Nikola Jovanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Јовановић, born January 6, 1994) is a Serbian professional basketball player who plays for Nizhny Novgorod of the VTB United League. He played college basketball for the USC Trojans.
![]() Jovanović with Crvena zvezda in 2017 | |
Nizhny Novgorod | |
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Position | Power forward / Center |
Personal information | |
Born | (1994-01-06) January 6, 1994 (age 28) Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia |
Nationality | Serbian |
Listed height | 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) |
Listed weight | 113 kg (249 lb) |
Career information | |
High school | Arlington Country Day School (Jacksonville, Florida) |
College | USC (2013–2016) |
NBA draft | 2016 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2016–present |
Career history | |
2016–2017 | Grand Rapids Drive |
2017 | Westchester Knicks |
2017–2021 | Crvena zvezda |
2018–2019 | → Aquila Basket Trento |
2020–2021 | → Igokea |
2021, 2022–present | Nizhny Novgorod |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Growing up in Serbia, Jovanović played basketball for the junior cadet teams of KK Crvena zvezda (2010–11) and KK Partizan (2011–12).[1] After moving to the United States in 2012, he enrolled at Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2012–13, he averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds while leading the Apaches to a 30–4 record and a No. 2 ranking in the state of Florida. He was ranked at the No. 20 prospect in the state of Florida by Florida Hoops.[2]
As a freshman at USC in 2013–14, Jovanović averaged 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds while making 24 starts and appearing in all 32 games. He made 76.1 percent of his free throws, which was eighth-best all-time by a Trojan freshman, and hit 51.6 percent of his field goals, which were 10th best by a USC freshman all-time. He scored a season-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting against California on January 22, 2014. He was bestowed the Harold Jones Award at the team banquet following the season as the team's Most Improved Player.[2][3]
As a sophomore in 2014–15, Jovanović showed improvement in almost every area, leading the team with an average of 7.0 rebounds per game and finishing second in scoring with a 12.3 average. He started 31 of USC's 32 games and played in each contest. On January 29, 2015, he scored a career-high 30 points in USC's triple-overtime 98–94 loss to Colorado. He earned the Bob Boyd Award as the team's top rebounder, given out at the USC Men's Basketball Awards Banquet following the season.[2]
As a junior in 2015–16, Jovanović averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds for a Trojans team that had a better-than-expected season and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. On January 30, 2016, he scored a season-high 28 points against Washington.[4] On February 28, he became the 36th Trojan to score 1,000 points or more in his USC men's basketball career.[5] He earned the Bob Boyd Award as the team's top rebounder for the second consecutive year.[6]
On April 14, 2016, Jovanović declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final year of college eligibility.[7]
After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Jovanović joined the Detroit Pistons for the Orlando Summer League[8] and the Los Angeles Lakers for the Las Vegas Summer League.[9] On September 26, 2016, he signed with the Pistons,[10] but was waived on October 17 after appearing in one preseason game.[11] On October 30, he was acquired by the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League, an affiliate of the Pistons.[12] On March 2, 2017, Jovanović was traded to the Westchester Knicks.[13]
On July 29, 2017, Jovanović signed a three-year deal with Serbian club Crvena zvezda.[14][15] On August 13, 2018, Jovanović moved on loan to the Italian club Aquila Basket Trento for the 2018–19 season.[16][17] After the year-long loan in Italy, Jovanović signed a new contract with Zvezda on August 28, 2019.[18] On August 6, 2020, Jovanović moved on loan to the Bosnian club Igokea for the 2020–21 season.[19][20]
On September 14, 2021, Jovanović signed a deal with Russian club Nizhny Novgorod.[21][22] He parted ways with Nizhny in December 2021.[23]
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 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
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2017–18 | Crvena zvezda | 16 | 0 | 8.1 | .543 | .333 | .333 | 2.8 | .2 | .1 | .2 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
Career | 16 | 0 | 8.1 | .543 | .333 | .333 | 2.8 | .2 | .1 | .2 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
Jovanović is the son of Ljubiša and Dragana Jovanović, and he has one sister, Tamara, who is a student-athlete at Loyola Marymount University.[24] His father played professional basketball in Europe for 15 years (Partizan, Rabotnički, Soproni Ászok, etc.). Jovanović is fluent in Serbian, French and English.[2]
Nizhny Novgorod current roster | |
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