Nikola Vucevic

Nikola Vučević is a Montenegrin professional basketball player for theChicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Vučević spent nine years of his playing career with the Orlando Magic and was named two times NBA All-star. Then, later traded to the Chicago Bulls in the mid of the 2020-21 season. He attended his senior year of high school at Stoneridge Prep where he was named the team captain and led the team in scoring and rebounding with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Early life

Vučević attended the University of Southern California playing three seasons with the Trojans. He began to excel in his sophomore season and ended the year leading USC (University of Southern California) in scoring five times and in rebounding 20 times, including the last nine games. With 10.7 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, Vučević was the second top scorer and leading rebounder for the Trojans. For the 2009-10 season, Vučević was named the Pac-10 Most Improved Player and earned All-Pac-10 second team and Pac-10 honourable-mention all-defensive team honors. He had the second-most blocks and third-most rebounds ever in a season by a Trojan sophomore. Vučević averaged 11.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game during his tenure with the Trojans.

NBA Journey

Vučević was drafted as the 16th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. After playing just 15 games in the 2011 NBA Lockout season, Vučević was traded to the Orlando Magic in a four-team trade involving Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, Arron Afflalo, Andre Iguodala, and other players. In the 2012-13 season, Vučević set a franchise record with 29 rebounds in an overtime loss to the Miami Heat. The 2013-2014 season saw Vučević develop himself into a double-double machine. Adding the three-point shot to his arsenal, Vučević had most probably the best statistical year of his career so far in the 2014-15 season averaging 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.

In the 2015-2016 season, Vučević averaged 18.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in his first 12 games of December, adding his name next to Shaquille O'Neal which made him only the second Magic player to reach those numbers in one month in franchise history. Vučević scored a career-high 41 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 126–121 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the 2017-18 season. He recorded his first career triple-double with game-highs of 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a 117–110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks becoming only the first Magic center to record a triple-double with assists. Vučević is currently second on the rebounds list in franchise history, surpassing Shaquille O'Neal and trailing only Dwight Howard.

Nikola Vucevic Awards and Achievements

Nikola Vucevic Family

Montenegrin professional basketball player, Nikola Vucevic was born to father Boro and mother Ljiljana Kubura in Morges, Switzerland. His father played basketball professionally for a club in Lausanne. His mother was a 6-foot-2 forward basketball player for the Sarajevo club and was also in the Yugoslavia women's national team. Vučević married his longtime partner Nikoleta Pavlović who is the sister of former NBA player Alexsandar ‘’Sasha Pavlovic’’. Together the couple has two children.

Nikola Vucevic Net worth

Vucevic has a current net worth of $30 million. He is the second-best-paid player for the Chicago Bulls this season with an annual salary of $24 million. Moreover, his prior contract with the Orlando Magic for the 2019–20 season was $28 million and with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011–12 was $1.6 million.