.jpg) Zubac with theLos Angeles Clippers in 2022 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 40 – Los Angeles Clippers | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| League | NBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1997-03-18)18 March 1997 (age 28) Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Croatian | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2016: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by theLos Angeles Lakers | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2013–present | ||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||
Stats at NBA.com  | |||||||||||||||
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Ivica Zubac (/ˌɪvɪtsəˈzuːbɑːts/;Croatian:[îʋitsazǔːbats]; EVE-its-uh ZOO-bahts; born 18 March 1997) is a Croatian professionalbasketball player for theLos Angeles Clippers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and theCroatian national basketball team. He was drafted by theLos Angeles Lakers in the second round in the2016 NBA draft. He played for the Lakers until the 2019 trade deadline when he was traded to the Clippers. During the2021 NBA Playoffs, he helped the Clippers reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history.
Zubac came through theyouth system ofCibona 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 includingNik Slavica andAnte Žižić after the departure ofDario Šarić. Zubac played in Croatia's top-tier levelA-1 League and theABA League his first year, and also saw action in theFIBA Europe Cup his second year.[1] In February 2016, he left Cibona because of the financial difficulties of the team, and signed withMega Leks of Serbia.[2]
On 23 June 2016, Zubac was selected with the 32nd overall pick in the2016 NBA draft by theLos Angeles Lakers.[3] On 7 July, he signed with the Lakers and joined the team for the2016 NBA Summer League.[4] Zubac made his NBA debut on 2 November 2016, scoring six points as the fill-in starter forTimofey Mozgov, as the Lakers defeated theAtlanta 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 theDenver 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, Zubac had 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high four blocked shots in a 118–116 loss to thePhiladelphia 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 theDenver Nuggets.[8] On 31 March 2017, Zubac 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 theLos Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers'D-League affiliate.[10]
During the 2017–18 season, Zubac had multiple assignments with theSouth Bay Lakers, the Lakers'NBA G League affiliate due to limited playing time in the regular season.
On 7 February 2019, Zubac andMichael Beasley were traded to theLos Angeles Clippers in exchange forMike 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 theHouston 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 theDallas 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 of playing time.[14]
On 15 February 2021, Zubac scored a season high 22 points, alongside grabbing 8 rebounds, in a 125–118 win over theMiami Heat.[15] On 14 April, Zubac recorded adouble-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds in a 100–98 win over theDetroit Pistons.[16]
On 19 January 2022, Zubac scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds during a 130–128 overtime loss against theDenver Nuggets.[17] During the2021-22 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 theIndiana Pacers.[21]
On 21 April 2024, Zubac scored a playoff career-high 20 points and 15 rebounds in a 109–97 victory against theDallas Mavericks.[22]
On 30 August 2024, Zubac agreed to a three–year, $58.6 million contract extension with the Clippers.[23] He improved significantly this year, averaging career high in rebounds and points, leading to the Laker's starLeBron James wishing he had him back, considering his remarkable improvement.[24]
Zubac represented the Croatian junior national team during the2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship.[25] He averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest during the2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Greece,[26] while receiving All-World Championship Under-19 Second Team honors from the European basketball websiteeurobasket.com.[27] 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 the2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship,[28] while making the all-tournament second team (as selected byeurobasket.com).[29]
| 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 |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
Zubac was born inMostar and grew up inČitluk inBosnia and Herzegovina, just east of the Croatian border. He is a Croatian citizen.[30] Former NBA playerZoran Planinić is his cousin.[31]
