Vanja Marinković
Serbian basketball player (born 1997)
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Vanja Marinković (Serbian: Вања Маринковић, born 9 January 1997) is a Serbian professional basketball player and the team captain for Partizan Belgrade of the Serbian SuperLeague, the ABA League, and the EuroLeague. Standing at 1.99 m (6 ft 6+1⁄2 in), he plays at the shooting guard and small forward positions.
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Marinković with Partizan Belgrade in 2024 | |
| No. 9 – Partizan Belgrade | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / shooting guard |
| League | Serbian SuperLeague ABA League EuroLeague |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 9 January 1997 |
| Listed height | 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) |
| Listed weight | 86 kg (190 lb) |
| Career information | |
| NBA draft | 2019: 2nd round, 60th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Sacramento Kings |
| Playing career | 2013–present |
| Career history | |
| 2013–2019 | Partizan |
| 2019–2021 | Valencia |
| 2021–2024 | Baskonia |
| 2024–present | Partizan |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Early life
Marinković was born in Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia. He comes from a relatively sports-related family; his father Zoran is a football referee and cinematographer, while his mother Dragana and his six-year older brother both played basketball in their youth. Marinković started playing basketball for Belgrade-based club Vračar where he played from 2006 until 2010. He then moved to Koledž where he stayed for one season.[1]
Club career
Partizan (2013–2019)
In the summer of 2011, he moved to play with Partizan's youth categories. He continued to play with the youth categories of the team for four seasons, with the exception of the last season in which he played occasionally, as he spent most of his time training with the senior team.
In the 2013–14 season, he started working with the senior team of Partizan, under head coach Duško Vujošević. He debuted for the team in the Serbian Cup game against FMP Belgrade.[1] However, although being capped for the games many times, he occasionally got the chance to play in the rest of the season. Partizan finished the season winning its 13th consecutive domestic league title, defeating archrivals Crvena zvezda by 3–1 in the final series; that would be the only title won over the season.[2] He also became a champion with Partizan's junior team by beating Crvena zvezda in the final game.[3]
In the 2014–15 season, he became a standard part of senior team's rotation. On 8 November, he led his team with season-high 20 points in 65–50 win over MZT Skopje, showing great potential for the future.[4][5] Three days after turning 18, on 12 January 2015, he signed his first professional, four-year contract with Partizan.[6] Over the season, he appeared in 29 games of the ABA League, averaging 3.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He also played in the EuroCup where Partizan was eliminated in the Group E.[7] On 18 September 2015, he appeared in the EuroBasket 2015 special event – FIBA European U-18 All-Star game, consisted of the 24 most talented European players born in 1997 or after.[8][9] He led his Team Black with 17 points and 4 assists in 82–87 loss to Team Red.[10] Over 26 games of the 2015–16 ABA League, he averaged 6.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 31.3% from the field.
In the 2016–17 season, he averaged 8.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, while shooting 42.5% from the field over 23 games of the 2016–17 ABA League.
On 14 October 2017, in an ABA League away game versus Zadar in a 104–97, Marinković scored a career-high 33 points, also adding 5 rebounds and 1 assist.[11] Over 20 games of the 2017–18 ABA League, he averaged 11.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while shooting 41.3% from the field and 36.1% from the three-point field goal.
In June 2018, he signed a two-year contract extension with the club.[12] Over 23 games of the 2018–19 ABA League, he averaged 12.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 40.2% from the field and 32.8% from the three-point field goal.
Valencia (2019–2021)
On 23 July 2019, Marinković signed a two-year contract with the Spanish club Valencia.[13][14] He left Valencia in June 2021.[15]
Saski Baskonia (2021–2024)
On 7 July 2021, Marinković signed with Saski Baskonia of the Liga ACB.[16]
Return to Partizan (2024–present)
On 17 June 2024, Marinković signed with Partizan Mozzart Bet of the Basketball League of Serbia for a second stint.[17] In his comeback season with Partizan, Marinković as team captain averaged 7.3 points and 1.6 rebounds over 21 EuroLeague games, while shooting career-high 46.3% from the field. 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.
In July 2026, he inked a two-year contract extension with the team.[18]
NBA draft rights
On 20 June 2019, Marinković was the final pick of the 2019 NBA draft, after being selected by the Sacramento Kings.[19] On 10 February 2022, Marinković's draft rights were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as a part of a four-team trade.[20] On 8 July 2023, his player rights were then traded to the Memphis Grizzlies as a part of a five-team trade.[21] On 8 February 2024, his rights were traded to the Brooklyn Nets as a part of a three-team trade with the Phoenix Suns.[22] On 4 February 2026, his rights were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a three-team trade involving the Toronto Raptors.[23]
National team career
Marinković represented the Serbia men's national under-16 basketball team at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship where they won the silver medal.[24] The following year he was part of the U17 national team that won the bronze medal at the 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship.[25] He won the bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics with Serbia.[26]
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
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Valencia | 27 | 11 | 14.9 | .437 | .329 | .833 | 1.0 | .4 | .4 | — | 6.3 | 3.9 |
| 2020–21 | 15 | 8 | 14.5 | .391 | .362 | .857 | 1.3 | .6 | .2 | — | 6.3 | 2.9 | |
| 2021–22 | Baskonia | 26 | 5 | 13.3 | .344 | .329 | 1.000 | .9 | .6 | .2 | — | 3.4 | 1.7 |
| 2022–23 | 34 | 16 | 19.9 | .440 | .403 | .810 | 1.6 | 1.1 | .5 | .0 | 9.1 | 6.4 | |
| 2023–24 | 37 | 28 | 25.8 | .429 | .384 | .806 | 2.5 | 1.5 | .3 | .0 | 11.0 | 8.7 | |
| 2024–25 | Partizan | 21 | 13 | 22.9 | .463 | .392 | .650 | 1.6 | 1.2 | .6 | .1 | 7.3 | 5.2 |
| Career | 160 | 81 | 19.3 | .425 | .375 | .799 | 1.6 | 1.0 | .4 | .0 | 7.6 | 5.2 | |
EuroCup
Basketball Champions League
Domestic leagues
| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 |  Partizan | KLS | 2 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2014–15 | Partizan | KLS | 19 | 18.2 | .398 | .279 | .722 | 1.9 | 1.0 | .4 | .3 | 6.4 |
| 2014–15 | Partizan | ABA | 29 | 13.1 | .376 | .385 | .632 | 1.2 | .7 | .2 | .1 | 3.4 |
| 2015–16 | Partizan | KLS | 12 | 20.2 | .368 | .333 | .833 | 2.3 | 1.2 | .6 | .2 | 4.9 |
| 2015–16 | Partizan | ABA | 26 | 21.8 | .313 | .255 | .800 | 2.5 | 1.2 | .5 | .2 | 6.1 |
| 2016–17 | Partizan | KLS | 16 | 25.4 | .454 | .394 | .750 | 3.7 | 1.3 | .4 | .3 | 9.2 |
| 2016–17 | Partizan | ABA | 23 | 26.7 | .425 | .414 | .806 | 2.7 | 1.5 | .6 | .2 | 8.2 |
| 2017–18 | Partizan | KLS | 13 | 23.6 | .545 | .346 | .861 | 1.8 | 2.3 | .8 | .1 | 13.0 |
| 2017–18 | Partizan | ABA | 20 | 28.4 | .413 | .361 | .714 | 2.8 | 1.2 | .7 | .2 | 11.2 |
| 2018–19 | Partizan | KLS | 16 | 21.6 | .500 | .328 | .738 | 2.3 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | 10.0 |
| 2018–19 | Partizan | ABA | 23 | 28.1 | .402 | .328 | .750 | 2.3 | 1.8 | .6 | .1 | 12.2 |
| 2019–20 |  Valencia | ACB | 22 | 12.8 | .431 | .362 | .889 | .9 | .4 | .5 | .0 | 5.9 |
| 2020–21 | Valencia | ACB | 11 | 17.7 | .410 | .469 | .750 | .8 | .6 | .5 | .1 | 8.4 |
| 2021–22 | Baskonia | ACB | 36 | 14.0 | .404 | .346 | .833 | 1.3 | .5 | .4 | .0 | 5.1 |
| 2022–23 | Baskonia | ACB | 30 | 19.0 | .403 | .364 | .760 | 1.5 | 1.1 | .8 | .1 | 9.3 |
| 2023–24 | Baskonia | ACB | 33 | 24.1 | .458 | .387 | .809 | 1.8 | 1.1 | .4 | .1 | 11.5 |
