Nikola Kalinić ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Калинић; born 8 November 1991) 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

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

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 is also a former Serbian national basketball team player. He is a tall

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 ...

and he is often considered as one of the best players at his position within European basketball.

Professional career

Early years

Kalinić made his professional debut with his hometown team Spartak Subotica. In the 2010–11 season, he played with KK Novi Sad, and then from 2011 to 2013, he played with Vojvodina Srbijagas. In July 2013, he signed a three-year contract with Radnički Kragujevac. Over 25 games played in the

, he averaged 6.4 points and 4 rebounds per game.

Crvena zvezda

On 21 July 2014, Kalinić signed a three-year contract with

. In his debut

season, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2 assists per game, over 24 games played. In his first season with the club, he won a triple crown, winning the

Serbian League The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League. History 1992–1995 In the summer o ...

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

, and

Fenerbahçe

On 31 July 2015, Crvena zvezda announced that Kalinić moved to Fenerbahçe, for a buyout amount of €1 million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s. On 12 August 2015, Fenerbahçe officially announced that Kalinić had signed a two-year contract, with the option of an additional year. In his first season with the team, Kalinić won the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

title, in a 67–65 win over Darüşşafaka. Fenerbahçe also reached the finals game of the 2016 Euroleague Final Four, but fell short of winning the EuroLeague championship, after an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

96–101 loss to

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

. Over 29 EuroLeague games played that season, he averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, Fenerbahçe also won the

Turkish League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

championship. On 7 July 2017, Kalinić re-signed with Fenerbahçe for three more seasons. In the

2017–18 EuroLeague The 2017–18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague was the 18th season of the modern era of Euroleague Basketball and the eighth under the title sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines. Including the competition's previous incarnation as the FIBA Europe Champi ...

season, Fenerbahçe made it to the

2018 EuroLeague Final Four The 2018 EuroLeague Final Four was the concluding EuroLeague Final Four tournament of the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, the 61st season of Europe's premier club basketball tournament, and the 18th season since it was organised by Euroleague Baske ...

, the club's fourth consecutive

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

appearance. Eventually, they lost to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, by a score of 80–85 in the finals game. Over 19 EuroLeague games played that season, he averaged 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Valencia

On 18 July 2020, Kalinić officially moved to Spanish

club

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

on a one-year contract.

Return to Crvena zvezda

On 15 July 2021,

announced that they had signed with Kalinić. On 27 April 2022, Kalinić was selected the 2021–22 ABA League

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. The club won

, and

in the 2021–22 season.

FC Barcelona

On 12 July 2022, Kalinić signed a two-year deal with

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

, after an agreement was also reached between Barcelona and

concerning his Spanish league contract rights.

Third stint with Crvena zvezda

On 21 June 2024, Kalinić signed a three-year deal with

National team career

Kalinić represented the senior

Serbia men's national basketball team The Serbia men's national basketball team () represents Serbia in international men's basketball competition, and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked second in the FIBA World Ranking. From 1992 to ...

at the

EuroBasket 2013 EuroBasket 2013 was the 38th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It took place from 4 September until 22 September 2013 in Slovenia. The number of participating teams was 24. France men's national basketball ...

. He was also a member of the Serbian national basketball team that won the silver medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, under new head coach

Aleksandar Đorđević Aleksandar "Saša" Đorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Саша Ђорђевић, ; born 26 August 1967) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for the senior China. During his ...

. He represented Serbia once again at the

EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

. In the first phase of the tournament, Serbia dominated in the tournament's toughest group,

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

, with a 5–0 record, and then eliminated

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in the round of 16 and quarterfinal games, respectively. However, they were stopped in the semifinal game by

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, by a score of 67–64, and eventually lost to the host team

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in the bronze-medal game, by a score of 81–68. Over 9 tournament games played, Kalinić averaged 5.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, on 69% shooting from the field and 33.3% shooting from the free-throw line. Kalinić also represented Serbia at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, where they won the silver medal, after losing to the

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 the final game, by a score of 96–66.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 24 , , 10 , , 26.0 , , .429 , , .355 , , .627 , , 3.9 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .2 , , 9.2 , , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="5", Fenerbahçe , 29 , , 13 , , 18.9 , , .434 , , .242 , , .711 , , 3.3 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .2 , , 4.6 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2016–17† , 33 , , 20 , , 24.0 , , .482 , , .347 , , .837 , , 3.1 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .3 , , 7.5 , , 8.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 19 , , 13 , , 17.5 , , .494 , , .286 , , .800 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .2 , , 5.5 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , 35 , , 16 , , 25.5 , , .484 , , .398 , , .785 , , 3.3 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .2 , , 9.6 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , 26 , , 12 , , 22.9 , , .426 , , .314 , , .870 , , 2.5 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , .1 , , 6.6 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 25 , , 26.6 , , .533 , , .333 , , .789 , , 3.4 , , 3.2 , , .9 , , .4 , , 10.4 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 30.1 , , .436 , , .276 , , .717 , , 3.9 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 12.6 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, 38 , , 26 , , 22.5 , , .478 , , .405 , , .700 , , 3.3 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .2 , , 6.4 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , 39 , , 38 , , 24.6 , , .429 , , .406 , , .581 , , 3.8 , , 2.4 , , .8 , , .1 , , 7.3 , , 8.3 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 309 , , 205 , , 24.2 , , .462 , , .348 , , .741 , , 3.3 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .2 , , 8.1 , , 8.7

EuroCup

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;", Radnički Kragujevac , 16 , , 15 , , 25.6 , , .575 , , .381 , , .688 , , 3.5 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 10.2 , , 12.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 15 , , 25.6 , , .575 , , .381 , , .688 , , 3.5 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 10.2 , , 12.3

Domestic leagues

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

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

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

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, , style="text-align:center;", KLS , , 23 , , 23.2 , , .454 , , .238 , , .806 , , 3.4 , , .7 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , , style="text-align:left;", Vojvodina Srbijagas , , style="text-align:center;", KLS , , 34 , , 24.4 , , .511 , , .323 , , .726 , , 3.8 , , 1.7 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2012–13 , , style="text-align:left;", Vojvodina Srbijagas , , style="text-align:center;", KLS , , 42 , , 25.8 , , .556 , , .371 , , .772 , , 4.2 , , 2.0 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , , style="text-align:left;", Radnički Kragujevac , , style="text-align:center;", KLS , , 16 , , 29.3 , , .488 , , .347 , , .796 , , 5.2 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , , style="text-align:left;", Radnički Kragujevac , , style="text-align:center;", ABA , , 25 , , 23.1 , , .386 , , .300 , , .731 , , 4.0 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .3 , , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", KLS , , 18 , , 23.1 , , .489 , , .358 , , .627 , , 3.9 , , 1.9 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ABA , , 34 , , 22.8 , , .512 , , .382 , , .718 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , .6 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 37 , , 20.6 , , .503 , , .379 , , .758 , , 3.1 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .3 , , 6.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 34 , , 24.5 , , .500 , , .412 , , .743 , , 2.9 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , .1 , , 8.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 30 , , 27.9 , , .527 , , .364 , , .792 , , 4.0 , , 2.8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , , style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe , , style="text-align:center;", TBSL , , 15 , , 26.7 , , .462 , , .255 , , .933 , , 2.9 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .2 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 41 , , 23.3 , , .559 , , .392 , , .804 , , 3.8 , , 2.8 , , .9 , , .2 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", KLS , , 3 , , 19.0 , , .571 , , .444 , , .900 , , 2.3 , , 4.3 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ABA , , 31 , , 26.2 , , .448 , , .415 , , .736 , , 3.4 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .1 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022–23 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 38 , , 19.0 , , .486 , , .333 , , .815 , , 3.4 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , , style="text-align:left;",

, , style="text-align:center;", ACB , , 34 , , 19.3 , , .436 , , .386 , , .659 , , 3.2 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .1 , , 5.6

Personal life

Nikola is the son of former table tennis player Zoran Kalinić (born 1958), and Dragica (née Tošić), a former handball player. His older brother Uroš (b. 1986) is a water polo player for Montpellier, while his sister Mina also played handball. The children in the family all once played

ping pong Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of two, players ...

and went to

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

school. Kalinić injured his chin during childhood, leaving a visibly deformed chin with surgery failing to fix it. He has said that he suffers no pain from it.

References

External links

Nikola Kalinić
at aba-liga.com *
Nikola Kalinić
at EuroLeague.net *
Nikola Kalinić
at TBLStat.net * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalinic, Nikola 1991 births Living people 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players ABA League players Basketball League of Serbia players Basketball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games FC Barcelona Bàsquet players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Serbia KK Crvena zvezda players KK Novi Sad players KK Radnički Kragujevac (2009–2014) players KK Spartak Subotica players KK Vojvodina Srbijagas players Liga ACB players Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Serbia Olympic basketball players for Serbia Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Serbia Power forwards Serbia men's national basketball team players Serbian expatriate basketball people in Spain Serbian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Serbian men's basketball players Small forwards Sportspeople from Subotica Summer World University Games medalists in basketball Valencia Basket players