June 29, 2022 - The latest news about Croats in the NBA - Ivica Zubac Clippers contract has been extended until the end of the 2024/25 season. 

Croatia national team player Ivica Zubac has agreed to extend his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers for another three years, for which he will receive $33 million, reports ESPN and basketball agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman from Excel Sports.

In order for him to get $33 million in the next three seasons, the Clippers will not activate the club option for the last season of the current contract, which Zubac signed in 2019 and which would bring him $7.5 million, and then sign a new contract that will tie him to the LA team until the end of the 2024/25 season. Zubac already has the longest tenure in the Clippers of all the players from the current roster, and if he stays at the club until the end of the new contract, he will have six and a half seasons as a Clippers player.

With this deal, the Clippers prevented the possibility of Zubac becoming a free agent next summer (after his old contract expires) and signing wherever he wants, and at the same time, they solved the issue of the first center for the near future for a solid price. Zubac, on the other hand, also received security for the next period in his career, and at the same time, he was rewarded with approximately a $4 million increase compared to his previous annual salary.

Zubac joined the team in February 2019, in an exchange with the LA Lakers, where he was drafted in 2016 as the 32nd pick. Zubac, who is only 25, has mostly played in the starting lineup since coming to the Clippers from the LA Lakers in 2019. In four seasons with the Clippers, Zubac played in the first team in 204 of 246 games.

Behind him is the most productive season in the NBA in which he scored 10.3 points per game with an average of 8.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1 block. He also had a shooting percentage above 61 percent for the third year in a row. This season is the seventh in the NBA for Zubac.

Zubac is the second Clippers player to sign an extension thus joining Robert Covington. The LA team hopes to keep veteran Nicolas Batum and reserve center Isaiah Hartenstein, but both are free agents this summer. Clearly, the biggest win for the team will be healthy Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Norman Powell because with them they can attack the title.

Source: Sportske Novosti

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March 7, 2022 - Bojan Bogdanović recorded 11 threes in Utah's win against Oklahoma, entering Jazz franchise history! 

Bojan Bogdanovć recorded the best shooting game of his career, scoring 11 three-pointers for a spot in the Jazz franchise and NBA history!

In the 116:103 Utah Jazz victory in Oklahoma City, the Croatian ace scored 35 points, of which 33 were three-pointers, reports Index.hr.

He shot for two points and missed only once in the entire game. He hit two free throws but scored everything else from a distance - 11 threes from 18 attempts. He became the first player in NBA history to score 11 (or more) threes without a single basket for two. 

Bogdanović set his personal record and the Utah Jazz record, already in the ninth three-pointer of the game. By the end, he became only the 14th player in history with at least 11 three-pointers scored in a game. The record-holder is Klay Thompson with 14, Zach LaVine and Stephen Curry with 13 each, and Curry, Kobe Bryant, and Donyell Marshall with 12 three-pointers.

This is the 27th time in NBA history that someone has scored 11 three-pointers in a game. Curry has done it 12 times, while Thompson and Damian Lillard are the only players to have done it twice. No one but Bojan has done it in 2022.

After the last three-pointer, which broke the game with 43 seconds to go and increased Jazz's advantage from five points to eight, he kept his hand outstretched in the shooting position and waved to the home crowd, returning to the defense. It has become his practice every time he scores a decisive three-pointer. 

Despite this offensive explosion, Bogdanović did not improve his season point record. He played the same team last season with 48 points, which is his career record.

Career-high, franchise record, and NBA record???#WalkoffInterview | @lhmauto pic.twitter.com/7qxPXRkKMq

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 7, 2022

Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and ten assists, Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points, and Rudy Gobert scored 12 points and 17 rebounds to stand out in the Jazz victory. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the best for the host with 33 points.

The second Croatian basketball player in the NBA league did not have a successful evening. Ivica Zubac remained on four points (2/5 field goals), nine rebounds, and three turnovers in an unexpected and challenging home defeat to the New York Knicks 116:93.

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January 4, 2022 - Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and Chicago Bulls legend Toni Kukoč gives his take on the biggest problems in Croatian basketball today. 

Before filming the show 'U svom filmu', which will be shown on Croatian television on Tuesday, January 11, legendary Croatian basketball player Toni Kukoč interviewed with HTV's Dnevnik.

The three-time NBA champion spoke about the current status of the Croatia national basketball team.

"It's not an easy question. I've been saying a lot lately that our biggest problem is our best players can't play for the national team. They are maximally exhausted from numerous obligations in the NBA league even when they come. We need to find some formula for the best players to play for their national teams to qualify for the World and European Championships and the Olympic Games. Until that happens, we will have problems. We have quality players, but our five, six best players play in the NBA league. That is our biggest problem. If we played in a full squad and had some continuity, I don't see that we would have any problems qualifying for the big competitions."

What can be done to change that?

"In my opinion, this is the biggest problem. We have good players who play significant roles in their teams in the NBA year after year, but we can’t put them together and find some continuity of work here. It is known that national teams that have success in championships and the Olympic Games have a certain amount of real preparation. It used to be three or four months, now it's hard to expect, but you have to find a month before the championship to do something significant. People can’t get together three days before a tournament and have some results made. This may have been possible before, when you had three, four, or five players who played for the same team, so they knew each other well and knew how and what to do together, and now there are players who play completely different schemes in different teams, and to expect them to be brought to the national team and to click in three days is hard to expect. It is difficult and ungrateful to expect that basketball players can do something like that."

How do you see the performances of Bojan Bogdanović and Ivica Zubac in the NBA?

"They play great; they have continuity, Utah is third in the West, Zubac also plays great for the Clippers. Bojan is one of the most experienced NBA players, we know what he can give, and he gives it from game to game."

What does he think of the NBA league then and now?

"It's different; there's a lot more shooting now than in our time. However, when you talk to the generations from 50 years ago, they think that they played the best basketball, every generation thinks that they played the best basketball." 

You can see the interview HERE.

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December 9, 2021 - Utah Jazz is the first team in NBA history to score 20 or more three-pointers in three consecutive games, and score 72 three-pointers in a three-game span, setting a new NBA 3-pointer record. 

Utah Jazz and LA Clippers registered new victories in the NBA, and Croatian basketball players Bojan Bogdanović and Ivica Zubac registered notable appearances for their teams. And new NBA records were broken, reports T.portal. 

Utah defeated Minnesota 136:104 away, with only a point advantage at halftime (60:59). But Minnesota was wholly outplayed by Utah as the game went on. In the third quarter, Utah was up by 13 points, and in the last quarter, up by 18, and scored 76 points in the second half.

Bojan Bogdanović was the second top scorer for Utah. Donovan Mitchell was the best (36 points, 14/23 field goals), while the Croatian basketball player scored 21 points in 28 minutes. He also had five rebounds and 8/14 field goals, and 4/9 three-pointers. He also hit one free throw.

Bogdanović praised Mitchell, who scored 30 or more points in four consecutive games.

"He's full of confidence. We all know how good he is and who he is. The game is at a very high level for the whole season," said Bogdanović.

Utah hit 25/54 for three-pointers, which placed them in the NBA history books.

"This was a good win for us. We played away, and we’re all trying to see where we are right now with a desire to keep growing. And tomorrow, we will have another big game," said Mitchell after the game.

This Utah Jazz team is thus the first in NBA history to score 20 or more three-pointers in three consecutive games, and the best Croatian basketball player, Bojan Bogdanović, significantly contributed to this record, currently averaging 16.8 points from three-pointers or 40.8% (throwing in 2.5 three-pointers on the average per game).

But that isn't the only record they set. 

Utah's 72 three-pointers are the most in a three-game span, breaking the old record of 67 set by Milwaukee and Houston (twice). 

The Clippers defeated Boston 114:111 in a tense game at home. A second and a half before the end, Croatian center Ivica Zubac hit both free throws to confirm the Clippers victory.

The Clippers were up 12 points at halftime, but Boston eventually caught up. Brandon Boston jr. scored 27 points for the Clippers, while Reggie Jackson added 17 with seven assists.

Zubac played 32 minutes and achieved a double-double of 10 points and ten rebounds. He also had four blocks and 3/4 field goals, with 4/4 from the free-throw line. He also had one assist, four turnovers and one steal. 

Jayson Tatum was the Celtics' first name with 29 points and ten rebounds.

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November 14, 2021 - While his Utah Jazz couldn't pull out a win against the Miami Heat on Saturday night, Bojan Bogdanović had something to celebrate. He became only the second Croat to reach the NBA 8,000-point mark! 

Bojan Bogdanović played his best game of the season, scoring 26 points (field goals 8-19, three-pointers 6-13) with 6 rebounds and 3 assists, but the Utah Jazz failed to beat Miami (105:111). The Utah Jazz is currently in crisis, as they have only one win in their last five games. This was also their second home defeat in a row. Miami played without Butler but still celebrated on the wings of young defenders Herro (27 points) and Robinson (22), with Kyle Lowry scoring 21 points.

Bogdanović was the top scorer for the Jazz, ahead of Jordan Clarkson (25) and Donovan Mitchell (22). 

This is the fourth defeat in five games for Utah. On the other hand, Heat achieved the first victory from the fourth attempt on the current tour of the West. Both teams are now at 8-5.

But there is some good news to the story. Not only was this Bojan's best game this season, but the Croatian basketballer became only the second Croatian to cross the 8,000-point mark in the NBA.! 

In this game, Bogdanović needed 10 points to break the 8,000 mark in his career, and he crossed it in the last quarter, nailing 19 of his 26 points then. Of Croatian basketball players, only Toni Kukoč scored more (9810), and at this pace, Babo should overtake him next season.

Furthermore, the Los Angeles Clippers and Ivica Zubac continued with great games. On Saturday night, they defeated Minnesota 129:102, and the Croatian center completely outplayed Towns, who remained at only 8 points. Zubac scored 10 points but also 12 rebounds in 22 minutes on the court. Thus, the Clippers are currently experiencing an exciting winning streak.

Paul George with 23 points and Reggie Jackson with 21 led the Clippers to their eighth win in 12 games, and Anthony Edwards with 21 points was the Wolves' top scorer.

Source: Index.hr

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November 6, 2021 - An Ivica Zubac double-double gives the Croatian basketball star his best game of the season for the LA Clippers so far. 

The LA Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-84 last on Friday night, and Croatian basketball player Ivica Zubac contributed to his team's victory with a double-double, reports