Ivica Zubac
Zubac with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022
No. 40 – Los Angeles Clippers
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
NationalityCroatian
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight240 lb (109 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2016: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2013–present
Career history
2013–2014Zrinjevac
2014–2016Cibona
2016Mega Leks
2016–2019Los Angeles Lakers
2016–2018→Los Angeles D-Fenders / South Bay Lakers
2019–presentLos Angeles Clippers
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Croatia
FIBA U19 World Championship
Silver medal – second place2015 Greece

Ivica Zubac (/ˌɪvɪtsə ˈzuːbɑːts/; Croatian: [îʋitsa zǔːbats]; born 18 March 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round in the 2016 NBA draft. He played for the Lakers until the 2019 trade deadline when he was traded to the Clippers. During the 2021 NBA Playoffs, he helped the Los Angeles Clippers reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Professional career

Europe (2013–2016)

Zubac came through the youth system of Cibona and then played for Zrinjevac in the second Croatian division during the 2013–14 season. He made the roster of Cibona's men's team the following season, becoming a part of a group of prospects including Nik Slavica and Ante Žižić after the departure of Dario Šarić. He played in Croatia's top-tier level A-1 League and the ABA League his first year, and also saw action in the FIBA Europe Cup his second year.[1] In February 2016, he left Cibona because of the financial difficulties of the team, and signed with Mega Leks of Serbia.[2]

Los Angeles Lakers (2016–2019)

Zubac with the Los Angeles Lakers during NBA Summer League 2016

On 23 June 2016, Zubac was selected with the 32nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.[3] On 7 July, he signed with the Lakers and joined the team for the 2016 NBA Summer League.[4] Zubac made his NBA debut on 2 November 2016, scoring six points as the fill-in starter for Timofey Mozgov, as the Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 123–116.[5] After appearing in only 10 NBA games over the first half of the season, Zubac had a season-best game on 17 January 2017 against the Denver Nuggets. He put together his first double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots in the 127–121 loss.[6] On 12 March 2017, he had 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high four blocked shots in a 118–116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.[7] The following night, he had a season-best game with a career-best 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting to go with 11 rebounds in a 129–101 loss to the Denver Nuggets.[8] On 31 March 2017, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain in his right ankle.[9] During his rookie season, Zubac had multiple assignments with the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers' D-League affiliate.[10]

During the 2017–18 season, Zubac had multiple assignments with the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers' NBA G League affiliate due to limited playing time in the regular season.

Los Angeles Clippers (2019–present)

On 7 February 2019, Zubac and Michael Beasley were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Mike Muscala.[11] Zubac became a key member for the Clippers during the final stretch of the season, eventually reaching the playoffs for the first time in his career with them.

On 22 February 2020, Zubac posted a season-high 15 rebounds in 20 minutes of play against the Sacramento Kings.[12] In a win over the Houston Rockets, Zubac shot a perfect 6 for 6 from the field and made a season-high 17 points, while also collecting 12 rebounds and blocking 1 shot on 5 March.[13] On 6 August 2020, Zubac posted 21 points and 15 rebounds on 100% shooting in 24 minutes on the court in the 126–111 win against the Dallas Mavericks. This made Zubac the first player in the shot clock era to accomplish 20+ points and 15+ rebounds on 100% shooting in under 30 minutes’ play time.[14]

On 15 February 2021, Zubac scored a season high 22 points, alongside grabbing 8 rebounds, in a 125-118 win over the Miami Heat.[15] On 14 April, Zubac recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds in a 100-98 win over the Detroit Pistons.[16]

On 19 January 2022, Zubac scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds during a 130-128 overtime loss against the Denver Nuggets.[17] During the 2021-22 NBA season as a whole, Zubac started a career-high 76 games and averaged career-highs of 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.[18]

On 28 June 2022, Zubac signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension with the Clippers.[19][20] On 27 November, Zubac put up 31 points and a career-high 29 rebounds in a 114–110 win over the Indiana Pacers.[21]

National team career

Zubac represented the Croatian junior national team during the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship.[22] He averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest during the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Greece,[23] while receiving All-World Championship Under-19 Second Team honors from the European basketball website eurobasket.com.[24] Zubac averaged double digits in scoring (15.8 points per game) and rebounding (12.9 rebounds per game), to go along with 3.0 blocks per game at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship,[25] while making the all-tournament second team (as selected by eurobasket.com).[26]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 L.A. Lakers 381116.0.529.000.6534.2.8.4.97.5
2017–18 L.A. Lakers 4309.5.500.000.7652.8.6.2.33.7
2018–19 L.A. Lakers 331215.6.580—.8644.9.8.1.88.5
L.A. Clippers 262520.2.538—.7337.71.5.4.99.4
2019–20 L.A. Clippers 727018.4.613.000.7477.51.1.2.98.3
2020–21 L.A. Clippers 72*3322.3.652.250.7897.21.3.3.99.0
2021–22 L.A. Clippers 767624.4.626—.7278.51.6.51.010.3
2022–23 L.A. Clippers 767628.6.634.000.6979.91.0.41.310.8
Career 43630320.7.605.083.7417.11.1.3.98.8

Play-in

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022 L.A. Clippers 2222.4.714–.6256.51.0.01.07.5
Career 2222.4.714–.6256.51.0.01.07.5

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019 L.A. Clippers 439.8.500—.6675.5.3.5.55.0
2020 L.A. Clippers 131324.6.564—.8117.2.6.2.89.1
2021 L.A. Clippers 17717.7.596—.7965.8.4.1.76.3
2023 L.A. Clippers 5526.0.567—.7509.6.6.6.29.2
Career 392820.3.568—.7906.7.5.2.67.5

Personal life

Zubac was born in Mostar and grew up in Čitluk in Bosnia and Herzegovina, just east of the Croatian border. He is a Croatian citizen.[27] Former NBA player Zoran Planinić is his cousin.[28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ivica Zubac | FIBA Europe Cup". FIBAEurope.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Zubac posvađao Cibonu i Cedevitu, a potpisao za Mega Leks". Novosti.rs (in Serbian). 16 February 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Lakers Draft Ivica Zubac with 32nd Overall Pick". NBA.com. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Lakers Sign Clarkson, Deng, and Zubac". NBA.com. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Williams lifts Lakers to 123-116 comeback win over Hawks". ESPN.com. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  6. ↑ "Jokic scores 29, Nuggets hold off struggling Lakers 127-121". ESPN.com. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  7. ↑ "Ivica Zubac 2016-17 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Ramirez, Joey (13 March 2017). "Zubac Shines Despite Loss to Denver". NBA.com. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  9. ↑ "Ivica Zubac Injury Update". NBA.com. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. ↑ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "L.A. Clippers Acquire Ivica Zubac And Michael Beasley". NBA.com. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  12. ↑ "Clippers' Ivica Zubac: Season-high 15 boards in loss". Cbssports.com. 24 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Clippers' Ivica Zubac: Perfect from field". Cbssports.com. 6 March 2020.
  14. ↑ "Ivica Zubac is ready to take his game to the next level". Clipsnation.com. 7 August 2020.
  15. ↑ "Heat vs. Clippers - Game Recap - February 15, 2021". ESPN.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "Los Angeles Clippers at Detroit Pistons Box Score, April 14, 2021". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  17. ↑ Nikola Jokic, Nuggets edge Clippers in OT
  18. ↑ Ivica Zubac Per Game Stats
  19. ↑ "Clippers agree to contract extension with center Ivica Zubac". NBA.com. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  20. ↑ "Ivica Zubac, Clippers agree to 3-year, $33 million extension: Source". The Athletic. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  21. ↑ Kaskey-Blomain, Michael (27 November 2022). "Clippers' Ivica Zubac has historic night with 31 points and 29 rebounds in 114-110 win over Pacers". CBS Sports. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "Ivica Zubac | U16 European Championship Men (2013) | FIBA Europe". FIBAEurope.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  23. ↑ "Ivica ZUBAC at the Players of the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  24. ↑ "World Championships U19 2015 - Men Basketball". Eurobasket.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  25. ↑ "Ivica Zubac | U18 Europe Championship Men - Division A". FIBAEurope.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  26. ↑ "European Championships U18 2015 - Men Basketball". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  27. ↑ "The History and Future of Ivica Zubac". Nba.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  28. ↑ "Ivica Zubac credits cousin Zoran Planinic for his motivation". eurohoops.net. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
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