Balša Koprivica ( sr-cyr, Балша Копривица; born 1 May 2000) 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 (appro ...

player for

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, lin ...

of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia (), commonly abbreviated as KLS, is a Serbian basketball league system, top-tier men's professional basketball Sports league, league in Serbia. Founded in 2006. It is currently not run by the Basketball Federation o ...

(KLS), the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

. He was considered one of the top ten college recruits in the class of 2019 until he dropped to a four-star recruit during his senior year.

Early life

Koprivica was born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

to Slaviša Koprivica and Tanja Čavić. Slaviša, who stands 6-foot-9 (2.06 m), is a former Serbian professional basketball player who won the 1992 EuroLeague with Partizan. Koprivica moved to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 2012. In February 2017, he joined the

Basketball Without Borders Basketball Without Borders is a basketball instructional camp organized by the NBA in conjunction with FIBA. It presents itself as a “basketball development and community outreach program that unites young basketball players to promote the sport ...

Global Camp in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

High school career

Koprivica began playing high school basketball in 2015 with University School of Nova Southeastern University in

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

Broward County, Florida Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

. He played at the 2015 Battle at The Villages high school tournament. In July 2017, he transferred to Windermere Preparatory School in Lake Butler, Orange County, Florida. In December 2017, he transferred to

Montverde Academy Montverde Academy is a private college preparatory school in Montverde, Florida, United States, located in the Greater Orlando area. The school is widely known for its athletic programs, particularly soccer and basketball. History The school ...

Montverde, Florida Montverde is a town in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,655 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Montverde was the location of a Native Ame ...

Recruiting

On 26 October 2018, he committed to

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

College career

Koprivica played his freshman and sophomore year with the

. As a freshman, he averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. On 13 April 2021, Koprivica declared for the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Partizan (2021–present)

On August 23, 2021, Koprivica officially signed a three-year deal with his hometown and his father's former club Partizan, under head coach

Željko Obradović Željko Obradović ( sr-cyrl, Желимир "Жељко" Обрадовић, ; born 9 March 1960) is a Serbian professional basketball Coach (basketball), coach and former professional player who is the head coach for KK Partizan, Partizan of the ...

. His father was coached by Obradović, who played for Partizan (1991–1993). In his debut season with the club, Koprivica averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds over 33 ABA League games, but Partizan failed to lift any trophy. In 2022–23 season, his second with the club, Koprivica had his role reduced, appearing in only six EuroLeague games, but managed to lift the

title with averages of 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds over 12 games played. Over 2023–23, his role improved slightly, as he averaged 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds over 14 EuroLeague games. The season was deemed to be unsuccessful for Partizan as they finished the season without lifting any trophy.

NBA draft rights

Koprivica was selected with the 57th overall pick by the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

in the

and traded to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

for

Mason Plumlee Mason Alexander Plumlee (born March 5, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily plays the forward and center positions. As a freshman in 2009–10, he was ...

and JT Thor, the 37th overall pick of the 2021 draft. In August 2021, he joined the Pistons for the

NBA Summer League The NBA Summer League, also known as the Las Vegas Summer League, is an off-season basketball competition organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA teams come together to try out different summer rosters instead of their regula ...

. On August 11, he made his debut in the Summer League in a 111–91 loss to 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 of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

in which he posted 2 points and a rebound in 4 minutes. Koprivica joined the Pistons for the

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the cam ...

. On June 30, 2023, the Pistons traded the draft rights to Koprivica to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

for sum of $2.1 million. On July 18, 2024, the draft rights for Koprivica were traded from the Clippers to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

as part of a deal centering on

Russell Westbrook Russell Westbrook III (born November 12, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, Westbrook made his NBA debut in 2008 and became a star as a member o ...

and Kris Dunn.

National team career

Koprivica was a member of the Serbian U-18 national basketball team that won gold medal at the

2017 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2017 FIBA U18 European Championship was the 34th edition of the FIBA U18 European Championship. The competition took place in Bratislava and Piešťany, Slovakia, from 29 July to 6 August 2017. Venues Participating teams * * * * * * * ...

, with Marko Pecarski as teammate. Thirty years earlier, their respective fathers Slaviša Koprivica and Miroslav Pecarski had played together for the Yugoslavia under-19 national team, winning gold at the

1987 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Italian: 1987 Campionato del mondo FIBA Under 19) was the 3rd edition of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, FIBA U19 World Championship. It was held in Bormio, Italy from 29 July to 5 August 1987. Y ...

Career statistics

EuroLeague

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

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;" rowspan="3", Partizan , 6 , , 1 , , 4.4 , , .500 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .0 , , .2 , , 1.0 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 14 , , 2 , , 8.3 , , style="background:#CFECEC;", .833* , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .2 , , .6 , , 3.3 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , 16 , , 8 , , 8.1 , , .600 , , .000 , , .800 , , 2.4 , , .3 , , .4 , , .6 , , 3.4 , , 4.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 36 , , 11 , , 7.5 , , .677 , , .000 , , .818 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , .3 , , .5 , , 2.9 , , 3.4

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;", Partizan , 17 , , 10 , , 16.1 , , .632 , , , , .600 , , 5.5 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 6.4 , , 10.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 10 , , 16.1 , , .632 , , , , .600 , , 5.5 , , .8 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 6.4 , , 10.1

Domestic leagues

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%; text-align:right;" ! Year ! Team ! League ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;", Partizan , , style="text-align:center;",

ABA ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...

, , 33 , , 13.6 , , .635 , , , , .587 , , 3.9 , , .7 , , .4 , , .8 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, , 12 , , 11.4 , , .636 , , , , .750 , , 3.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 4.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;", Partizan , , style="text-align:center;",

, , 25 , , 14.6 , , .647 , , , , .644 , , 4.6 , , .6 , , .4 , , 1.3 , , 8.2

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, 27 , , 0 , , 10.3 , , .699 , , – , , .658 , , 2.4 , , .3 , , .3 , , .3 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

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

, 24 , , 20 , , 19.5 , , .599 , , 1.000 , , .689 , , 5.6 , , .8 , , .3 , , 1.4 , , 9.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 51 , , 20 , , 14.6 , , .632 , , 1.000 , , .677 , , 3.9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .8 , , 6.8

References

External links

Florida State Seminoles bio

Balša Koprivica
at aba-liga.com
Balša Koprivica
at euroleaguebasketball.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koprivica, Balsa 2000 births Living people ABA League players Basketball players from Belgrade Centers (basketball) Charlotte Hornets draft picks Florida State Seminoles men's basketball players KK Partizan players Montverde Academy alumni NSU University School alumni Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Serbian men's basketball players Serbian people of Montenegrin descent 21st-century Serbian sportsmen