Mirza Begić

Mirza Begić (born 9 July 1985) is a retired Bosnian-born Slovenian professional basketball player. The 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) center, he represented the Slovenian national team in the international competitions.

Mirza Begić
Begić during EuroBasket 2013
Personal information
Born (1985-07-09) 9 July 1985
Bijeljina, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina,
SFR Yugoslavia
NationalitySlovenian
Listed height2.16 m (7 ft 1 in)
Listed weight120 kg (265 lb)
Career information
NBA draft2007: undrafted
Playing career2003–2020
PositionCenter
Number15, 16, 25
Career history
2003–2004Triglav Kranj
2004–2006Virtus Bologna
2004–2005→ Huy Basket
2006–2007Geoplin Slovan
2007–2009Union Olimpija
2009–2010Žalgiris
2011–2013Real Madrid
2013–2014Olympiacos
2014Union Olimpija
2014–2015Laboral Kutxa
2015–2016Bilbao Basket
2016–2017Cedevita
2017–2018Petrochimi Bandar Imam
2018–2019Petrol Olimpija
2019–2020Mornar
Career highlights and awards
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Professional career

Early years

Begić began his career playing with Sloboda Dita Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He made his professional debut with Sloboda in the Bosnia and Herzegovina League during the 2001–02 season.

He then arrived to Slovenia in 2002, and stayed in KK Koper for 2 months. In the 2002–03 season, he played for Union Olimpija's junior team. Then he moved to Triglav Kranj in the Slovenian League. Begić averaged 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, in 16.9 minutes in his first season in the Slovenian League in 2003–04.

In 2004, Begić signed with the Italian League club Virtus Bologna. In his first season with the club he was loaned to Huy Basket in Belgium's First Division. He averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. In the 2005-06 season, he was released by Virtus Bologna.

In the 2006–07 season, Begić moved back to Slovenia. He signed with Geoplin Slovan. He averaged 9.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks in 22.2 minutes per game in the Adriatic League, and 9.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game in the Slovenian League.

Union Olimpija

On 30 July 2007 Begić signed a 2-year contract with Union Olimpija. He made his Euroleague debut on 24 October 2007 versus the Italian League club Montepaschi Siena. Begić averaged 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in his first season of the Euroleague play. In his second season in Euroleague, he averaged career-high 11.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

In his second season in the Adriatic League, he averaged 3.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He played in the 2008 Adriatic League Final Four in Ljubljana, where his team, Union Olimpija, lost in the semifinals against Partizan Belgrade. In his third season in the Adriatic League, he finished with averages of 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He won the Slovenian National Championship and Slovenian Cup with Union Olimpija in 2008 and 2009. On 24 November 2008 he renewed his contract through the end of the 2010–11 season.

Real Madrid

On 18 January 2011 Begić reached an agreement with the Spanish League club Real Madrid to play for the club until the end of the 2012–13 season.[1] The 2012–13 season was successful for Begić in Real Madrid, reaching the Euroleague final and winning the Spanish League.

2013–2020

On 20 July 2013 Begić signed a two year-contract with the back-to-back defending Euroleague champions Olympiacos of the Greek League.[2][3] He left Olympiacos after one season.

On 20 September 2014 Begić signed a one-year deal with his former team Union Olimpija.[4] On 19 November 2014 he left Olimpija and signed a one-month deal with Laboral Kutxa Baskonia.[5] On 24 December 2014 he extended his contract with Laboral Kutxa Baskonia for the rest of the season.[6]

On 14 October 2015 Begić signed with the New Orleans Pelicans,[7] only to be waived by the team two days later.[8] On 7 December 2015 Begić signed with Spanish club Dominion Bilbao Basket for the rest of the season.[9]

On 27 July 2016 Begić signed with Croatian club Cedevita Zagreb for the 2016–17 season.[10]

On 13 August 2017 Begić signed with Petrochimi Bandar Imam of the Iranian Basketball Super League.[11] On 17 January 2018 he returned to Olimpija.[12]

On 15 July 2019 he signed with Mornar Bar. On 8 February 2020 he parted ways with Mornar averaging 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in 14 games of ABA League.[13]

On 21 September 2020 he decided to retire from professional basketball.[14]

Career statistics
Legend
  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
Led the league

Euroleague
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2007–08 Union Olimpija 9712.0.542.000.3752.8.2.71.03.63.3
2008–09 Union Olimpija 10922.1.525.000.6926.1.3.61.711.114.6
2009–10 Žalgiris 161219.8.592.000.7184.0.5.51.37.48.8
2010–11 Real Madrid 16315.5.595.000.7143.3.3.41.57.48.3
2011–12 Real Madrid 15414.2.545.000.6434.7.4.11.74.67.5
2012–13 Real Madrid 292312.8.614.000.6143.4.3.2.95.05.5
2013–14 Olympiacos 1238.4.543.000.6252.0.2.1.83.64.3
2014–15 Baskonia 18317.3.556.000.7054.3.4.41.76.810.2
Career 1256615.1.554.000.6653.8.3.31.36.17.6

Slovenian national team

Begić was a member of the Slovenian under-20 national team. He competed at the 2005 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship in Russia, which he led in blocked shots per game.[15] He has also been a member of the senior men's Slovenian national basketball team. He played at the EuroBasket 2011, which he also led in blocked shots per game.[16]

Personal life

Begić was born in Bijeljina, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia. He lived in his native Bosnia and Herzegovina until 2002, when he moved to Slovenia and subsequently took Slovenian citizenship.

References
  1. "REAL MADRID reels in Begic at center". Euroleague.net. 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "OLYMPIACOS adds center Begic". Euroleague.net. 20 July 2013. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "Olympiakos officially sign Mirza Begic". Sportando.com. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  4. "Mirza Begić joined Union Olimpija". abaliga.com. 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. "Laboral Kutxa Baskonia refuerza su juego interior con Mirza Begic". acb.com (in Spanish). 19 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  6. "Baskonia extends Mirza Begic. Lamont Hamilton set to leave". Sportando.com. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  7. "Pelicans Sign Mirza Begic". NBA.com. October 14, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  8. "Pelicans Waive Mirza Begic". NBA.com. October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  9. "Mirza Begic, nuevo techo del Dominion Bilbao Basket". ACB.com (in Spanish). December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  10. "Cedevita have their Two Towers - Mirza Begić joins Miro Bilan". aba-liga.com. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  11. "Mirza Begic and Willie Warren ink in Iran with Petrochimi". Sportando.com. August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
  12. "Mirza Begić is back at Petrol Olimpija". aba-liga.com. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  13. "KK Mornar Bar, Mirza Begic part ways". Sportando.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  14. Skerletic, Dario (September 21, 2020). "Mirza Begic retires at 35". Sportando. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  15. "FIBA.com 2005 U20 European Championship Men : DIVISION A BLOCKS : ALL ROUNDS". FIBA.com. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  16. "FIBA.com 2011 EuroBasket BLOCKS : ALL ROUNDS". FIBA.com. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
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