Dragan Bender was born on 17 November 1997 and is a Croatian professional basketball player for Monbus Obradoiro of the Spanish Liga ACB.
36 Facts About Dragan Bender
2.
Dragan Bender was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
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Dragan Bender was born on 17 November 1997, in Capljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he later moved to Split, Croatia.
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Dragan Bender played with the KK Split youth teams at this time, and he appeared for the Croatian under-16 national basketball team.
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Dragan Bender idolized and modeled his game after Toni Kukoc, a former Croatian NBA player, while growing up and watched his old game tape.
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Dragan Bender mostly watched EuroLeague games but would sometimes tune into the NBA as well.
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Dragan Bender made his professional debut at 15 years of age with KK Split.
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Dragan Bender played only a total of six minutes and added two points and one rebound.
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Later, in February 2014, Dragan Bender joined the KK Cedevita junior team for the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament.
10.
Dragan Bender put up 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists vs the junior team of the Serbian club KK Mega Basket.
11.
In 2014, Dragan Bender signed a seven-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv, a team that played in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague.
12.
Dragan Bender made his debut on 21 October 2014, posting 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists vs Ramat HaSharon.
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Dragan Bender scored a season-high 25 points as his team defeated Barak Netanya by one point on 1 January 2015.
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Dragan Bender debuted for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League on 11 October 2015, with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a win over Maccabi Kiryat Gat.
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Dragan Bender scored double figures for the first time with the team in a rematch with Kiryat Gat, adding 15 points.
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Dragan Bender scored a season-high 16 points on 31 December 2015, as his team defeated Hapoel Holon.
17.
On 6 April 2016, Dragan Bender declared for the 2016 NBA draft.
18.
On 23 June 2016, Dragan Bender was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.
19.
Dragan Bender was widely billed as the best international prospect available in the draft, highly valued for his ability to shoot the ball in various ways as a big man, as well as his overall untapped potential in other facets of the game.
20.
On 8 February 2017, Dragan Bender underwent a successful routine arthroscopic procedure on his right ankle to remove a bone spur.
21.
Dragan Bender was ruled out for approximately four to six weeks.
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Dragan Bender returned to action on 2 April 2017, against Houston.
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In July 2017, Dragan Bender re-joined the Suns for the 2017 NBA Summer League.
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Dragan Bender made a career-best six 3-pointers, going 5 of 6 in the second half.
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In July 2018, Dragan Bender re-joined the Suns for the 2018 NBA Summer League.
26.
In July 2019, Dragan Bender signed a two-year minimum deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.
27.
Dragan Bender was assigned to the Wisconsin Herd for the start of the NBA G League season.
28.
Dragan Bender then acquired a second 10-day contract on 5 March 2020.
29.
On 23 September 2020, Dragan Bender signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague.
30.
Dragan Bender competed for the Croatian national Under-16 team at the 2012 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship.
31.
Dragan Bender improved even further, while playing with the Croatian national Under-18 team, at the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Turkey.
32.
In 2015, Dragan Bender was selected by Croatia for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Cup 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.
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Dragan Bender had signed a similar agreement with his sponsor Adidas, which prevented him to wear other brands.
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Dragan Bender expressed disappointment in the Croatian Basketball Federation's decision, even saying they had no reason to attack his loyalty to Croatia, or his family's loyalty to it.
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In June 2017, Dragan Bender was granted permission from the Phoenix Suns to play for the senior Croatian national team at EuroBasket 2017.
36.
Dragan Bender has been strongly compared to Kristaps Porzingis to the point where NBA executives considered him a Top 5 selection similar to Porzingis because of their playing styles, either due to it being a selling point or being a good cover overall.