Nemanja Bjelica
Nemanja Bjelica was born in Belgrade, Belgrade District on May 9th, 1988 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 35, Nemanja Bjelica biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 35 years old, Nemanja Bjelica has this physical status:
Nemanja Bjelica (born May 9, 1988) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He also represents the senior Serbian national basketball team internationally.
In 2015, Bjelica was named as an All-Euroleague First Team pick as well as the Euroleague MVP.
Personal life
Bjelica was brought up in the New Belgrade Blocks. He married in June 2012 and has a child.
Professional career
Bjelica began playing basketball at Aca Janji's basketball academy before joining the youth team of KK Partizan. He began his professional career with the Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions of the Austrian League, scoring 8.5 points in 26 games.
He returned to the Serbian team Crvena zvezda and spent two enjoyable seasons there, under head coach Svetislav Pei. He made breakthroughs and gained a spot in the first lineup during the 2008–09 season. He was particularly notable for his outward appearance during the EuroCup and for his outside shooting. Bjelica cited coach Peca as one of the main reasons for his rise as a player later in his career. Coach Pe'i trusted Bjelica with the ball and gave the 6"10 Bjelica a primary ball handler role on several occasions, which enabled the team to establish Bjelica as a playmaker.
With the 35th pick of the 2010 NBA draft, Bjelica was drafted by the Washington Wizards. His draft rights were then transferred to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he was traded to them.
Bjelica signed a five-year deal with Spanish club Saski Baskonia in August 2010. He didn't get much playing time in his first season with the club, averaging only 9 minutes per game. Baskonia's second season, he averaged 4.8 points per game on 56% shooting from the field, and 47% shooting from 3 point range, with 33% shooting from 3 point range, the most popular players in the world. His third and last seasons with the club were the most fruitful, with 9.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1 steal per game on 46% shooting from the field averages.
Bjelica signed a three-year contract with Fenerbahçe Ülker, which was led by one of Europe's top trainers, eljko Obradovi. Obradovi was cited as the primary reason why he didn't go to the NBA rather than going to the NBA, according to Obradovi. He was introduced to Fenerbahce Ülker players straight away in the 2013-14 season, scoring 10.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per game over 24 EuroLeague games.
Bjelica's game saw the most improvement and consistency during the season. He was named the EuroLeague MVP of the Month for March, his first such monthly award in his career, on March 30, 2015. He averaged 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block per game in over four games played in March. He was selected to the All-EuroLeague First Team in May 2015 for his season-best results. Eventually, Bjelica was named the EuroLeague MVP of the season. For the first time in the team's history, Fenerbahçe has progressed to the EuroLeague Final Four. They did lose by 87–96 in the semifinal game against Real Madrid on May 15, 2015, but they did not win by 87–96. Fenerbahçe eventually finished in 4th place after losing in the third round to CSKA Moscow by a score of 80–86. Bjelica had his best season since joining the club, scoring a career-high 12.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Fenerbahçe, on the other hand, lost in the Turkish League championship's semi-finals to eventual league champions Pnar Karşyaka.
Bjelica dropped out of his Fenerbahçe contract in order to play in the NBA on July 1, 2015.
On July 14, Bjelica signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In a 112–111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he made his Timberwolves debut in their season opener on October 28th. He had eight points and five rebounds. Against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, he had a season-best game with 17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block. He scored a season-high 18 points against the Sacramento Kings on April 7, 2016. Against the Houston Rockets four days later, he scored 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.
In a 125–99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on November 13, Bjelica got off to a good start in his career and scored a career-high 24 points. He was ruled out for the remainder of the 2016–17 season due to a left foot injury on March 16th. He underwent surgery five days later to repair a fractured navicular bone in his left foot.
With a sprained left foot, Bjelica missed 15 games in November and December of the 2017–18 season. In a 117–109 loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday, he scored a career-high 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting, including 6 for 9 from 3-point range. He also had 12 rebounds in his first 20–10 game in the NBA.
Bjelica signed a three-year, $20.5 million contract with the Sacramento Kings on July 21, just days after backing out of a Philadelphia 76ers with the intention of returning to Europe. Bjelica averaged 9.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game in his first season with the club.
Bjelica had the best season since being in the NBA, with 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 72 games. The season was suspended in March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Sacramento Kings were drafted for the 22-team NBA Bubble in 2020. They did not qualify for the playoffs until last season, posting a 31–41 record.
On March 25, 2021, Bjelica was traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for Maurice Harkless and Chris Silva.
Bjelica signed with the Golden State Warriors on August 6, 2021. In a 121-114 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, he made his Warriors debut in their season opener on October 1921, bringing a double-double off the bench with 15 points and 11 rebounds. In his Warriors debut since Sam Williams (16 points, 12 rebounds), on October 30, 1981 in Denver, he became the first player to post a double-double off the bench. During the 2022 NBA Finals, Bjelica held Celtics star Jayson Tatum to 0-6 shooting and 4 turnovers on his way to his first NBA championship. He was the fourth NBA player from Serbia to win the championship, joining Darko Milijani, Peja Stojakovi, and Ognjen Kuzmi.
Bjelica signed a two-year contract and returned to Fenerbahçe Beko, where he was named the EuroLeague MVP of the 2014-15 season.
National team career
Bjelica was a member of the national basketball team of Serbia, which won the silver medal at the EuroBasket 2009 championships. He was also a member of the Serbian national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where Serbia was defeated 99-88 by Lithuania in the bronze medal match, after losing to hosts Turkey in a highly tense semifinals finish. At the EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania, where Serbia finished eighth, he was also capped for the national team of Serbia.
Bjelica was one of the team's veterans of a young and ineffective Serbia squad during EuroBasket 2013, leading the team alongside captain Nenad Krsti and Nemanja Nedovi. Serbia was eventually defeated by Spain in the quarterfinals, but the team put on some good results, especially against Lithuania and France. On 54% shooting from the field, he averaged ten points, 7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game during the tournament.
He was also a member of the Serbian national basketball team that won the silver medal at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup under head coach Aleksandar orevi. Despite the fact that his three-point shooting form wasn't strong during the tournament, he was still one of the team's most important players, playing a variety of roles, including passing, rebounding, and scoring. He ended the tournament with 11.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
He was also a member of the EuroBasket 2015 squad that represented Serbia. He was Serbia's key player in Serbia's opening game, beating Spain 80-70, and four assists. He made a game-winning shot against Germany the next day. He scored 19 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and had 4 assists against Italy in the last match of the group stage. Serbia defeated Hungary and the Czech Republic in the second round of 16 and quarterfinal games respectively, mainly in Group B, the tournament's toughest group, with a 5–0 record, and later eliminated Finland and the Czech Republic. However, they were disqualified in the semifinal game by Lithuania by a score of 67–64, and then lost to France, who lost by 81-68, a bronze medalist tournament. Bjelica averaged 13.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game on 56.1% shooting from the field, behind the three-point line, making them one of the team's leaders.
The national team of Serbia had been selected to win the trophy at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but Argentina had to be disqualified in the quarterfinals. It took fifth place after victories over the United States and Czech Republic. According to Bjelica's reports, he was the third-best player on the team behind Bogdanovi and Joki, with 10.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in seven games, while shooting 42.9% from the field.