Player Bio

Ivica Zubac was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Ivan and Dijana Zubac. Ivica inherited his tall stature from his parents, who stand 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-2, respectively. He has two brothers, Mario and Antonio, who have also played competitive basketball. He also has a sister, Maria Andejela. Zubac's cousin, Zoran Planinic, played in the NBA for the Nets from 2003-06. Though Zubac was born in Bosnia & Herzegovina, he is a naturalized Croatian. He played with the Croatian junior national team during the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship and during the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Greece. Learn more about Zubac by following him on Twitter and Instagram (@ivicazubac). Zubac came up through the Croatian basketball system. He played for the youth teams of Cibona Zagreb and KK Zrinjavec Zagreb in 2013-14. The 7-foot-1 center made his debut with Cibona's senior team the following season. He appeared in 12 games and provided 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. His minutes increased incrementally in his second season, but he left Cibona due to financial difficulties. Zubac subsequently signed with Mega Bemax of Serbia. He put up 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 24.5 minutes over six games. The center has also represented Croatia in FIBA International competition. He played in the 2013 Under-16 Championship and starred for his home country in the Under-19 Championship in Greece. Zubac averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds and was honored by being named to the All-World Championship Second Team. He was chosen with the 32nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.