As third-string fantasy centers come, Zubac is the best of the best. Coming off a career-best performance during the 2022-23 season, Zubac was able to basically replicate his production in 2023-24. He closed as the 106th-ranked player in nine-category leagues, delivering averages of 11.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 64.9 percent shooting from the floor. Although he remains the starting center in Los Angeles, Zubac typically plays minutes in the mid-20s, fewer than what is assumed of most starting centers. Coming into the 2024-25 season, his main competition for playing time will come from the newly acquired Mo Bamba. While he has proven he can serve as a semi-reliable backup, Bamba is unlikely to challenge for the starting spot. This leaves Zubac as option No. 1, meaning managers should expect much of the same from him when it comes to fantasy value. He should be targeted anywhere after pick 100 for anyone needing to shore up their center spot. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a three-year, $58.6 million contract extension with the Clippers in August of 2024.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Ivica Zubac was born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to Ivan and Dijana Zubac. Ivica inherited his tall stature from his parents, who stand 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-2, respectively. He has two brothers, Mario and Antonio, who have also played competitive basketball. He also has a sister, Maria Andejela. Zubac's cousin, Zoran Planinic, played in the NBA for the Nets from 2003-06. Though Zubac was born in Bosnia & Herzegovina, he is a naturalized Croatian. He played with the Croatian junior national team during the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship and during the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Greece. Learn more about Zubac by following him on Twitter and Instagram (@ivicazubac). Zubac came up through the Croatian basketball system. He played for the youth teams of Cibona Zagreb and KK Zrinjavec Zagreb in 2013-14. The 7-foot-1 center made his debut with Cibona's senior team the following season. He appeared in 12 games and provided 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. His minutes increased incrementally in his second season, but he left Cibona due to financial difficulties. Zubac subsequently signed with Mega Bemax of Serbia. He put up 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds in 24.5 minutes over six games. The center has also represented Croatia in FIBA International competition. He played in the 2013 Under-16 Championship and starred for his home country in the Under-19 Championship in Greece. Zubac averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds and was honored by being named to the All-World Championship Second Team. He was chosen with the 32nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Inks extension
CLos Angeles Clippers
August 30, 2024
Zubac and the Clippers have come to terms on a three-year, $58.6 million contract extension, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
ANALYSIS Zubac has been with the Clippers since being dealt there from the Lakers in 2018. He averaged a career-high 11.7 points last season over 68 regular-season games to go along with 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 blocks across 26.4 minutes. The big man again projects to start at center in Los Angeles, and he figures to see a similar workload with his new deal.
2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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Stat Review
How does Ivica Zubac compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
67.1%
Effective Field Goal %
64.9%
3-Point Attempt Rate
0.0%
Free Throw Rate
32.0%
Offensive Rebound %
12.8%
Defensive Rebound %
26.2%
Total Rebound %
19.7%
Assist %
7.6%
Steal %
0.5%
Block %
4.2%
Turnover %
10.3%
Usage %
0.0%
Fantasy Points Per Game
28.2
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.1
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Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Clippers Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Ivica Zubac was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
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2017
Zubac has improved almost every season, culminating in a career year in 2022-23. The big man set career highs in points, rebounds and blocks, averaging 10.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks on 63 percent shooting. Those are the numbers you want to see from one of your centers, but the upside is limited when looking at this roster. It's hard to see Zu getting anywhere near 15 points per game as long as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are on this team because the big man attempted just 6.8 shots per game last year. That's amazingly a career-high as well, but it's becoming clear that he is not expected to provide much offense with the depth of this roster. His role in this rotation can also be frustrating for fantasy managers. This Clippers team loves to run small, limiting the big man's minutes over the years. He played a career-high 28.6 minutes last year but saw a dip once Russell Westbrook joined the team. There's also a chance that KJ Martin and Marcus Morris will steal some center minutes while Mason Plumlee remains in his 18-minute bench role. The 2022-23 season looks like the ceiling for Zubac, but that still makes him a worthy option in the late rounds of your fantasy draft.
Zubac became the Clippers' full-time starting center last season, and he put together a career year with Kawhi Leonard out for the entire campaign. In 24.4 minutes per game, Zubac averaged 10.3 points on 62.6 percent shooting, 8.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.5 combined blocks-plus-steals. He's one of the better offensive rebounders in the NBA, with his 12.1 offensive rebounding percentage (4.2 ORB per 36 minutes) ranking in the 84th percentile for big men. Overall, the center ranked 131st in per-game fantasy production, making him a viable bench option in standard leagues, with center being a position of scarcity. Given Zubac's chance of being the Clippers' only center on the roster after training camp, he boasts a sturdy floor for next season. It's unlikely he sees minutes in the high-20s to low-30s consistently, however, as the team projects to often utilize small-ball lineups with Robert Covington, Marcus Morris or Nicolas Batum at center. Ultimately, fantasy managers should expect Zubac to be a back-end center option in most formats, though he's better suited for deep leagues given his minimal upside.
Zubac continued to improve during his second full season with the Clippers, posting career-high minutes (22.3) and points (9.0) per game last year while shooting a personal best 65.2 percent from the field. The 24-year-old's biggest strength has been his reliability as he hasn't missed a regular season game over the past two seasons. Despite placing 157th in fantasy scoring on a per-game basis, Zubac finished last season 100th overall in fantasy scoring. The fifth-year center will offer consistent production on a nightly basis, something that is hard to come by in the current state of the NBA. A healthy Serge Ibaka during the 2021-22 campaign may hinder Zubac's playing time, but it won't have a devastating effect on his bottom line. Zubac remains worth a look in 12-team leagues thanks to his efficient scoring and big rebounding numbers.
Zubac logged a career-high 18.4 minutes and personal bests in points (8.3) and field-goal percentage (61.3) in 2019-20 while starting all but two games. Zubac posted 12 double-doubles on the season, topped off by a 21-point, 15-rebound eruption against Dallas in the Orlando bubble. Though Zubac was the team's starting center, Montrezl Harrell logged the most minutes at center while coming off the bench. Over the final 21 games of the season and playoffs, Zubac averaged 23.3 minutes, 9.7 points and 8.3 boards. He'll likely play a similar role in 2020-21, and while he'll post the occasional big game, his upside is limited by the presence of Serge Ibaka this season, with Harrell moving to the Lakers. Regardless, Zubac will be worth a look in 12-team leagues this season thanks to his shooting and rebounding.
After being dealt from the Lakers to the Clippers at last season's trade deadline, Zubac operated as the team's full-time starting center for the final stretch of the season. In those 26 appearances, Zubac averaged 9.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists across 20.2 minutes per game, all of which would be career-highs. With production like that in fairly limited minutes, his per 36 averages of 16.8 points and 13.7 rebounds per game certainly jump off the page. His play impressed the Clippers and resulted in the big man signing a four-year, $28 million contract with LA this offseason, and his role should remain relatively unchanged. While Zubac will most likely be the starter given the success he had in the role last season, Montrezl Harrell, who put together a breakout campaign in 2018-19, may end up closing games out for the Clippers. That, on top of JaMychal Green potentially operating as a small-ball five at times, will put a cap on the 22-year-old's upside heading into his fourth NBA season, but he should still be good for at least 20 minutes per game in Los Angeles.
Zubac split time between the NBA and the G-League last season, seeing 410 minutes in Los Angeles and 419 minutes in South Bay. Though he averaged just 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in the NBA, he was able to post 21.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in the G-League while shooting 61.0 percent from the field. He also made sure to knock down an impressive 86.0 percent of his free throws. This year, he should have an opportunity to see more run at the NBA level with Brook Lopez moving on to Milwaukee and Julius Randle playing in New Orleans. The duo was replaced by JaVale McGee, who averaged fewer than 10 minutes per game last year, and late-first-round pick Mo Wagner. Still, it remains somewhat of a longshot that he ends up Fantasy relevant in standard formats.
As a 19-year-old foreign center selected by the Lakers early in the second round last June, Zubac seemed like a prime candidate to be stashed overseas for a year or two before coming stateside, but the Bosnian-born big man made the surprising decision sign with Los Angeles and head to the NBA right away. With Timofey Mozgov and Tarik Black opening the campaign as the first- and second-team centers, respectively, Zubac rarely saw the floor outside of garbage time through the first two and a half months of his rookie campaign. After Mozgov wore out his welcome by mid-January, however, Zubac was given a chance to stake a claim to a rotation spot, and quickly made an impression with his advanced mid-range game and touch near the basket. He reeled off three double-doubles in a five-game span at one point in January and finished the season with averages of 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 16.0 minutes per game across 38 appearances. Zubac continued to impress during the offseason as a member of the Lakers' Las Vegas Summer League entry and should enter the 2017-18 season as the team's No. 2 center behind Brook Lopez, who was acquired in June. Zubac still has a ways to go defensively before the Lakers will hand the starting reins to him for good, but with Lopez bound for free agency next summer, there's a path to meaningful minutes for the young center in the not-too-distant future.
More Fantasy News
Double-doubles in playoff exit
CLos Angeles Clippers
May 4, 2024
Zubac produced 17 points (6-11 FG, 5-8 FT), 11 rebounds and one assist in 37 minutes during Friday's 114-101 loss to the Mavericks in Game 6 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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Flirts with double-double
CLos Angeles Clippers
April 26, 2024
Zubac chipped in 19 points (8-11 FG, 3-3 FT), eight rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal over 32 minutes during Friday's 101-90 loss to the Mavericks in Game 3 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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Owns glass in double-double showing
CLos Angeles Clippers
April 21, 2024
Zubac logged 20 points (10-17 FG, 0-1 FT), 15 rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal over 33 minutes during Sunday's 109-97 victory over the Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
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Healthy but not starting
CLos Angeles Clippers
April 14, 2024
Zubac is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Houston.
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DNP-CD on Wednesday
CLos Angeles Clippers
April 10, 2024
Zubac didn't play in Wednesday's 124-108 loss to the Suns on Wednesday after being listed as available for the contest.
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ANALYSIS The Clippers' president of basketball, Lawrence Frank, said the team is going to sit down with Zubac's representatives in order to explore a potential extension, as the big man will hit the open market at the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Zubac averaged 11.7 points and 9.2 boards per contest during the regular season, and he's now averaged at least 10 points and 8.5 boards in each of his last three campaigns.