Balša Koprivica (Serbian Cyrillic: Балша Копривица; born 1 May 2000) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Partizan Belgrade of the EuroLeague, ABA League and the Basketball League of Serbia. He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. He was considered one of the top ten college recruits in the class of 2019 until he dropped to a four-star recruit during his senior year.[1]
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No. 5 – Partizan Belgrade | |||||||||||||||
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Position | Zentrum | ||||||||||||||
League | EuroLeague ABA League Basketball League of Serbia | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born | Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia | 1 May 2000||||||||||||||
Nationality | Serbian | ||||||||||||||
Listed height | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | |||||||||||||||
College | Florida State (2019–2021) | ||||||||||||||
NBA draft | 2021: 2nd round, 57th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets | |||||||||||||||
Playing career | 2021–present | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
2021–present | Partizan | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life
editKoprivica was born in Belgrade to Slaviša Koprivica and Tanja Čavić. Slaviša, who stands 6-foot-9 (2.06 m), is a former Serbian professional basketball player who won the 1992 EuroLeague with Partizan. Koprivica moved to Florida, United States in 2012. In February 2017, he joined the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in New Orleans.[2]
High school career
editKoprivica began playing high school basketball in 2015 with University School of Nova Southeastern University[3] in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. He played at the 2015 Battle at The Villages high school tournament. In July 2017, he transferred to Windermere Preparatory School[4] in Lake Butler, Orange County, Florida.
In December 2017, he transferred to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.[5]
Recruiting
editOn 26 October 2018, he committed to Florida State University.
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Balša Koprivica C |
Belgrad, Serbien | Montverde Academy (FL) | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Oct 26, 2018 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 88 247Sports: 93 ESPN: 51 | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
editKoprivica played his freshman and sophomore year with the Florida State Seminoles. As a freshman, he averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.
On 13 April 2021, Koprivica declared for the 2021 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[6]
Professional career
editPartizan (2021–present)
editOn August 23, 2021, Koprivica officially signed a three-year deal with his hometown and his father's former club Partizan, under head coach Željko Obradović.[7] His father was coached by Obradović, who played for Partizan (1991–1993).[8] In his debut season with the club, Koprivica averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds over 33 ABA League games, but Partizan failed to lift any trophy.
In 2022–23 season, his second with the club, Koprivica had his role reduced, appearing in only six EuroLeague games, but managed to lift the ABA League title with averages of 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds over 12 games played. Over 2023–23, his role improved slightly, as he averaged 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds over 14 EuroLeague games. The season was deemed to be unsuccessful for Partizan as they finished the season without lifting any trophy.[9]
NBA draft rights
editKoprivica was selected with the 57th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021 NBA draft and traded to the Detroit Pistons for Mason Plumlee and JT Thor, the 37th overall pick of the 2021 draft.[10][11] In August 2021, he joined the Pistons for the NBA Summer League. On August 11, he made his debut in the Summer League in a 111–91 loss to the Houston Rockets in which he posted 2 points and a rebound in 4 minutes.[12]
Koprivica joined the Pistons for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[13]
On June 30, 2023, the Pistons traded the draft rights to Koprivica to the Los Angeles Clippers for sum of $2.1 million.[14]
On July 18, 2024, the draft rights for Koprivica were traded from the Clippers to the Utah Jazz as part of a deal centering on Russell Westbrook and Kris Dunn.[15]
National team career
editKoprivica was a member of the Serbian U-18 national basketball team that won gold medal at the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship,[16] with Marko Pecarski as teammate. Thirty years earlier, their respective fathers Slaviša Koprivica and Miroslav Pecarski had played together for the Yugoslavia under-19 national team, winning gold at the 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.[17]
Career statistics
editGP | 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 |
Kühn | Career high |
EuroLeague
edit* | Led the league |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022–23 | Partizan | 6 | 1 | 4.4 | .500 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | .2 | .0 | .2 | 1.0 | .7 |
2023–24 | 14 | 2 | 8.3 | .833* | .000 | 1.000 | 1.7 | .3 | .2 | .6 | 3.3 | 3.9 | |
Career | 20 | 3 | 7.2 | .767 | .000 | .857 | 1.6 | .2 | .2 | .4 | 2.6 | 2.9 |
College
editYear | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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2019–20 | Florida State | 27 | 0 | 10.3 | .699 | - | .658 | 2.4 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 4.7 |
2020–21 | Florida State | 24 | 20 | 19.5 | .599 | 1.000 | .689 | 5.6 | .8 | .3 | 1.4 | 9.1 |
Career | 51 | 20 | 14.6 | .632 | 1.000 | .677 | 3.9 | .5 | .3 | .8 | 6.8 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Dominant 7ft1 Balsa Koprivica Flashes Skills! Top 2019 Center". ballislife.com. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ "NBA announces field of top international prospects for third Basketball without Borders global camp". pr.nba.com. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ Balsa Koprivica, 15-16 Varsity Basketball
- ^ "Five-star center, Koprivica, changes high schools". rivals.com. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ "Montverde adds Balsa Koprivica for TV game vs. OCP". orlandosentinel.com. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "Balsa Koprivica to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft". eurohoops.net. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Sada je i zvanično: Balša Koprivica novi centar Partizana, ugovor na tri godine". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Slaviša Koprivica o sinu: Mene je u Partizanu trenirao početnik, a Balšu će najbolji trener u Evropi". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "Očekuje nas burno leto u Partizanu – ko ostaje, a ko odlazi?" (in Serbian). 6 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ "2021 NBA Draft results: Picks 1-60". nba.com. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Charlotte Hornets Acquire Mason Plumlee and the Draft Rights to JT Thor". nba.com. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "91-111 Pistons @ Rockets Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV". nba.com. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Detroit Pistons 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- ^ "Home". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Hundman, Gabby (July 18, 2024). "Utah Jazz Complete Trade with LA Clippers". NBA.com. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
- ^ "Player Profile at the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship". FIBA.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ "Koprivica-Pecarski, 30 godina kasnije" (in Serbian). kosmagazin.com. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
External links
edit- Florida State Seminoles bio
- Balša Koprivica at aba-liga.com
- Balša Koprivica at euroleaguebasketball.net
- Balša Koprivica on Instagram