Dragan Bender ( Croatian Dragan Bender ; born November 17, 1997 in Chaplina , Bosnia and Herzegovina ) is a Croatian professional basketball player who plays in the position of heavy forward and center . He was selected in the NBA draft of 2016 under the general 4th number. He plays for the basketball team of the National Basketball Association Milwaukee Bucks and the national team of Croatia . Prior to performing in Israel and the United States, he graduated from the basketball school of Nikola Vuychich .
| Dragan Bender | |
|---|---|
| Horv. Dragan bender | |
 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | |
| Position | Heavy Forward / Center |
| Growth | 216 cm |
| Weight | 102 kg |
| Citizenship |  Croatia |
| Date of Birth | November 17, 1997 (age 21) |
| Place of Birth | Chaplin , Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| NBA draft | 4th (1st round), 2016 , Phoenix Suns |
Professional career
Croatia (2012–2014)
Bender began his career in the KK Split team in 2013. In 2014, he signed a one-year contract with the KK Kastela team.
Israel (2014–2016)
In 2014, Bender became a Maccabi player (Tel Aviv) , signing a seven-year contract with an Israeli club [1] . In the same year it was leased to another Israeli club, Ironi Ramat Gan.
Phoenix Suns
On June 23, 2016 at the 2016 draft, he was chosen by the Phoenix Suns team under the fourth number [2] . The player was considered as the best foreign player in the draft, with good throwing technique and opportunities for growth as a "big" [3] . It became the highest draft of the team since 1987, when Armen Gilliam was chosen under the second number, and also became the highest peak for Croatian players [4] . July 7, signed a rookie contract and joined the team in the 2016 NBA Summer League [5] . In five games of the summer league he scored an average of 8.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, gave 1 assists, made 1 interception and 1 block shot per game, on average [6] . Despite the not very high efficiency and percentage of hits, scouts praised Dragan's playing qualities [7] . The player came to Phoenix with a personal trainer, Croatian specialist Mladan Sestan, who worked with Dragan almost every day for six years. He continued to train the player in his debut season and prepare for the requirements of the NBA [8] .
Bender made his debut in the official match for the Suns in the opening match on October 26, 2016 in the match against Sacramento Kings . Leaving the bench, in 12 minutes on the court scored 10 points, scoring 4 out of 5 shots from the game, but the team lost with a score of 113–94 [9] . For the first time in the NBA’s history, in that match, there were three teenage debut league teenagers in the match: Devin Booker , Marquez Criss , as well as Bender himself [10] . Bender, along with Booker and Adetokunbo, became the first 18-year-old to score 10 points in the match since the start of the 2006–07 season [11] . He repeated his record (10 points) in a match against Portland on November 8, 2016, which his team lost 124–121 [12] . For the third time this season, he scored 10 points on December 3 in a match lost to the Warriors (138–109) [13] . On December 26, Bender scored the first double-double in his career, gaining 11 points and making 13 rebounds in a match against Houston Rockets (Suns lost 131–115) [14] . On February 8, 2017, Bender missed about six weeks due to ankle surgery [15] . He returned to action on April 2 in a match against Houston, which for the Suns was the 12th consecutive defeat [16] .
Bender began the 2017–18 season with participation in the NBA Summer League in July 2017 [17] . In five matches he scored an average of 14.2 points, made 6 rebounds and gave 2.4 assists on average per game.
Croatia national team
Bender made his Croatia debut at the 2012 World Youth Basketball Championships.
Achievements
- Champion of Israel (2): 2014/2015 , 2015/2016
Statistics
NBA Statistics
| Season | Team | Regular season | Playoff series | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | ||
| 2016/17 | Phoenix | 43 | 0 | 13.3 | 35,4 | 27.7 | 36,4 | 2,4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 3.4 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 2017/18 | Phoenix | 82 | 37 | 25,2 | 38.6 | 36.6 | 76.5 | 4.4 | 1,6 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 6.5 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| 2018/19 | Phoenix | 46 | 27 | 18.0 | 44.7 | 21.8 | 59.3 | 4.0 | 1,2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 5,0 | Did not participate | ||||||||||
| Total | 171 | 64 | 20.3 | 39,4 | 32.1 | 64.7 | 3.8 | 1,2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 5.3 | Did not participate | |||||||||||
| Hover over the abbreviations in the table heading to read their interpretation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Statistics in other leagues
| Season | Team | League | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
| 2012/13 | All clubs | All leagues | 2 | 0 | 3.0 | 50,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0.5 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 | |
| 2012/13 | Split | Championship of Croatia | 2 | 0 | 3.0 | 50,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0.5 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 | |
| 2015/16 | All clubs | All leagues | 38 | 3 | 12.9 | 42.3 | 33.8 | 71.9 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 4.4 | |
| 2015/16 | Maccabi (Tel Aviv) | Israel Championship | 28 | 3 | 14.5 | 46.6 | 36.9 | 73.3 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 5.5 | |
| 2015/16 | Maccabi (Tel Aviv) | Euroleague | 7 | 0 | 10.5 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 50,0 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2.1 | |
| 2015/16 | Maccabi (Tel Aviv) | European Cup | 3 | 0 | 4.1 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0.7 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0.7 | 0,0 | |
| Total | 40 | 3 | 12,4 | 42,4 | 33.3 | 69.7 | 2,4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 4.3 | |||
| Hover over the abbreviations in the table heading to read their interpretation | ||||||||||||||
Notes
- ↑ The future of basketball looks a lot like Croatia's Dragan Bender . SB Nation . Date of treatment March 13, 2016.
- ↑ Suns select Dragan Bender with No. 4 pick . SI.com (June 23, 2016). Date of treatment July 12, 2016.
- ↑ Suns Select Dragan Bender with 4th Pick of 2016 NBA Draft
- ↑ Phoenix Suns take Dragan Bender No. 4 in NBA draft
- ↑ Suns Sign Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss and Tyler Ulis
- ↑ 2016 Summer League Player Profile Archived on July 14, 2016.
- ↑ Five Observations From NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
- ↑ Phoenix Suns' Dragan Bender, an old pro at 18, knows the grind
- ↑ Kings vs. Suns - Box Score . ESPN.com (October 26, 2016). Date of treatment October 27, 2016.
- ↑ Opening Night Game Preview: Phoenix Suns kick off season against Sacramento Kings
- ↑ Bender is first @NBA 18y / o to score 10+ in a ...
- ↑ Suns vs. Trail Blazers - Box Score
- ↑ Suns vs. Warriors - Box Score
- ↑ Harden scores 32 points and Rockets cruise past Suns 131-115
- ↑ Dragan Bender Undergoes Successful Surgery
- ↑ Rockets, without Harden, send Suns to 12th straight loss
- ↑ Phoenix Suns announce roster for NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
Links
- Career statistics and athlete information with NBA.com (English) , or Basketball-Reference.com (English)
- Euroleague.net
- Eurobasket.com