 5 games.

Gorica (2014)

To start the 2014–15 season, Žižić played for Gorica.

Cibona (2014–2016)

Žižiće moved to

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 ...

for the rest of the season. In that year, he averaged 7.4 points, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks, in 15.5 minutes per game, in 25 games played in 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 Mac ...

. His breakout season was in the 2015–16 season. He was named the

2015–16 ABA League The 2015–16 ABA League was the 15th season of the ABA League, with 14 teams from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Her ...

season's Top Prospect. In that season, he averaged 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 24.8 minutes per game, in 26 games played in the Adriatic League. He was also named to the European-wide 3rd-tier level

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 natio ...

's Starting Five Team of the 2015–16 season. On 11 October 2016, Žižić was named the MVP of the fourth week of the

2016–17 ABA League The 2016–17 ABA League was the 16th season of the ABA League, with 14 teams from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Macedonia participating in it. It started on September 29, 2016 with the first ro ...

season. After he scored 37 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, in Cibona's win against

MZT Skopje Aerodrom MZT Skopje Aerodrom ( mk, МЗТ Скопје Аеродром) is a basketball club based in Skopje, North Macedonia. The club competes in the Macedonian League and ABA League. The club's home ground is Jane Sandanski Arena, but due to small capa ...

, by the final score of 89–85, in a game that was decided after two overtimes.

Darüşşafaka (2016–2017)

On 27 December 2016, Žižić left Cibona, and signed with the Turkish team Darüşşafaka Doğuş, of the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities an ...

. With Darüşşafaka, Žižić made his debut in the European top-tier level, the EuroLeague, on 30 December 2016, in an 81–77 road loss against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

. In his first EuroLeague game, Žižić had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2020)

Žižić was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, by the Boston Celtics. On 1 July 2017, Žižić signed with the Boston Celtics. Before even suiting up for a single regular-season game for the Celtics, Žižić was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside Isaiah Thomas,

Jae Crowder Corey Jae Crowder (born July 6, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Not being heavily recruited out of high school, Crowder committed to South Georgia Technical ...

, and the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

' unprotected 2018 first-round pick for

Kyrie Irving Kyrie Andrew Irving (; lkt, Ȟéla, italic=no, ; born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named the Rookie of the Year after being selected ...

on 22 August 2017. However, eight days after the trade was first confirmed, the Celtics would also add a 2020 second-round pick from the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

in order to fully complete the deal to satisfy Cleveland's worries involving Isaiah Thomas' hip injury. Žižić spent time with the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The fr ...

during his rookie season. On 11 March, he scored 15 points and recorded 7 rebounds (both career-highs) in a loss to Los Angeles Lakers. In the last game of the regular season, he scored 20 points and recorded 7 rebounds. The Cavaliers made it to the

2018 NBA Finals The 2018 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2017–18 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champio ...

, but lost the series 4-0 to the Golden State Warriors.

Maccabi Tel Aviv (2020–2022)

On 25 August 2020, Žižić signed a two-year deal with Israeli team

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

. In 2020-21, he led the league with a .699 field goal percentage, and was 10th in the Euroleague with 0.8 blocks per game. On 9 May 2022, during a game against

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1 ...

, Žižić lost consciousness after hitting his head on the ground. He was rushed to a hospital and regained consciousness later that night. On 21 June 2022, Žižić officially parted ways with the Israeli club after two seasons.

Anadolu Efes (2022–present)

On 22 June 2022, Žižić signed a three-year (2+1) contract with Turkish club Anadolu Efes, the reigning back-to-back EuroLeague champions.

National team career

Žižić played with the junior national teams of Croatia. With Croatia's junior national teams, he played at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where he won a bronze medal, and at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, where he won a silver medal.

Personal life

Žižić's older brother,

Andrija Andrija ( sr-cyr, Андрија, ) is the South Slavic variant of Greek ''Andreas'' (Andrew). It may refer to: * Andrija Stipanović, basketballer * Andrija Žižić (born 1980), Croatian basketballer * Andrija Kaluđerović (born 1987), Serbian f ...

, was also a professional

player. The two brothers were teammates at

, in the 2015–16 season. His older brother played in 107 EuroLeague games, with Cibona Zagreb,

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, and Panathinaikos, and he also won a EuroLeague championship with

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, 32 , , 2 , , 6.7 , , .731 , , – , , .724 , , 1.9 , , .2 , , .1 , , .4 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , , 25 , , 18.3 , , .553 , , – , , .705 , , 5.4 , , .9 , , .2 , , .4 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 22 , , 0 , , 10.0 , , .569 , , – , , .737 , , 3.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 113 , , 27 , , 13.4 , , .581 , , – , , .711 , , 3.9 , , .6 , , .2 , , .4 , , 6.0

Playoffs

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2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

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, 8 , , 0 , , 2.9 , , .500 , , - , , .500 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , 1.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 8 , , 0 , , 2.9 , , .500 , , - , , .500 , , .8 , , .1 , , .0 , , .1 , , 1.6

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Darüşşafaka , 20 , , 17 , , 21.9 , , .649 , , .000 , , .643 , , 6.7 , , .4 , , .2 , , .8 , , 9.0 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;", Maccabi , 34 , , 30 , , 19.5 , , .589 , , .000 , , .771 , , 5.4 , , .7 , , .4 , , .8 , , 9.1 , , 11.4