April 13, 2021 - Not only did he score 33 points for Utah on Monday, but Bojan Bogdanović became the first Croatian NBA player to hit 1000 career 3-pointers!

Although Croatia national team player Bojan Bogdanović achieved his best performance this season with 33 points, his Utah Jazz, which boasts the best ratio of victories and defeats in the NBA league, surprisingly lost at home to the Washington Wizards (121-125), thus breaking a series of 24 consecutive home wins. 

The Jazz was 13 points behind in the middle of the last quarter, only to get closer to -2 (119-121) at the last minute, but they failed to complete the comeback.

The most efficient at home was Donovan Mitchell with 42 points, while the Wizards were led by Bradley Beal with 34 points and Russell Westbrook with 25 goals and 14 rebounds and assists.

????? getting his ??????? #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/ZcjdLu1gwB

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) April 13, 2021

With this defeat, Utah's ratio dropped to 40-14, while Washington is in 12th place in the East (20-33).

Bogdanović spent 35:36 minutes on the court with 4-9 field goals, 6-9 three-pointers, and 7-8 from the free-throw line with five rebounds and one assist. However, by scoring six three-pointers, he exceeded 1000 in his NBA career and has recorded 1002 in total!

Bogdanović became the first Croat and only the 127th player with that jubilee in NBA history since the introduction of threes 42 years ago. Babo has been a Croatian record holder for a long time since he skipped Toni Kukoč, who ended his NBA career with 731 three-pointers.

@44Bojan last night:
33 PTS
6-10 3PT
??He became first Croatian player in @NBA history to hit 1000 career three pointers (1002 total). Only 126 players before him reached that number. Just a kid from Mostar, standing shoulder to shoulder with one of the best NBA shooters! ? pic.twitter.com/ChVrlRaNSL

— Andrija Cmrečnjak (@ZiziPecina) April 13, 2021

Bogdanović reached this jubilee in the 516th NBA game. By comparison, Sacramento defender Buddy Hield recently scored his 1000th three-pointer in his 350th appearance, breaking Stephen Curry's record of 369 appearances.

Bojan currently needs 80 points to enter the top 100 three-pointers of all time. Tracy McGrady is currently in the 100th position. There are ten more active players between McGrady and Bogdanović, meaning he will probably need to exceed 1100 three-pointers to break into the Top 100.

At the pace of 2.4 three-pointers per game, which is how many he is averaging this season, he would need about forty more appearances to reach that venture before the end of the year, depending on the start date of next season.

At the very top is still Ray Allen with 2973 threes, but he is dangerously close to Stephen Curry, who scored ten in last night's historic game and is now at 2719 in his career.

The Utah defeat was used by the Phoenix Suns, who, with a sure 126-120 victory against the weak Houston Rockets this season, are only one and a half games behind. Croatia national team player Dario Šarić added nine points to his team's new victory (1-5 field goals, 2-3 three-pointers,1-2 free throws) with five rebounds and one steal 17:51 minutes spent on the court. 

The best in Phoenix's ranks was Jae Crowder with 26 and Devin Booker with 24 points, while Christian Wood was the best for Houston with 25 points and 15 rebounds.

Luka Šamanić also got a chance in the San Antonio Spurs away victory to Orlando Magic (120-97), scoring seven points in 7:45 minutes spent in the game (2-3 field goals, 1-1 three-pointers, 0- 1free throws). DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 19 points, while R.J. Hampton with 16 points was the most efficient for the Magic.

With this victory, San Antonio reached a 50/50 performance with a 26-26 ratio and is ninth in the West, while Orlando, with 17-37, is the penultimate 14th in the East.

The New York Knicks as hosts defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (111-96), who are still without LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Former Lakers player Julius Randle scored 34 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, while Dennis Schroeder was the most efficient for the Lakers with 21 points. 

The Knicks are now eighth in the East with a 28-27 ratio, while the Lakers are fifth in the West with a 33-21 ratio.

The Philadelphia 76ers returned to the top of the East with an away win against the Dallas Mavericks (113-95). Joel Embiid was excellent for the Sixers with 36 points, while Luka Dončić's 32 points were not enough for the Mavs.

Philadelphia is now 37-17, one win less and one game less than the Brooklyn Nets in second, who have postponed their Minnesota match against the Timberwolves due to the riots in Minneapolis, while Dallas is seventh in the West with 29-24.

Stephen Curry had a great evening, scoring 53 points in the 116-107 Golden State Warriors victory against the Denver Nuggets and became the best Warriors scorer in history, overtaking Wilt Chamberlain. Nikola Jokić's 27 points did not help the Nuggets. 

Golden State is now 26-28 and holds 10th place in the West, while Denver is 4th in the West with 34-20.

Source: HRT

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March 2, 2021 - The brilliant Bojan Bogdanović hits 7 threes for the third time this season. The Croatian basketball player has never had more than two games with 7 or more made threes until this year.

Index.hr reports that Utah Jazz lost to the New Orleans Pelicans 124:129 in last night's game despite one of the best performances of this season by Croatia star Bojan Bogdanović, who finished the match with 31 points.

Utah was one step away from creating a big turnaround, coming back from a 17-point deficit to only -1, but ultimately recorded their eighth defeat of the season. Utah is still the leading team in the NBA, with a ratio of 27 wins and eight losses.

In the last ten games, Bogdanović recorded a 32 percent accuracy for three-pointers, but he opened this game with five three-pointers, and by the end, he had scored a total of seven.

Bojan: 31p | 7 3pm | 7r | 3s | 1a
Rudy: 22p | 9r | 5b | 1a | 1s
Don: 21p | 8a | 4r
JC: 20p | 5r | 4a | 3 3pm | 1s
Mike: 10p | 8a | 3r | 2s | 2 3pm
Royce: 8p | 3r | 2a | 2s | 2 3pm
Georges: 8p | 2 3pm | 1r
Fav: 5r | 4p | 1s | 1b
Joe: 2a | 2r | 1a #podiumpostgame | @podiumhq pic.twitter.com/Ju75dpLG7g

— utahjazz (@utahjazz) March 2, 2021

For the third time this season, he scored seven three-pointers, a record achievement for the Croatian. Never before in the same season had he had more than two games with so many three-pointers. Bogdanović had 11 three-pointer attempts, as many as the entire Pelicans team who recorded as many made threes as he did.

In the third game of this season in which he scored 30 or more points, Bogdanović was 11/21 for field goals. His season record is still 32 points, which he achieved against the Dallas Mavericks in late January.

Zion Williamson was the best for the Pelicans with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, Brandon Ingram had 26 points and five assists, and Lonzo Ball had 23 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.

Young Croatian basketballer Luka Šamanić played his best game of the season. In the San Antonio Spurs' loss to the Brooklyn Nets, James Harden reached a triple-double with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 15 assists. Šamanić played nearly 17 minutes. He used them for eight points and five rebounds. The victory went to the Nets with a score of 124:113.

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January 21, 2021 - 23-year-old Ivica Zubac records his first double-double of the season in the Los Angeles Clippers' win against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. 

Ivica Zubac played the best game of the season in the LA Clippers' 115:96 victory against Sacramento on Wednesday. 

The Croatian basketballer played 22 and a half minutes and achieved his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. He hit four of five shots in play and all three free throws and even recorded one assist and one block.

“My teammates needed me, I jumped as I know how and tried to contribute in both directions,” Zubac said after the game.

He is no longer a starter this season and comes off the bench.  Thus, even though his minutes are almost the same, it can be seen in his numbers because he is scoring 1.8 points and 2.6 rebounds less than last season.

"I accepted it as a challenge. I have to be ready from the first minute when I enter the game. It's different than when you're a starter, but we all have to adjust. I'm doing what I can to help the team," Zubac said modestly explaining the difference in approach between the two roles. 

Teammate Paul George also praised the Croatian Clippers' player. 

"Zu doesn't know how dominant he can be. You forget how young he is, he's still a baby... it is very rare you find bigs his size in the league today. That is one of the advantages he has. He has to own being the biggest guy on the floor."

Paul George on Ivica Zubac's 12 rebounds: "Zu doesn't know how dominant he can be. You forget how young he is, he's still a baby... it is very rare you find bigs his size in the league today. That is one of the advantages he has. He has to own being the biggest guy on the floor."

— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) January 21, 2021

Kawhi Leonard was the Clippers' top scorer on Wednesday with 32 points, George scored 19 with 12 assists and seven rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 25 points.

Source: Index.hr

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November 23, 2020 - The latest news about Croats in the NBA, as Dario Saric signs a three-year contract worth $27 million with Phoenix. 

Croatia national basketball team member Dario Saric has agreed on a new three-year contract with the Phoenix Suns, announced Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The Sibenik native will earn $27 million in three years with the Suns.

Dario Saric has agreed to a three-year, $27M deal to stay with Phoenix, agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of @excelsm_bball tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 23, 2020

Saric's rookie contract, which he signed with Philadelphia in 2016, expired this year. From there, he went to Minnesota, and in July 2019, he ended up in Phoenix. He finished last season averaging 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

Saric had ups and downs with Phoenix, and his worst was in January and February this year when his minutes were reduced to below 20 per game, and thus his performance worsened (7.1 points and 4 rebounds per game). But later in the season, Saric showed his worth, averaging 18.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in March. Unfortunately, because of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a break in the NBA, which lasted until the end of July.

Recall, the end of the season and the playoffs were held in a 'bubble' in Orlando. Phoenix won all eight games in Orlando and missed the playoffs by a hair. In those eight games, Saric had an average of 14.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

The Croatian basketball player will receive $8.3 million for the first year of the contract, $9.7 million for the second, and $9.7 million for the third.

Saric started 51 of 66 games for Phoenix with averages of 10.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 35.7% three-pointers in 24.7 minutes of play. The Suns were happy with Saric and planned to bring him back. They activated his qualifying offer and turned him into a limited free agent. This meant that Dario could negotiate with other clubs, but the Suns could equalize that offer and thus keep him on the squad.

Source: HRT

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August 31, 2020 - The Los Angeles Clippers have advanced to the Western Conference semifinals after winning 111:97 in Game 6 of the series against the Dallas Mavericks. Croatian Ivica Zubac and the LA Angeles Clippers celebrated in the series 4:2.

This time, Dallas was not helped by the brilliant game of Luka Doncic, who led the Mavs with 38 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. However, Doncic couldn’t act alone against Los Angeles, led by Kawhi Leonard scoring 33 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals.

Croatian center Ivica Zubac was also brilliant with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and he also had the best +/- in the team of +32. Namely, +/- is a statistic that shows how much a particular team has made or lost with one player on the court. The Clippers were better than the Mavs by 32 points with Zubac on the floor.

Los Angeles immediately took a 7-0 lead at the start of the game, but Dallas quickly equalized and held on until the end of the half. Moreover, the Mavs finished the first quarter leading 34:29, but the Clippers proved better in the attack for a six-point lead by the end of the half.

It should be mentioned that Doncic was also without his best teammate and the team's second-best scorer Kristaps Porzingis, who is recovering from a ruptured meniscus in his right knee. The Slovene did not start well in the second half; the Clippers scored from all sides and quickly went ahead 23 points. However, Doncic and the Mavs did not give up. The great Doncic took matters into his own hands and practically independently reduced the Clippers' lead to six points with nine and a half minutes to go.

Kawhi Leonard then made it impossible for the Mavs to come back. Kawhi dominated in one-on-one situations from the halfway line. He shot over the guards, and when the Mavs finally decided to double-team him, the Clippers lead hit double digits, and Doncic could no longer act alone. Purely for comparison, Doncic had only two teammates who scored double-digits - Tim Hardaway Jr. (10 points with 4-15 shots in play) and Dorian Finney-Smith (16 points). On the other hand, in addition to Ivica Zubac, who played a key role, Leonard can thank Paul George, who added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Reggie Jackson played a big role from the bench with 14 points and five rebounds, of which he scored 12 in the last quarter.

Ivica Zubac to @Farbod_E on Doc calling it ‘the playoffs of Zu’s life’ - “It’s not hard to have the playoffs of my life because I’ve been to playoffs one time before $ it was not really good... I really love the trust he’s putting in me. I wanna return the favor. and play good.” pic.twitter.com/sxrVr6J7GN

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) August 30, 2020

The Clippers await the winner of the Utah-Denver series. Doncic and Dallas are going home after a superb season. 

Source: Index.hr

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May 14, 2020 - Croatia will have the help of NBA players in the qualifications for the Olympic Games next summer.

Gol.hr reports that the qualifying tournaments for national basketball teams to participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which have been postponed for the summer of 2021, hosted by Split, Belgrade, Kaunas and Canadian Victoria, will be played from June 29 to July 4 next year. The news was decided after consultations between the World Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

At the meeting of the FIBA Executive Board in early April, changes were voted in the competition calendar, where the qualifying tournaments were scheduled from June 22 to July 4, with the representatives of the umbrella basketball organization advocating the start of the competition as late as possible, so that the national teams and players have more time to prepare.

The biggest problem for the realization of this idea was the deadline for the completion of Olympic qualifications for all sports, set by the IOC on June 29, 2021. However, the working group of the IOC Executive Board accepted the arguments put forward by FIBA representatives in talks on qualifying tournament dates and on Wednesday, it was confirmed that the date for all four tournaments would be from June 29 to July 4, according to a district letter sent to national federations on Wednesday by FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.

Recall, Croatia is one of the hosts of the tournament. Thus, in Split, the Croatia national team will face off against Brazil and Tunisia in the first round, and Russia, Germany and Mexico in the second group. The two best national teams will advance to the semifinals, and only the winning national team of each of the four tournaments will win a place among the 12 national teams that will play at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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March 11, 2020 -  Dragan Bender, Ivica Zubac, Dario Saric and Mario Hezonja each scored a combined 59 points on Tuesday night in the NBA.

Gol.hr reports that Dario Bender and Dario Saric played masterfully in their teams' defeats in the NBA on Tuesday night. Bender was the Golden State Warriors' best player in their loss to the LA Clippers, while Kawhi Leonard was the top scorer of the meeting, recording 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists in just 25 minutes on the court.

Bender scored eight of 12 shots in play, two of which were successful from behind the three-point line. He was unmistakable from the free-throw line (5-5). His excellent performance was not followed by other Warrior players, who were defeated 131:107 in front of Clippers' fans.

Recall, Bender is playing his second ten-day contract with the Warriors, and if he continues playing like this, extending his NBA career should be more than sure. Bender was a senior in the 4th pick four years ago, but he didn't make it in Phoenix and Milwaukee. He is currently playing the best basketball of his career with the Warriors.

Ivica Zubac played 20 minutes for the LA Clippers, scoring four points and 12 rebounds.

Dario Saric was also brilliant in the Phoenix Suns jersey, even though they lost away in Portland. Saric spent almost 40 minutes on the court, scoring 24 points, with 11 rebounds, two assists and a block. He hit nine of 16 shots in play, four of them three-pointers from six attempts.
 

The Blazers celebrated 121:105 in front of their fans and were led by a balanced starting five. All five players were in the double-digits, four of whom went for over 20 points. The top scorer was Damian Lillad, with 25 points.

In the Portland lineup, Mario Hezonja received 14 minutes on the court, which he used for eight points and four rebounds. He was unmistakable from the game and scored all three shots in play -  two of which were three-pointers. 

Combined, the Croatian players tallied 59 points and 34 rebounds in the same night, without Croatia’s most consistent national team player - Bojan Bogdanovic.

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February 10, 2020 - For the second time this season, Bojan Bogdanovic scored a three-pointer at the final buzzer to give Utah Jazz the win.

"This shot was better than the one against Milwaukee," Bojan Bogdanovic said after the game, which Utah Jazz won 114:113 against Houston Rockets.

Gol.hr reports that after P. J. Tucker hit a three-pointer to give Houston a 113:111 lead with 1.6 seconds remaining, and it looked like Utah would be without the win at the Toyota Center.

Bojan Bogdanovic wasn’t having the best evening. For the first time since arriving in Salt Lake City, he failed to score any baskets in the first half, and by the end of the game he was on the bench, with just five points and one shot in play (1/6).

?| @lockedonsports with the call on the game-winner ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/jtZ5TdCv6i

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 10, 2020

Still, coach Quin Snyder decided to use him in the last action of the game.

"I didn't even have to be on the court considering how I played. But the coaches believed in me; they gave me a chance to shoot for the win. I believed I could hit that shot and in the end, we came to that momentous victory," Bogdanovic said overjoyed after the game in which he scored just eight points and recorded single-digits for the second time this season.

Bogdanovic was on the run at the start of the action, then headed for the basket. Then, through the blocks of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, he was nine meters from the basket, received the ball from Joe Ingles, who threw it into play, and nailed a three-pointer over PJ Tucker and James Harden's outstretched arm.

"This one was better than the one against Milwaukee," Bojan answered when asked where he would rank this winning basket.

Three months ago, Bogdanovic hit a three-pointer at the buzzer at home game against the Bucks, when he had 1.3 seconds to hit the winning shot. And even then, Coach Snyder trusted him.

"He's a great competitor and I always tell him just to play. I don't need to point this out; he knows how much I believe in him," the Utah Jazz coach said.

Compliments also came from home team coach Mike D'Antoni.

"There were two players on it. I was afraid we wouldn't make a foul because they were very close. I tip my hat to him for that shot.”

On the way to the Jazz victory, Jordan Clarkson, who was the top scorer with 30 points, made a big contribution to the win. Donovan Mitchell recorded 24 points and Mike Conley scored 20 points. Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

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February 1, 2020 - Toni Kukoc, the famous Split basketball player who became one of the first established European players in the NBA, is once again in the NBA spotlight.

Anyone that followed the NBA in the 90s knows that Croatian basketball player Toni Kukoc contributed to the golden era of the Chicago Bulls - the age of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. With the Bulls, Kukoc won the NBA championship three times. He then went on to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996, and was the 4th and currently the last player to win the award and the NBA title in the same year. 

Today, Kukoc still plays a part in the NBA - he is the Special Advisor to Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. 

Despite his success, Kukoc is still often overlooked as one of the NBA greats. Author Sam Smith tries to persuade readers that Kukoc was far more vital to the NBA then he’s given credit for.

“There's this misconception about the world's most famous basketball team, the 1992 Olympics Dream Team of NBA legends, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and the rest. The conventional wisdom is that the team was assembled to display the brilliance of basketball in the United States.

And, to some extent, that is accurate.

But the overriding reason why USA Basketball began scrambling around to gather its greatest was because they'd pretty much given up trying to beat Vlade Divac, Dino Radja, Drazen Petrovic and Toni Kukoc, the core of the Yugoslavian national team,” author Smith begins. 

In the piece, Smith highlights Kukoc’s European basketball career and international success with Yugoslavia. 

“Kukoc's international resume is almost a hall of fame of its own. In addition to the medals from those victories over top U.S. teams, Kukoc was repeatedly honored in Europe.

Kukoc won the European Player of the Year award five times. He won the media's player of the year award as Mr. Europe four times. He led his team to three straight European championships and was final four MVP three times. He was a four-time Yugoslavian league champion and MVP of the team that included Petrovic and Radja, the latter his boyhood neighbor. He was MVP of the world championships in Argentina. He was the slickest ballhandler this side of Magic Johnson and was known as, ‘White Magic.’"

His Yugoslavian teammate Vlade Divac even chimed in.

"His impact in the NBA was great. Especially that second threepeat; he was a main guy, Sixth Man winner," noted Divac. "He was someone who sacrificed. He was a big, big thing in Europe and he came here and sacrificed to be a role player.”

Divac goes on to say that Toni should have been inducted in the NBA Hall of Fame even before him or Dino (Radja). 

Sam Smith believes that now is his time.

You can read the full article on the NBA website here.

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January 7, 2020 - Croatia basketball team player Bojan Bogdanovic had another memorable night in the NBA on Monday. 

Namely, T.portal reports that the Croatia captain scored 35 points (8/12 two-pointers shot, 3/9 three-pointers, 10/10 free throws) in 33:16 minutes on the court. Bogdanovic was the Utah Jazz's top scorer in the 128:26 away win against the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Croatian basketball player also made NBA history on Monday and became the first player to have played more than one game in which he scored more than 25 points without registering one assist, rebound, block, or steal. Bogdanovic first achieved this on March 29, 2018, playing for Indiana against Sacramento. The last player to score 35 points without rebounds and assists was Alan Houston in 2000.

Bojan Bogdanović the 1st player in NBA history with multiple 25-point games with no rebounds, assists, steals or blocks. (blocks and steals became official in 1973-74)

He did it tonight and also on March 29, 2018 against the Kings.

(h/t @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/nvHFGcniKJ

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 7, 2020

Utah has thus reached its sixth consecutive win in New Orleans, and the 11th in its last 12 appearances. In the uncertain ending, the Jazz led 128:126 thanks to Donovan Mitchell, who scored 1:12 minutes before the final buzzer. Brandon Ingram had the last chance, but Rudy Gobert prevented the game from going into extra time. 

In addition to Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles was excellent for the Jazz with 22 points, Rudy Gobert recorded 19 rebounds, while Brandon Ingram scored 35 points for the Pelicans.

Serbian and Slovenian players also had a great Monday evening. Nikola Jokic set a new career record with 47 points in the 123:115 away victory for the Denver Nuggets against the Atlanta Hawks, while Luka Doncic achieved a triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the 118:110 Dallas Mavericks home win against the Chicago Bulls. 

The San Antonio Spurs were able to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 126:104 at home, giving them only their seventh defeat of the season. DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 25 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best for the Bucks with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Luka Samanic did not play for the Spurs, nor did Dragan Bender for the Bucks

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