Igor Marić (born 23 July 1985) is a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n 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 currently playing for

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavík merged with nearby Njar ...

of the Úrvalsdeild karla. Standing at 1.96 m, he plays at the

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

position. During his career, he has won the Slovakian and Croatian national championships as well as the Slovak and Icelandic national Cups.

Professional career

Marić grew up in the youth system of Dubrava. He played professionally there until the Summer of 2007, when he moved to

Zabok Zabok is a town situated in northwest Croatia in the Krapina-Zagorje County. According to the 2011 census, it has a total population of 8,994, with 2,714 in Zabok itself. Zabok is situated on the main crossroads in the heart of Hrvatsko Zagorje r ...

, also playing in the Croatian League. After a season in Zabok he returned to Dubrava, where he spent another two seasons. The 2010-11 season Marić spent in Svjetlost Brod, where he also played the

Balkan League The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which still ...

. In the Summer of 2011, Marić moved abroad for the first time. He signed for

Šentjur Šentjur ( or ; ) is a town in eastern Slovenia. It is the seat, and largest settlement, of the Municipality of Šentjur. The town lies on the Voglajna River east southeast of Celje. The settlement, and the entire municipality, are included in th ...

of the Slovenian League. He was one of the leaders of the team and played at the 2012 Slovenian League All-Star game. In the Summer of 2012, he moved to

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

. He was one of the leaders of the team that reached the

semifinals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the Slovenian League, where they were defeated by Olimpija. The next season he moved to

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

where he played under coach Zmago Sagadin. Marić moved to the Slovak League in 2014. He played three seasons for

Prievidza Prievidza (; , ) is a city in the western Slovakia. With approximately 46,000 inhabitants it is the second biggest municipality in the Trenčín Region and 11th List of cities and towns in Slovakia, largest city in Slovakia generally. Name The ...

. In his first season his team lost in the 7th game of the Playoffs Final series of the 2014-15 Slovak League from

Komárno Komárno (, , ), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom'', ''Öregkomárom'', ''Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the "old ...

. In his next season Prievidza became the champion and Marić won his first trophy. He was also named the best player of the League by website ''basket.sk''. In September 2016 Marić signed with

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. Meanwhile, FIBA banned Zadar on signing new players, so Marić never played an official match for the Croatian club. In October 2016 he returned to

. In his third and final season in

, Marić made his debut in European competitions. In the 2016–17 FIBA Europe Cup, Marić averaged 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 12 played matches. In June 2017, Marić moved to

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

, another club competing in the Slovak League. He helped the club reach the finals of the 2017–18 Slovak League and win the 2018

Slovak Cup The Slovak Cup (), currently named Slovnaft Cup due to sponsorship agreement with Slovnaft, is the only nationwide Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in Football in Slovakia, Slovak football. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Euro ...

. In August 2018, Marić returned to Croatia by signing with

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 compete ...

of the Croatian League and

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 ...

. In July 2019, Marić moved to

USK Praha USK Praha (, University Sports Club Prague), formerly known as Slavia VŠ Praha (), is a Czech Republic, Czech professional basketball Club (organization), club that was founded in 1953 in the city of Prague. USK Praha plays in the National Bas ...

of the Czech League. He averaged 11.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. On 17 July 2020 he re-joined Cibona. In November 2021, Marić signed with ÍR of the Úrvalsdeild karla. He remained in Iceland the following season, signing with

. On 23 March 2024, he won the Icelandic Basketball Cup with Keflavík. On 28 September 2024, he won the Icelandic Super Cup after Keflavík defeated reigning national champions Valur 98–88 in the cup final.

Personal life

Marić was born and lived in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

until 1992, when his family had to flee to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

because of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

References

External links

Profile
at aba-liga.com
Profile
at proballers.com
Profile
at realgm.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Maric, Igor 1985 births Living people ABA League players BC Prievidza players Croatian men's basketball players ÍR men's basketball players Keflavík men's basketball players KK Cibona players KK Dubrava players KK Šentjur players KK Zabok players Basketball players from Banja Luka Small forwards Úrvalsdeild karla (basketball) players Yugoslav Wars refugees 21st-century Croatian sportsmen