Rockets Select Bostjan Nachbar with 15th Pick in NBA Draft

“Bostjan had a tremendous workout here, and Rudy Tomjanovich had the opportunity to scout him during the European Final Four,” Rockets General Manager Carroll Dawson said. “His shot is as textbook as you would want to see and he is very athletic. He gets as many dunks as centers, and he gets into the paint. He’s really a jumping jack with a great shot.”

Nachbar has played his last two seasons with Benetton Treviso, averaging 9.3 points on .557 shooting (including a 3-point percentage of. 347) in 65 Italian League games and 9.3 points on .472 shooting (including a 3-point percentage of. 354) in 33 Euroleague games. The 21-year old also averaged 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals in Italian play and 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals in Euroleague play. A member of the Slovenian National Team, Nachbar helped Benetton to the European Final Four this past season.

This past season marked his first year as a starter for Benetton, as he averaged 13.7 points on .604 shooting (including a 3-point percentage of. 374) with 4.1 rebounds in Italian play and 12.9 points on .475 shooting (including a 3-point percentage of. 333) with 3.7 rebounds in Euroleague play. In his first year with Benetton, he stood as the youngest foreign player in the Italian A-1 League, posting averages of 4.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in Italian play and 3.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in Euroleague play.

Before coming to Italy, Nachbar played for three different teams in three seasons in Slovenia. He played in both the Slovenian All-Star Game and the Nike Hoop Summit games in each of his final two seasons in Slovenia. In his last year in Slovenia, he averaged 9.0 points and 2.6 rebounds for Pivovarna Lasko. Prior to this, Nachbar averaged 12.3 points and 3.2 rebounds for Maribor. He began his professional career by averaging 7.4 points and 2.4 rebounds for Olimpija Ljubljana, who won the Lithuanian national championship.