Ivica Zubac is a 7-foot Croatian center and longtime LA Clippers starter, drafted 32nd by the Lakers in 2016, who made the 2025 All-Defensive Second Team on the strength of elite rebounding, high-efficiency finishing and rim protection.
Model lines Zubac at 14.4 pts (range 11.7–17.1) vs a 14.5 line — roughly a coin flip to clear it (49%).
Model favors Indiana Pacers (63%), projected 111–114, ~225 total at 96.6 pace.
Ivica Zubac turned a second-round flier into a decade as one of the NBA's most reliable centers.
Drafted 32nd by the Lakers in 2016, he was traded to the Clippers in 2019 and grew from role player to full-time starter.
He anchored the Clippers' 2021 Western Conference Finals run and once posted a 31-point, 29-rebound night.
His 2024-25 peak — 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds over 80 starts — earned All-Defensive Second Team honors and a top-six Defensive Player of the Year finish.
A traditional, high-efficiency center who grew into one of the NBA's best rebounders and drop-coverage defenders, Ivica Zubac anchored the Clippers' frontcourt for the better part of a decade.
Ivica Zubac was born March 18, 1997 in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and plays for and identifies as Croatian. He developed through the European system with Cibona and Mega before the Lakers drafted him 32nd overall in 2016.
A February 2019 trade sent him to the Clippers, where he blossomed from role player to full-time starter and a key piece of the 2021 Western Conference Finals run — the franchise's first. He posted a 31-point, 29-rebound game and his first triple-double along the way.
His 2024-25 season was a career peak — 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds across 80 starts — earning All-Defensive Second Team honors and a top-six DPOY finish.
Sources: Wikipedia, Basketball-Reference, NBA.com.
Zubac is a cousin of former NBA player Zoran Planinić, also from Mostar, and came up through Croatia's junior national teams. He married Kristina Prišč, and the couple welcomed a daughter, Sienna, in 2026.
Known simply as 'Zu' or 'Big Z,' he carries a workmanlike, low-drama reputation built on consistency and durability.
Steady, durable and efficient, Zubac is the model of a modern do-your-job starting center.
Rebounding & Finishing
Zubac is an elite interior rebounder and a high-efficiency finisher (career field-goal percentage above 60%), a reliable pick-and-roll target and offensive-glass presence.
Drop-Coverage Anchor
His 2025 All-Defensive nod reflects strong rim protection and disciplined drop coverage — the defensive backbone of the Clippers' scheme.
Spacing Trade-off
He offers no three-point range and can be pulled from the paint by stretch bigs, so his offense lives in the screen game rather than as a floor-spacer.
Per game
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 43 | 30.9 | 14.4 | 11.0 | 2.2 | .613 |
Source: Basketball-Reference.
Where he sits in history
Hardware
A locked-in starting center on a multiyear extension.
Zubac signed a three-year, reported ~$58.6M extension in 2024 that runs into the late 2020s. He remains an elite rebounder, efficient finisher and All-Defensive-level anchor — one of the more dependable starting centers in the league.
Contract
An All-Defensive anchor and elite rebounder — one of the NBA's steadiest starting centers.
The Los Angeles Lakers, 32nd overall in the 2016 NBA Draft.
No. His top individual honor is NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2025.
He was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and represents and identifies as Croatian.
2024-25 — career highs of 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds across 80 starts, earning All-Defensive Second Team honors.