Nikola Kalinić (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Калинић; born 8 November 1991) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Crvena zvezda of the ABA League, the Serbian League and the EuroLeague. He is also a former Serbian national basketball team player. He is a 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) tall small forward and he is often considered as a premier player at his position within European basketball.
Professional career
[edit]Early years
[edit]Kalinić made his professional debut with his hometown team Spartak Subotica. In the 2010–11 season, he played with KK Novi Sad, and then from 2011 to 2013, he played with Vojvodina Srbijagas.
In July 2013, he signed a three-year contract with Radnički Kragujevac.[1][2] Over 25 games played in the ABA League, he averaged 6.4 points and 4 rebounds per game.
Crvena zvezda
[edit]On 21 July 2014, Kalinić signed a three-year contract with Crvena zvezda.[3] In his debut EuroLeague season, he averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2 assists per game, over 24 games played. In his first season with the club, he won a triple crown, winning the Serbian League, Serbian Cup, and ABA League.
Fenerbahçe
[edit]On 31 July 2015, Crvena zvezda announced that Kalinić moved to Fenerbahçe, for a buyout amount of €1 million euros.[4] On 12 August 2015, Fenerbahçe officially announced that Kalinić had signed a two-year contract, with the option of an additional year.[5]
In his first season with the team, Kalinić won the Turkish Cup title, in a 67–65 win over Darüşşafaka. Fenerbahçe also reached the finals game of the 2016 Euroleague Final Four, but fell short of winning the EuroLeague championship, after an overtime 96–101 loss to CSKA Moscow.[6] Over 29 EuroLeague games played that season, he averaged 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. At the end of the season, Fenerbahçe also won the Turkish League championship.
On 7 July 2017, Kalinić re-signed with Fenerbahçe for three more seasons.[7] In the 2017–18 EuroLeague season, Fenerbahçe made it to the 2018 EuroLeague Final Four, the club's fourth consecutive Final Four appearance. Eventually, they lost to Real Madrid, by a score of 80–85 in the finals game.[8] Over 19 EuroLeague games played that season, he averaged 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Valencia
[edit]On 18 July 2020, Kalinić officially moved to Spanish EuroLeague club Valencia on a one-year contract.[9]
Return to Crvena zvezda
[edit]On 15 July 2021, Crvena zvezda announced that they had signed with Kalinić.[10] On 27 April 2022, Kalinić was selected the 2021–22 ABA League MVP.[11] The club won ABA League, Serbian League, and Serbian Cup in the 2021–22 season.
FC Barcelona
[edit]On 12 July 2022, Kalinić signed a two-year deal with FC Barcelona, after an agreement was also reached between Barcelona and Valencia concerning his Spanish league contract rights.
Third stint with Crvena zvezda
[edit]On 21 June 2024, Kalinić signed a three-year deal with Crvena zvezda.
National team career
[edit]Kalinić represented the senior Serbia men's national basketball team at the EuroBasket 2013. He was also a member of the Serbian national basketball team that won the silver medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, under new head coach Aleksandar Đorđević.
He represented Serbia once again at the EuroBasket 2015.[12] In the first phase of the tournament, Serbia dominated in the tournament's toughest group, Group B, with a 5–0 record, and then eliminated Finland and Czech Republic in the round of 16 and quarterfinal games, respectively. However, they were stopped in the semifinal game by Lithuania, by a score of 67–64,[13] and eventually lost to the host team France, in the bronze-medal game, by a score of 81–68.[14] Over 9 tournament games played, Kalinić averaged 5.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, on 69% shooting from the field and 33.3% shooting from the free-throw line.[15]
Kalinić also represented Serbia at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where they won the silver medal, after losing to the United States in the final game, by a score of 96–66.[16]
Career statistics
[edit]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 |
EuroLeague
[edit]† | Denotes seasons in which Kalinić won the EuroLeague |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014-15 | Crvena zvezda | 24 | 10 | 26.0 | .429 | .355 | .627 | 3.9 | 2.0 | .8 | .2 | 9.2 | 9.1 |
2015-16 | Fenerbahçe | 29 | 13 | 18.9 | .434 | .242 | .711 | 3.3 | 1.2 | .4 | .2 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
2016-17† | 33 | 20 | 24.0 | .482 | .347 | .837 | 3.1 | 1.5 | .8 | .3 | 7.5 | 8.3 | |
2017-18 | 19 | 13 | 17.5 | .494 | .286 | .800 | 1.6 | 1.2 | .5 | .2 | 5.5 | 5.4 | |
2018-19 | 35 | 16 | 25.5 | .484 | .398 | .785 | 3.3 | 1.8 | .7 | .2 | 9.6 | 10.5 | |
2019-20 | 26 | 12 | 22.9 | .426 | .314 | .870 | 2.5 | 1.7 | .8 | .1 | 6.6 | 6.2 | |
2020-21 | Valencia | 34 | 25 | 26.6 | .533 | .333 | .789 | 3.4 | 3.2 | .9 | .4 | 10.4 | 12.3 |
2021-22 | Crvena zvezda | 32 | 32 | 30.1 | .436 | .276 | .717 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 12.6 | 11.7 |
2022-23 | Barcelona | 38 | 26 | 22.5 | .478 | .405 | .700 | 3.3 | 1.6 | .7 | .2 | 6.4 | 7.7 |
2023-24 | 39 | 38 | 24.6 | .429 | .406 | .581 | 3.8 | 2.4 | .8 | .1 | 7.3 | 8.3 | |
Career | 309 | 205 | 24.2 | .462 | .348 | .741 | 3.3 | 2.0 | .8 | .2 | 8.1 | 8.7 |
EuroCup
[edit]Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013-14 | Radnički Kragujevac | 16 | 15 | 25.6 | .575 | .381 | .688 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .3 | 10.2 | 12.3 |
Career | 16 | 15 | 25.6 | .575 | .381 | .688 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 1.0 | .3 | 10.2 | 12.3 |
Domestic leagues
[edit]Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010-11 | ![]() |
KLS | 23 | 23.2 | .454 | .238 | .806 | 3.4 | .7 | 1.3 | .7 | 7.7 |
2011-12 | ![]() |
KLS | 34 | 24.4 | .511 | .323 | .726 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 1.6 | .4 | 9.0 |
2012-13 | ![]() |
KLS | 42 | 25.8 | .556 | .371 | .772 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 1.3 | .3 | 10.4 |
2013-14 | ![]() |
KLS | 16 | 29.3 | .488 | .347 | .796 | 5.2 | 2.7 | 1.0 | .5 | 11.1 |
2013-14 | ![]() |
ABA | 25 | 23.1 | .386 | .300 | .731 | 4.0 | 1.4 | .9 | .3 | 6.4 |
2014-15 | ![]() |
KLS | 18 | 23.1 | .489 | .358 | .627 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 1.5 | .3 | 9.9 |
2014-15 | ![]() |
ABA | 34 | 22.8 | .512 | .382 | .718 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .6 | 10.1 |
2015-16 | ![]() |
BSL | 37 | 20.6 | .503 | .379 | .758 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .6 | .3 | 6.6 |
2016-17 | ![]() |
BSL | 34 | 24.5 | .500 | .412 | .743 | 2.9 | 2.0 | .9 | .1 | 8.4 |
2018-19 | ![]() |
BSL | 30 | 27.9 | .527 | .364 | .792 | 4.0 | 2.8 | .8 | .1 | 11.5 |
2019-20 | ![]() |
BSL | 15 | 26.7 | .462 | .255 | .933 | 2.9 | 3.3 | .9 | .2 | 9.2 |
2020-21 | ![]() |
ACB | 41 | 23.3 | .559 | .392 | .804 | 3.8 | 2.8 | .9 | .2 | 9.8 |
2021-22 | ![]() |
KLS | 3 | 19.0 | .571 | .444 | .900 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 1.3 | .3 | 12.3 |
2021-22 | ![]() |
ABA | 31 | 26.2 | .448 | .415 | .736 | 3.4 | 3.3 | .9 | .1 | 11.3 |
2022-23 | ![]() |
ACB | 38 | 19.0 | .486 | .333 | .815 | 3.4 | 1.6 | .5 | .2 | 6.7 |
2023-24 | ![]() |
ACB | 34 | 19.3 | .436 | .386 | .659 | 3.2 | 1.9 | .6 | .1 | 5.6 |
Personal life
[edit]Nikola is the son of former table tennis player Zoran Kalinić (born 1958), and Dragica (née Tošić), a former handball player.[17][18] His older brother Uroš (b. 1986) is a water polo player for Montpellier, while his sister Mina also played handball.[17][18] The children in the family all once played ping pong and went to tennis school.[17]
Kalinić injured his chin during childhood, leaving a visibly deformed chin with surgery failing to fix it. He has said that he suffers no pain from it.[19]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Radnicki tabs Nikola Kalinic". Sportando. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ "Nikola Kalinić prešao u Radnički" (in Serbian). b92.net. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ^ "Kalinić prvo pojačanje Zvezde". b92.net (in Serbian). Večernje Novosti. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
- ^ "Kalinić u Fenerbahčeu za milion evra". kkcrvenazvezda.rs (in Serbian). 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 August 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Fenerbahce signs Kalinic away from Crvena Zvezda". Euroleague.net. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
- ^ "CSKA Moscow claims its seventh Euroleague crown after OT thriller". euroleague.net. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Fenerbahce, Kalinic together until 2020". Euroleague.net. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- ^ "Real Madrid is 2018 EuroLeague champion". euroleague.net. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Carchia, Emiliano (18 July 2020). "Valencia signs Nikola Kalinic". Sportando. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
- ^ ""Kalina" se vratio svojoj kući!!!". kkcrvenazvezda.rs (in Serbian). 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "2021/22 Regular Season NLB MVP: Nikola Kalinić (Crvena zvezda mts)". aba-liga.com. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ "AMBITIOUS SERBIA UNVEIL POWERFUL 12-MAN SQUAD". eurobasket2015.org. 2 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- ^ "LITHUANIA END SERBIAN STREAK, RETURN TO FINAL". eurobasket2015.org. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "FRANCE REWARD HOME SUPPORT WITH BRONZE". eurobasket2015.org. 20 September 2015. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Player profile: Nikola Kalinic". eurobasket2015.org. FIBA Europe. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Rio Olympics 2016: USA beat Serbia in men's basketball to win last gold of Games". BBC Sport. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ a b c "Zoran Kalinić za Blic: Nikola, zakucaj i Brazil!" (in Serbian). sport.blic.rs. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Dok je Zoran nizao medalje, Dragica je bila i mama i tata" (in Serbian). vesti-online.com. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ "KALINIĆEV OTAC: Nikola iz detinjstva vuče problem s vilicom! (FOTO)". telegraf.rs (in Serbian). 9 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
External links
[edit]- Nikola Kalinić at aba-liga.com
- Nikola Kalinić at Eurobasket.com
- Nikola Kalinić at EuroLeague.net
- Nikola Kalinic at FIBA
- Nikola Kalinić at TBLStat.net
- Nikola Kalinić at Olympedia
- Nikola Kalinić at Olympics.com
- Nikola Kalinić at the Olimpijski Komitet Srbije (in Serbian)
- Nikola Kalinić on Instagram