{"id":3451,"date":"2017-01-11T14:39:09","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T19:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=3451"},"modified":"2017-06-08T02:41:34","modified_gmt":"2017-06-08T06:41:34","slug":"ivica-zubac-bright-future-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2017\/01\/11\/ivica-zubac-bright-future-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ivica Zubac Has a Bright Future With the Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the 2016 NBA<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Draft<\/strong>, the Los Angeles Lakers<\/strong><\/a> held two picks, one in each round. The first made headlines for obvious reasons, as the Lakers drafted Duke<\/strong> forward Brandon Ingram<\/a><\/strong> No. 2 overall. With the first round out of the way, fans weren’t sure where the team would go in the second. The Lakers would go on to draft Croatian<\/strong> center Ivica Zubac<\/a><\/strong> 32nd overall. All of Lakers Nation would rush to find out more about the mysterious European big man.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ivica Zubac – Player Profile<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At 19 years old, Zubac was one of the youngest players to enter the draft. Standing at 7’1”, Zubac is a skilled center,\u00a0capable of playing power forward in emergencies. Zubac began his professional basketball career with Cibona Zagreb<\/strong>, the team known for producing Philadelphia 76ers<\/strong><\/a> forward Dario Saric<\/a><\/strong>. Zubac would move on to play for Serbian<\/strong> side Mega Leks<\/strong> in early 2016, before declaring for the NBA draft just months later. Born in Mostar<\/strong>, Bosnia<\/strong>, Zubac actually represents Croatia<\/strong> at the national level.<\/p>\n

How Zubac Landed in Los Angeles\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

On draft night, Lakers fans wouldn’t have expected the Zubac selection. However, they weren’t the only ones left surprised. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak<\/a><\/strong> didn’t expect Zubac to still be available when the second round began. The Lakers and Kupchak had highlighted the\u00a0center as a possible middle to late first round pick. After the draft, Kupchak spoke to the media at a press conference and had this to say on Zubac: “We though he\u2019d be a first round pick and he dropped, and we didn\u2019t think he\u2019d be there, and we\u2019re ecstatic to draft him.”<\/p>\n

Kupchak used the word “ecstatic” for good reason, as the Lakers believe they have found a player with terrific upside. Some have even compared the young center to Memphis Grizzlies<\/strong><\/a> big man Marc Gasol<\/a><\/strong>. Gasol, like Zubac, was a second round draft pick of the Lakers.<\/p>\n

From the Draft to the D-League\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Zubac would head straight to the NBA Development League<\/strong> to start his career.\u00a0Now at the mid-point of the NBA season, Zubac has played 12 games in the D-League and has been impressive. Due to injuries on the Lakers roster, Zubac has been going back and forth between the NBA and the D-League. Lakers fans have enjoyed seeing the future in Zubac, but the big man would spend his best minutes in the D-League, not the NBA.<\/p>\n

Playing for the Los Angeles D-Fenders<\/strong>, Zubac is averaging 15.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. The impressive rookie has become a key player for the 17-5 D-Fenders, when available. Zubac is earning a great amount of experience in the D-League, not to mention the experience of watching from the Lakers bench.<\/p>\n