Balša Koprivica
Serbian basketball player (born 2000)
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Balša Koprivica (Serbian Cyrillic: Балша Копривица; born 1 May 2000) is a Serbian professional basketball player who last played for Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball for the Florida State Seminoles. He also represents the Serbia national team.
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Koprivica with Bahçeşehir Koleji in 2025 | |||||||||||||||
| Free Agent | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 May 2000 | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 250 lb (113 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | |||||||||||||||
| College | Florida State (2019–2021) | ||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2021: 2nd round, 57th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Charlotte Hornets | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2021–2025 | Partizan | ||||||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | Bahçeşehir Koleji | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life
Koprivica was born in Belgrade to Slaviša Koprivica and Tanja Čavić. Slaviša, who stands 6-foot-9 (2.06 m), is a former Serbian professional basketball player who won the 1992 EuroLeague with Partizan. Koprivica moved to Florida, United States in 2012. In February 2017, he joined the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in New Orleans.[1]
High school career
Koprivica began playing high school basketball in 2015 with University School of Nova Southeastern University[2] in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. He played at the 2015 Battle at The Villages high school tournament. In July 2017, he transferred to Windermere Preparatory School[3] in Lake Butler, Orange County, Florida.
He was considered one of the top ten college recruits in the class of 2019 until he dropped to a four-star recruit during his senior year.[4]
In December 2017, he transferred to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida.[5]
Recruiting
On 26 October 2018, he committed to Florida State University.
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balša Koprivica C |
Belgrade, Serbia | Montverde Academy (FL) | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Oct 26, 2018 | |
Recruit ratings: Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN: (88) | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 88 247Sports: 93 ESPN: 51 | ||||||
Sources:
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College career
Koprivica played his freshman and sophomore year with the Florida State Seminoles. As a freshman, he averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.
On 13 April 2021, Koprivica declared for the 2021 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[6]
Professional career
Partizan (2021–2025)
On August 23, 2021, Koprivica officially signed a three-year deal with his hometown and his father's former club Partizan Mozzart Bet, under head coach Željko Obradović.[7] His father was coached by Obradović, who played for Partizan (1991–1993).[8] In his debut season with the club, Koprivica averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds over 33 ABA League games, but Partizan failed to lift any trophy.
In 2022–23 season, his second with the club, Koprivica had his role reduced, appearing in only six EuroLeague games, but managed to lift the ABA League title with averages of 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds over 12 games played. Over 2023–23, his role improved slightly, as he averaged 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds over 14 EuroLeague games. The season was deemed to be unsuccessful for Partizan as they finished the season without lifting any trophy.[9] During the 2024–25 season, Partizan managed to lift the record eighth ABA League championship, and the Serbian League championship, the first one after 11 seasons.
Bahçeşehir Koleji (2025–2026)
On June 27, 2025, he signed with Bahçeşehir Koleji of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL).[10]
NBA draft rights
Koprivica was selected with the 57th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021 NBA draft and traded to the Detroit Pistons for Mason Plumlee and JT Thor, the 37th overall pick of the 2021 draft.[11][12] In August 2021, he joined the Pistons for the NBA Summer League. On August 11, he made his debut in the Summer League in a 111–91 loss to the Houston Rockets in which he posted 2 points and a rebound in 4 minutes.[13]
Koprivica joined the Pistons for the 2022 NBA Summer League.[14]
On June 30, 2023, the Pistons traded the draft rights to Koprivica to the Los Angeles Clippers for sum of $2.1 million.[15]
On July 18, 2024, the draft rights for Koprivica were traded from the Clippers to the Utah Jazz as part of a deal centering on Russell Westbrook and Kris Dunn.[16] On February 4, 2026, Koprivica's draft rights were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[17]
National team career
Koprivica was a member of the Serbian U-18 national basketball team that won gold medal at the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship,[18] with Marko Pecarski as teammate. Thirty years earlier, their respective fathers Slaviša Koprivica and Miroslav Pecarski had played together for the Yugoslavia under-19 national team, winning gold at the 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.[19]
Career statistics
| 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 |
EuroLeague
| * | Led the league |
EuroCup
Domestic leagues
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Florida State | 27 | 0 | 10.3 | .699 | – | .658 | 2.4 | .3 | .3 | .3 | 4.7 |
| 2020–21 | Florida State | 24 | 20 | 19.5 | .599 | 1.000 | .689 | 5.6 | .8 | .3 | 1.4 | 9.1 |
| Career | 51 | 20 | 14.6 | .632 | 1.000 | .677 | 3.9 | .5 | .3 | .8 | 6.8 | |