Karlo Matković (born 30 March 2001) is a Bosnian-Croat 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 the

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of the

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(NBA). He represents the Croatia national team internationally.

Early career

In 2017, Matković participated in the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

camp. In August 2018, he participated at 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 ...

Europe camp 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 ...

, Serbia, representing

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Professional career

Europe (2018–2024)

During the 2018–19 Croatian League season, Matković was promoted to the

Cedevita Cedevita d.o.o. is a Croatian company which produces a wide range of teas, instant drinks, and dietetic products. A notable owner of the company was the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva d.d. Since 2001 Cedevita has been part of the Atlan ...

senior team. In April 2019, he signed his first professional contract for Cedevita. In September 2019, he was loaned to

OKK Beograd Omladinski košarkaški klub Beograd ( sr-cyr, Омладински кошаркашки клуб Београд), commonly referred to as OKK Beograd, is a men's professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. They are currently competin ...

for the 2019–20 Serbian League season. In August 2020, he was loaned to Mega Soccerbet for the 2020–21 ABA season. Following the 2020–21 season, Matković 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 ...

, but withdrew his name from consideration on July 19, 2021. After declaring for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

in April 2022, Matković was selected with the 52nd overall pick by the

and joined them 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 ...

. However, he didn't join the

Pelicans Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

for the

2022–23 NBA season The 2022–23 NBA season was the 77th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 18, 2022, and ended on April 9, 2023. The 2023 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 19, 2023, at Vivint Arena i ...

and on 23 July, he joined

Cedevita Olimpija Košarkarski klub Cedevita Olimpija (), commonly referred to as KK Cedevita Olimpija or simply Olimpija, is a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Premier A Slovenian Bask ...

. On 4 February 2024, Matković left Cedevita.

New Orleans Pelicans / Birmingham Squadron (2024–present)

On 22 February 2024, Matković joined the

Birmingham Squadron The Birmingham Squadron are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Birmingham, Alabama, and are affiliated with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Squadron play their home games at Legacy Arena. The team began play in 20 ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

and on 14 July, he signed with the

. He made his NBA debut on 23 October, in a 123–111 win over the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. Throughout his debut season, he has been assigned several times to Birmingham.

National team career

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Matković was born to a

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

family in

. He was a member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-18 team at the

2018 FIBA U18 European Championship The 2018 FIBA U18 European Championship was the 35th edition of the FIBA U18 European Championship. The competition took place in Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. His team finished the last at the tournament with a 0–7 record.

Croatia

In November 2021, Matković expressed his interest to represent

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 ...

internationally in the senior competitions, if called. He made his debut for Croatia in February 2022, in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

References

External links

Karlo Matkovic
at ABA-Liga.com
Karlo Matkovic
at

RealGM.com RealGM.com is a sports website created in 2000. The site was originally a basketball site, but has since expanded its scope to provide information about American football, baseball, ice hockey and soccer. According to Alexa, the site ranked in th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matkovic, Karlo 2001 births Living people 21st-century Croatian sportsmen ABA League players Basketball League of Serbia players Birmingham Squadron players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in Serbia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in the United States Bosnia and Herzegovina men's basketball players Centers (basketball) Croatian expatriate basketball people in Serbia Croatian men's basketball players Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina KK Cedevita players KK Cedevita Olimpija players KK Mega Basket players New Orleans Pelicans draft picks New Orleans Pelicans players OKK Beograd players Power forwards Sportspeople from Livno