Nikola Mirotić

Nikola Mirotić

Mirotić with Real Madrid in 2013
No. 44 – Chicago Bulls
Position Power forward
League NBA
Personal information
Born February 11, 1991
Titograd, SR Montenegro
SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality Spanish / Montenegrin[1]
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
NBA draft 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Pro career 2008–present
Career history
2008–2014 Real Madrid (Spain)
2008–2009 →Real Madrid B (Spain 4th)
2009–2010 →Palencia (Spain 2nd)
2014–present Chicago Bulls
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Nikola Mirotić (Serbian: Никола Миротић; born February 11, 1991) is a Spanish-Montenegrin[1] professional basketball player who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 208 cm (6 ft 10 in) tall power forward[2][3] previously played for Real Madrid of the Liga ACB.

Professional career

Early career

Growing up in Europe, soccer was Mirotić's true passion. As he got older, his family realized his height could be a lot more useful for another sport. At the age of 13, his grandfather introduced him to the sport of basketball.[4] Mirotić spent his childhood in Montenegro and started playing basketball with the Joker School in Podgorica.[5] At the age of 14, he signed a junior contract with Real Madrid in the summer of 2005.

Real Madrid (2008–2014)

After playing for the Real Madrid juniors from 2006 to 2008, Mirotić signed with the Real Madrid senior team of the Liga ACB in 2008. During the 2010–11 Euroleague season, he emerged as one of his team's most valuable players to win the Euroleague Rising Star award.[6] In April 2011, he signed a five-year contract extension with Real Madrid.[7] With Real Madrid, he won the Spanish King's Cup and the Spanish Supercup in 2012.

On June 23, 2011, Mirotić was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He was later traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and then traded once again to the Chicago Bulls on draft night.[8]

In the 2012–13 Euroleague season, he finished second in the Euroleague Rising Star voting to Kostas Papanikolaou,[9] and he was named to the All-Euroleague Second Team.[10] In May 2014, he was named to the All-Euroleague Second Team, for the second consecutive season.[11]

In a total of 97 games for Real Madrid, Mirotić averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.[12]

Chicago Bulls (2014–present)

On July 18, 2014, Mirotić signed with the Chicago Bulls[13] to a reported three-year, $16.6 million contract.[14] In addition, Mirotić was required to pay $3 million to Real Madrid for his contract buyout.[15]

On December 19, 2014, Mirotić scored a then career-high 27 points, as he converted all six of his three-pointers, in a 103-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[16] On January 5, 2015, he was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in December.[17] During the NBA's All-Star Weekend, Mirotić played for the World Team in the Rising Stars Challenge. He scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field in the World's 121-112 win over Team USA.[18] On March 1, he scored a career-high 29 points in a 86-96 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.[19] With injuries impacting teammates during the month of March, Mirotić was expected to fill a larger role for his team. He averaged 20.8 points and 7.6 rebounds while playing 30.8 minutes per game.[20][21] In his rookie season, Mirotić averaged 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 82 games,[22] giving him the recognition as a candidate for the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award.[23] Mirotić finished second in Rookie of the Year voting with 335 votes behind Andrew Wiggins who received 604 votes.[24] He played his first post-season game in the NBA on April 18, 2015 in Game 1 of the Bulls' first-round series match-up against the Milwaukee Bucks. In 13 minutes off the bench, he recorded 5 points and 5 rebounds.[25]

International career

Mirotić has been a member of the junior national team of Spain. He helped Spain's U20 national team win the bronze medal at the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, where he was named to the All-Tournament Team. He also led Spain to the gold medal in 2011. Mirotić was the top scorer and MVP of the tournament, averaging 27 points (tournament record) and 10 rebounds per game.[26] Mirotić is eligible to play for either Spain or Montenegro.

Personal

Mirotić and his wife, Nina, have a son named Aleksandar who was born in May 2013. His wife is the daughter of his former coach and mentor, Jadran Vujačić.[27]

Awards and accomplishments

Professional career

Spanish national team

Career statistics

Legend
  GP 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
 Bold  Career high

Note: The Euroleague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season, he also played in domestic competition.

Led the league

Euroleague

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2008–09 Real Madrid 1 0 2.1 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 -1.0
2010–11 Real Madrid 20 0 15.0 .500 .387 .857 3.3 .6 .5 .5 6.6 8.2
2011–12 Real Madrid 16 15 23.1 .525 .439 .918 4.5 .9 .8 .4 12.5 14.6
2012–13 Real Madrid 29 25 24.9 .475 .325 .851 5.3 .9 .7 .9 11.4 13.3
2013–14 Real Madrid 31 31 24.0 .508 .461 .811 4.6 1.2 1.1 .8 12.4 15.9
Career 97 71 24.2 .498 .402 .848 4.5 .9 .8 .7 10.8 13.1

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Chicago 82 3 20.2 .405 .316 .803 4.9 1.2 .7 .7 10.2
Career 82 3 20.2 .405 .316 .803 4.9 1.2 .7 .7 10.2

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Nikola Mirotic ya tiene la nacionalidad española". marca.com. Europa Press. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  2. ↑ ACB.com Spanish ACB League official player profile (Spanish).
  3. ↑ "NIKOLA MIROTIC (SPAIN)". Fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  4. ↑ How Nikola Mirotic Rose From Soccer Destiny, To European Phenom, To The NBA
  5. ↑ Las lecciones aprendidas de Nikola Mirotic y Marko Todorovic (Spanish)
  6. ↑ "Real Madrid's Nikola Mirotic chosen 2011 Rising Star". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  7. ↑ "Real Madrid extends Mirotic through 2016". Euroleague.net. 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  8. ↑ "NBA Draft: Nr 1 dla Irvinga, wybrano 10 Europejczyków". PolskiKosz.pl. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  9. ↑ Euroleague.net Rising Star Trophy winner: Kostas Papanikolaou, Olympiacos Piraeus.
  10. ↑ Euroleague.net 2012-13 All-Euroleague First and Second Teams announced.
  11. ↑ "2013-14 All-Euroleague First and Second Teams announced". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  12. ↑ MIROTIC, NIKOLA – Euroleague.net
  13. ↑ "Bulls sign forward Nikola Mirotic". NBA.com. July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Bulls Sign Nikola Mirotic To Three-Year, $16.6M Deal". RealGM.com. July 18, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Nikola Mirotic is the best paid European rookie in NBA history". HoopsHype.com. July 22, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Butler, Mirotic lead Bulls over Grizzlies 103-97". NBA.com. December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  17. ↑ NIKOLA MIROTIC NAMED KIA NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
  18. ↑ Mirotic shines among young stars
  19. ↑ Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan lead Clippers past Bulls 96-86
  20. ↑ Nikola Mirotic 2014-15 Game Log
  21. ↑ Bulls in thick of East chase thanks to Mirotic's big month
  22. ↑ Nikola Mirotic NBA Stats
  23. ↑ Andrew Wiggins reportedly set to be named NBA rookie of the year
  24. ↑ "Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins wins 2014-15 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Award". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 30, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  25. ↑ Rose scores 23, Bulls beat Bucks 103-91
  26. ↑ "MVP Mirotic leads All Tournament Team". fibaeurope.com. 24 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  27. ↑ Internationally Known, Locally Respected

External links

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