Ante Žižić facts for kids
.jpg)
Žižić with the Cavaliers in 2019
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 41 – Virtus Bologna | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 January 1997 Split, Croatia |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Croatian | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 2.10 m (6 ft 10.68 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 121 kg (267 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2016 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall | |||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2013–present | |||||||||||||||||||
| League | LBA EuroLeague |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Kaštela | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Cibona | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | → Gorica | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Darüşşafaka | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Cleveland Cavaliers | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Canton Charge | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Anadolu Efes | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–present | Virtus Bologna | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medals
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Ante Toni Žižić (born January 4, 1997) is a professional basketball player from Croatia. He plays as a center for Virtus Bologna in Italy, which is part of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. In 2016, the Boston Celtics chose him as the 23rd player in the 2016 NBA draft.
Contents
- Ante Žižić's Basketball Journey
- Starting Out in Croatia (2013–2014)
- Playing for Gorica (2014)
- Time with Cibona (2014–2016)
- Moving to Turkey with Darüşşafaka (2016–2017)
- Playing in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2020)
- Success with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2020–2022)
- Joining Anadolu Efes (2022–2023)
- Playing for Virtus Bologna (2023–Present)
- Playing for His Country
- Personal Life
- See Also
Ante Žižić's Basketball Journey
Starting Out in Croatia (2013–2014)
Ante Žižić began his basketball career in the 2013–14 season. His first team was KK Split, where he played for their junior (younger players') team. He only played in 3 games there. After that, he moved to the junior team of Cedevita Zagreb, playing in 5 games with them.
Playing for Gorica (2014)
To kick off the 2014–15 season, Žižić played for a team called Gorica.
Time with Cibona (2014–2016)
Later in the 2014–15 season, Žižić joined Cibona Zagreb. During that year, he played in 25 games in the Adriatic League. He averaged 7.4 points, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks in about 15.5 minutes per game.
His big breakthrough came in the 2015–16 season. He was named the best young player, or "top prospect," in the 2015–16 ABA League season. In this season, he averaged 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. He also made it onto the Starting Five Team for the 2015–16 FIBA Europe Cup.
On October 11, 2016, Žižić was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the fourth week of the 2016–17 ABA League season. He scored an amazing 37 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in Cibona's win against MZT Skopje Aerodrom. This game went into double overtime!
Moving to Turkey with Darüşşafaka (2016–2017)
On December 27, 2016, Žižić left Cibona and signed with a Turkish team called Darüşşafaka Doğuş. This team plays in the Turkish Super League.
With Darüşşafaka, Žižić made his first appearance in the EuroLeague on December 30, 2016. The EuroLeague is the top basketball league in Europe. In his first EuroLeague game against FC Barcelona, Žižić scored 4 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, made 2 steals, and blocked 2 shots.
Playing in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2020)
Ante Žižić was chosen by the Boston Celtics as the 23rd player in the 2016 NBA draft. On July 1, 2017, he officially signed with the Celtics.
However, before he even played a regular-season game for the Celtics, Žižić was traded. He went to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a big trade for Kyrie Irving on August 22, 2017. Other players like Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder also moved to Cleveland in this trade.
During his first season, Žižić also spent some time playing for the Canton Charge. This team is part of the NBA's development league. On March 11, he scored 15 points and had 7 rebounds, which were his career bests at the time. In the very last game of that regular season, he scored 20 points and had 7 rebounds. The Cavaliers made it all the way to the 2018 NBA Finals that year, but they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
Success with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2020–2022)
On August 25, 2020, Žižić signed a two-year deal with an Israeli team called Maccabi Tel Aviv. In the 2020–21 season, he was the best in the league for his field goal percentage (how often he made shots), hitting 69.9% of his attempts. He was also 10th in the EuroLeague for blocks per game.
On May 9, 2022, during a game, Žižić briefly lost consciousness after hitting his head. He was taken to the hospital and woke up later that night. On June 21, 2022, he left the Israeli club after two successful seasons.
Joining Anadolu Efes (2022–2023)
On June 22, 2022, Žižić signed a three-year contract with the Turkish team Anadolu Efes. This team was very strong, having won the EuroLeague championship two times in a row!
Playing for Virtus Bologna (2023–Present)
On December 31, 2023, Ante Žižić signed a two-year contract with the Italian basketball powerhouse, Virtus Bologna.
Playing for His Country
Žižić has proudly played for Croatia's national basketball teams since he was young.
- In 2013, he played at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship.
- In 2014, he played at the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where his team won a bronze medal (third place).
- In 2015, he competed in the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, earning a silver medal (second place).
Personal Life
Ante Žižić has an older brother named Andrija Žižić. Andrija was also a professional basketball player. The two brothers even played on the same team, Cibona Zagreb, during the 2015–16 season. Andrija played in many EuroLeague games and even won a EuroLeague championship with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
See Also
In Spanish: Ante Žižić para niños
- List of European basketball players in the United States
