Ivica Zubac facts for kids
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Zubac with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022
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| No. 40 – Los Angeles Clippers | ||||||||||||||
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| Center | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 March 1997 Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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| Nationality | Croatian | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| NBA Draft | 2016 / Round: 2 / Pick: 32nd overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | ||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 2013–present | |||||||||||||
| League | NBA | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Zrinjevac | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Cibona | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | →Gorica | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Mega Leks | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2019 | Los Angeles Lakers | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | →Los Angeles D-Fenders / South Bay Lakers | |||||||||||||
| 2019–present | Los Angeles Clippers | |||||||||||||
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Ivica Zubac (pronounced EVE-its-uh ZOO-bahts; born March 18, 1997) is a professional basketball player from Croatia. He plays as a center for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Zubac was chosen by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2016 NBA draft. He played for the Lakers until 2019. Then, he was traded to the Clippers. In the 2021 NBA Playoffs, he helped the Clippers reach the Western Conference Finals. This was a first for the team!
Contents
Playing Professional Basketball
Starting in Europe (2013–2016)
Ivica Zubac started his basketball journey in Europe. He grew up playing in the youth program of KK Cibona, a team in Croatia. In the 2013–14 season, he played for Zrinjevac in Croatia's second division.
The next season, he joined Cibona's main team. He played in Croatia's top league, the A-1 League. He also played in the ABA League. In 2016, he moved to Mega Leks in Serbia.
Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers (2016–2019)
On June 23, 2016, Ivica Zubac was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the 32nd player chosen in the 2016 NBA draft. He signed with the Lakers on July 7 and joined their Summer League team.
Zubac played his first NBA game on November 2, 2016. He scored six points in a win against the Atlanta Hawks. On January 17, 2017, he had a great game against the Denver Nuggets. He scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. This is called a "double-double." He also blocked three shots.
On March 12, 2017, Zubac blocked four shots, a season high. The next night, he scored a career-best 25 points. He also had 11 rebounds in that game. He later hurt his ankle and missed the rest of the season. During his first year, he also played for the Los Angeles D-Fenders. This was the Lakers' minor league team.
In the 2017–18 season, Zubac played for the South Bay Lakers. This is the Lakers' NBA G League team. He played there to get more game time.
Joining the Los Angeles Clippers (2019–present)
On February 7, 2019, Zubac was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He quickly became an important player for the team. He helped the Clippers reach the playoffs for the first time in his career.
On February 22, 2020, Zubac grabbed 15 rebounds in a game. On March 5, he scored 17 points against the Houston Rockets. He made all six of his shots in that game. He also had 12 rebounds and one block.
On August 6, 2020, Zubac had an amazing game against the Dallas Mavericks. He scored 21 points and got 15 rebounds. He made all his shots. He was the first player in NBA history to do this in under 30 minutes!
On February 15, 2021, Zubac scored a season-high 22 points. He also had 8 rebounds in a win against the Miami Heat. On April 14, he had another double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
On January 19, 2022, Zubac scored a career-high 32 points. He also had 10 rebounds in a game against the Denver Nuggets. In the 2021-22 NBA season, he started 76 games. He averaged 10.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. These were career bests for him.
On June 28, 2022, Zubac signed a new contract with the Clippers. On November 27, he had 31 points and a career-high 29 rebounds. This was in a win against the Indiana Pacers.
On April 21, 2024, Zubac scored a playoff career-high 20 points. He also had 15 rebounds in a win against the Dallas Mavericks. On August 30, 2024, he signed another contract extension with the Clippers.
Playing for His Country
Zubac has also played for the Croatian national basketball team. He played in the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. In the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, he averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. He was named to the All-World Championship Under-19 Second Team.
He also played in the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. There, he averaged 15.8 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. He also blocked 3 shots per game. He was chosen for the all-tournament second team.
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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | L.A. Lakers | 38 | 11 | 16.0 | .529 | .000 | .653 | 4.2 | .8 | .4 | .9 | 7.5 |
| 2017–18 | L.A. Lakers | 43 | 0 | 9.5 | .500 | .000 | .765 | 2.8 | .6 | .2 | .3 | 3.7 |
| 2018–19 | L.A. Lakers | 33 | 12 | 15.6 | .580 | — | .864 | 4.9 | .8 | .1 | .8 | 8.5 |
| L.A. Clippers | 26 | 25 | 20.1 | .538 | — | .733 | 7.7 | 1.5 | .4 | .9 | 9.4 | |
| 2019–20 | L.A. Clippers | 72 | 70 | 18.4 | .613 | .000 | .747 | 7.5 | 1.1 | .2 | .9 | 8.3 |
| 2020–21 | L.A. Clippers | 72* | 33 | 22.3 | .652 | .250 | .789 | 7.2 | 1.3 | .3 | .9 | 9.0 |
| 2021–22 | L.A. Clippers | 76 | 76 | 24.4 | .626 | — | .727 | 8.5 | 1.6 | .5 | 1.0 | 10.3 |
| 2022–23 | L.A. Clippers | 76 | 76 | 28.5 | .634 | .000 | .697 | 9.9 | 1.0 | .4 | 1.3 | 10.8 |
| 2023–24 | L.A. Clippers | 68 | 68 | 26.4 | .649 | — | .723 | 9.2 | 1.4 | .3 | 1.2 | 11.7 |
| Career | 504 | 371 | 21.4 | .612 | .083 | .739 | 7.4 | 1.2 | .3 | 1.0 | 9.2 | |
Play-in
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | L.A. Clippers | 2 | 2 | 22.4 | .714 | — | .625 | 6.5 | 1.0 | .0 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| Career | 2 | 2 | 22.4 | .714 | — | .625 | 6.5 | 1.0 | .0 | 1.0 | 7.5 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | L.A. Clippers | 4 | 3 | 9.7 | .500 | — | .667 | 5.5 | .3 | .5 | .5 | 5.0 |
| 2020 | L.A. Clippers | 13 | 13 | 24.6 | .564 | — | .811 | 7.2 | .6 | .2 | .8 | 9.1 |
| 2021 | L.A. Clippers | 17 | 7 | 17.7 | .596 | — | .796 | 5.8 | .4 | .1 | .7 | 6.3 |
| 2023 | L.A. Clippers | 5 | 5 | 26.0 | .567 | — | .750 | 9.6 | .6 | .6 | .2 | 9.2 |
| 2024 | L.A. Clippers | 6 | 6 | 32.0 | .600 | — | .650 | 9.3 | 1.0 | .8 | .5 | 16.2 |
| Career | 45 | 34 | 21.8 | .577 | — | .768 | 7.1 | .6 | .3 | .6 | 8.6 | |
Personal Life
Ivica Zubac was born in Mostar, a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He grew up in Čitluk, which is near the Croatian border. He is a citizen of Croatia. Did you know that former NBA player Zoran Planinić is his cousin?
See also
In Spanish: Ivica Zubac para niños
- List of European basketball players in the United States
- List of NBA career field goal percentage leaders
