Ante Žižić
Ante Toni Žižić (Croatian pronunciation: [antɛ ʐǐːʐitɕ]; born 4 January 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague.[1] He was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA draft.
Žižić with the Cavaliers in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 41 – Virtus Bologna | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | LBA EuroLeague | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 4 January 1997 Split, Croatia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Croatian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 121 kg (267 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2016: 1st round, 23rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2013–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Professional career edit
Kaštela (2013–2014) edit
Žižić's first team was KK Split, in the 2013–14 season, but he played for their junior team, in which he only played in 3 games. He then moved to the Cedevita Zagreb's junior team, and with them he played in 5 games.
Gorica (2014) edit
To start the 2014–15 season, Žižić played for Gorica.
Cibona (2014–2016) edit
Žižiće moved to Cibona Zagreb for the rest of the season. In that year, he averaged 7.4 points, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks, in 15.5 minutes per game, in 25 games played in the Adriatic League. His breakout season was in the 2015–16 season.
He was named the 2015–16 ABA League season's top prospect. In that season, he averaged 12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 24.8 minutes per game, in 26 games played in the Adriatic League.[2] He was also named to the European-wide 3rd-tier-level FIBA Europe Cup's Starting Five Team of the 2015–16 season.
On 11 October 2016, Žižić was named the MVP of the fourth week of the 2016–17 ABA League season. He scored 37 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in Cibona's 89–85 win over MZT Skopje Aerodrom, in a game that was decided after double overtime.[3]
Darüşşafaka (2016–2017) edit
On 27 December 2016, Žižić left Cibona, and signed with the Turkish team Darüşşafaka Doğuş, of the Turkish Super League.[4]
With Darüşşafaka, Žižić made his debut in the European top-tier level, the EuroLeague, on 30 December 2016, in an 81–77 road loss against FC Barcelona. In his first EuroLeague game, Žižić had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.[5]
Cleveland Cavaliers (2017–2020) edit
Žižić was selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, by the Boston Celtics.[6]
On 1 July 2017, Žižić signed with the Boston Celtics.[7] Before even suiting up for a single regular-season game for the Celtics, Žižić was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and the Brooklyn Nets' unprotected 2018 first-round pick for Kyrie Irving on 22 August 2017.[8] However, eight days after the trade was first confirmed, the Celtics would also add a 2020 second-round pick from the Miami Heat in order to fully complete the deal to satisfy Cleveland's worries involving Thomas's hip injury.[9]
Žižić spent time with the Canton Charge during his rookie season. On 11 March, he scored 15 points and recorded 7 rebounds (both career highs) in a loss to Los Angeles Lakers. In the last game of the regular season, he scored 20 points and recorded 7 rebounds. The Cavaliers made it to the 2018 NBA Finals, but lost the series 4–0 to the Golden State Warriors.
Maccabi Tel Aviv (2020–2022) edit
On 25 August 2020, Žižić signed a two-year deal with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.[10] In 2020–21, he led the league with a .699 field goal percentage, and was 10th in the Euroleague with 0.8 blocks per game.[11][12]
On 9 May 2022, during a game against Hapoel Haifa, Žižić lost consciousness after hitting his head on the ground. He was rushed to a hospital and regained consciousness later that night.[13][14]
On 21 June 2022, Žižić officially parted ways with the Israeli club after two seasons.[15]
Anadolu Efes (2022–2023) edit
On 22 June 2022, Žižić signed a three-year (2+1) contract with Turkish club Anadolu Efes, the reigning back-to-back EuroLeague champions.[16]
Virtus Bologna (2023–present) edit
On 31 December 2023, Žižić signed a two-year contract with Italian powerhouse Virtus Bologna.[17]
National team career edit
Žižić played with the junior national teams of Croatia. With Croatia's junior national teams, he played at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, where he won a bronze medal, and at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, where he won a silver medal.
Personal life edit
Žižić's older brother, Andrija, is a former professional basketball player. The two brothers were teammates at Cibona Zagreb during the 2015–16 season.[18] His older brother played in 107 EuroLeague games with Cibona Zagreb, FC Barcelona, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, and he also won a EuroLeague championship with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Career statistics edit
| 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 | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
NBA edit
Regular season edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–18 | Cleveland | 32 | 2 | 6.7 | .731 | – | .724 | 1.9 | .2 | .1 | .4 | 3.7 |
| 2018–19 | Cleveland | 59 | 25 | 18.3 | .553 | – | .705 | 5.4 | .9 | .2 | .4 | 7.8 |
| 2019–20 | Cleveland | 22 | 0 | 10.0 | .569 | – | .737 | 3.0 | .3 | .3 | .2 | 4.4 |
| Career | 113 | 27 | 13.4 | .581 | – | .711 | 3.9 | .6 | .2 | .4 | 6.0 | |
Playoffs edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Cleveland | 8 | 0 | 2.9 | .500 | - | .500 | .8 | .1 | .0 | .1 | 1.6 |
| Career | 8 | 0 | 2.9 | .500 | - | .500 | .8 | .1 | .0 | .1 | 1.6 | |
EuroLeague edit
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | Darüşşafaka | 20 | 17 | 21.9 | .649 | .000 | .643 | 6.7 | .4 | .2 | .8 | 9.0 | 13.3 |
| 2020–21 | Maccabi | 34 | 30 | 19.5 | .589 | .000 | .771 | 5.4 | .7 | .4 | .8 | 9.1 | 11.4 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Anadolu Efes Spor Kulübü". m.anadoluefessk.org. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ . ABA-Liga.com. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
- ^ "Round 4 MVP: Ante Žižić (Cibona)". ABA-Liga.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ . Sportando.com. 27 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ FC BARCELONA LASSA 81 DARUSSAFAKA DOGUS ISTANBUL 77 DECEMBER 30, 2016.
- ^ Hutchinson, Kara (24 June 2016). "Boston Celtics 2016 Draft Results". NBA.com. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ "Celtics Sign Jayson Tatum, Ante Zizic". NBA.com. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ "Celtics Acquire Four-Time All-Star Kyrie Irving". NBA.com. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ Ellentuck, Matt (30 August 2017). "Kyrie Irving trade finalized with Celtics adding 2020 2nd-round pick". sbnation.com. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (25 August 2020). "Ante Zizic is officially a newcomer of Maccabi Tel Aviv". Sportando. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ^ "Israeli Super League - 2020-21 Standings and Stats".
- ^ "Euroleague Stats - RealGM".
- ^ Askounis, Johnny (9 May 2022). "Ante Zizic rushed to the hospital after a head injury". Eurohoops. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Gaydos, Ryan (10 May 2022). "Ex-NBA first-round pick suffers head injury after scary fall in Israeli basketball game, sends fans message". Fox News. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ Maggi, Alessandro (21 June 2022). "Ante Zizic officially leaves Maccabi Tel Aviv". Sportando. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Ante Zizic Anadolu Efes'te" (in Turkish). Anadolu Efes. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Ante Žižić is a new player of Virtus Segafredo Bologna!". 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Brother vs. Brother, Andrija vs. Ante" (in Croatian). Slobodna Dalmacija. 10 May 2013.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Ante Žižić at aba-liga.com
- Ante Žižić at euroleague.net
- Ante Toni Zizic at FIBA
- Ante Žižić at FIBA Europe
- Ante Žižić at draftexpress.com
- Ante Žižić at Eurobasket.com
- Ante Žižić at tblstat.net