Dragan Bender

Dragan Bender

Bender with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2015
No. 3 – Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv
Position Power forward / Center
League Israeli League
Euroleague
Personal information
Born (1997-11-17) November 17, 1997
Čapljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Nationality Croatian
Listed height 7 ft 0.5 in (2.15 m)
Listed weight 216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
Playing career 2013–present
Career history
2013 KK Split (Croatia)
2013–2014 KK Kaštela (Croatia)
2014–present Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
2014–2015 → Ironi Ramat Gan (Israel)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing Croatia Croatia
FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
2014 Turkey

Dragan Bender (born November 17, 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Super League (BSL). He stands 7 ft 0.5 in (2.15 m) and plays the power forward and center positions. He has been widely considered one of the top international prospects for the 2016 NBA draft, and is consistently considered to be a top 3 selection throughout the process. Although originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bender represents Croatia in international competition, with experience in the FIBA Europe junior tournaments. Before playing in Israel, he competed with multiple teams in Croatia and in Nikola Vujčić's academy.

Early life

Bender was born on November 17, 1997 in Čapljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a city on the Croatian border, and he later moved to Split, Croatia.[1] At 12 years of age, he started playing at Nikola Vujčić's basketball academy as a point guard.[2] Vujčić was a former Maccabi Tel Aviv star and became Bender's guardian.[3] At the academy, Bender became a more versatile player and he "learned how to play all the positions on the court."[4] Dragan played there along with his older brother, Ivan.[5] Bender also played with the KK Split youth teams at this time, and he appeared for the Croatian under-16 national basketball team.[6] He idolized and modeled his game after Toni Kukoč, a former Croatian NBA player, while growing up and watched his old game tape.[1][2] He mostly watched Euroleague games but would sometimes tune into the NBA as well. One of his favorite Euroleague players was Šarūnas Jasikevičius.[5]

Professional career

Croatia (2012–2014)

Bender made his professional debut at 15 years of age with KK Split. He played only a total of six minutes and added two points and one rebound.[7][6] For the following season, Bender remained in Croatia and signed with KK Kaštela, who played in the country's second-best league.[8] With his help, the team was promoted to the A-1 Liga, the top league in Croatia.[9] Most notably, he made a game-winning shot with three seconds remaining against KK Gorica to help his team secure the promotion.[9] Later, in February 2014, Bender joined the KK Cedevita junior team for the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. He put up 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists vs the junior team of the Serbian club KK Mega Basket.[10]

Israel (2014–present)

In 2014, Bender signed a seven-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, a team that played in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Euroleague.[11] He was soon loaned to Ironi Ramat Gan of the Liga Leumit, the second-tier league in Israel. Bender would spend the 2014–15 season with Ironi.[12] He made his debut on October 21, 2014, posting 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists vs Ramat HaSharon.[13] He recorded another double-double on December 12, with 23 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Maccabi Ra'anana.[14] Bender scored a season-high 25 points as his team defeated Barak Netanya by one point on January 1, 2015.[15] After 28 games, he finished the season averaging 9.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks.[7] As the season came to a close, Bender returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he would continue his career for the following season.[16]

Bender debuted for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League on October 11, 2015, with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a win over Maccabi Kiryat Gat.[17] He scored double figures for the first time with the team in a rematch with Kiryat Gat, adding 15 points.[18][6] Bender scored a season-high 16 points on December 31, 2015, as his team defeated Hapoel Holon.[19]

International career

Bender competed for the Croatian national team at the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Latvia and Lithuania. Through five contests, he averaged 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game.[20] In 2015, Bender was called up Croatia for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Crete, Greece, but he was forced to withdraw because the team's players were obliged to wear Jordan Brand clothes and shoes due to a sponsorship agreement. Bender had signed a similar agreement with his sponsor Adidas, which prevented him to wear other brands.[21]

References

  1. 1 2 Leo, Phil. "Dragan Bender: Future NBA Star is REAL Talent". Grinberg News. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 Sinai, Allon. "Mac TA’s Bender braces for added attention in next step en route to NBA". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Pick, David. "Meet 17-Year-Old European Dragan Bender, Who Could Be 2016's Kristaps Porzingis". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Wonsover, Michael. "International Prospects Bender and Gentile Impress in American Tour". Today's Fastbreak. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  5. 1 2 Fischer, Jake. "Croatian Dragan Bender at epicenter of historic Maccabi-Milano rivalry tour". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Givony, Jonathan. "European Dispatch: Getting to know Dragan Bender". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Dragan Bender player profile". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Bender, Dragan". Euroleague Basketball. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Bender zakucavanjem odveo Kaštelane na prag A1 lige". Kastela.org (in Croatian). Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  10. ↑ "Dragan Bender Game Logs". RealGM. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  11. ↑ O'Donnell, Ricky. "The future of basketball looks a lot like Croatia's Dragan Bender". SB Nation. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  12. ↑ "2015 adidas Eurocamp: Day One". DraftExpress. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "Ironi Ramat Gan - Ramat Hasharon 87-83". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  14. ↑ "Maccabi Raanana - Ironi Ramat Gan 73-88". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Netanya - Ironi Ramat Gan 95-96". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Maccabi Tel Aviv out to avenge recent flops as BSL season tips off". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Maccabi T-A - Maccabi K/G 89-65". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  18. ↑ "Maccabi K/G - Maccabi T-A 63-88". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  19. ↑ "Maccabi T-A - Hapoel Holon 93-75". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "Dragan Bender". FIBAEurope.com. FIBA. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  21. ↑ "Just for Kicks: Rising star Bender leaves FIBA U19s over sneaker dispute". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

External links

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