Ivica Zubac is regarded as one of the most underrated players in recent history

For a while, it seemed like 7-foot center Ivica Zubac wouldn’t last long in the NBA. After all, he barely registered on the Los Angeles Lakers radar while still donning the purple and gold from 2016 to 2019, playing a little over 13 minutes a game. At the same time, you couldn’t find fault in the Lakers’ reasons, as the league leaned towards positionless basketball that emphasized three-point shooting and transition attacks—things Big Zu wasn’t good at.

Despite his shortcomings, Zubac eventually hit his stride with the LA Clippers, quietly becoming one of the league’s best centers, adept at scoring inside and defending the rim with ferocity. Zu’s skills haven’t gone unnoticed by experts, including Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, who ranked the native of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as one of the most underrated players in the last five years.

On the verge of getting run out of the league

Zubac entered the NBA when he was only 19 years old in 2016—a time when the Golden State Warriors were tearing the league up with their small-ball lineup and three-point shooting. Zubac struggled to find his place as the league evolved, often being benched in favor of smaller, more versatile players.

“A lumbering, paint-bound center, Ivica Zubac, entered the league at the absolute worst time. As a 19-year-old rookie in 2016-17, the plodding 7-footer found himself surrounded by positionless wings and combo forwards masquerading as bigs,” Hughes wrote. “Everyone was scrambling to keep up with the Golden State Warriors' death lineup and the Houston Rockets' five-out spacing—to the point that old-school centers like Zubac seemed on the verge of extinction.”

Leaned into his strengths

Rather than try to keep up with what some of his contemporaries were doing, Big Zu leaned into what he knew best and became one of the league’s best inside scorers, making 62 percent of his shots in his six-year stint with the Clippers. While he doesn’t play a ton of minutes, there’s no denying his impact on the game on both ends: a double-double threat in every game and a key rim protector for the team's defense.

“A force at the rim who hasn't shot below 61.3 percent from the field in any of the last five seasons, Zubac has deft touch on short flips and push shots. He hit those difficult 3-to-10 footers at a 59.9 percent clip last season,” Hughes asserted.

“Conversely, opponents have found it nearly impossible to score efficiently when Zubac is near the bucket on defense. Only three players who defended as many shots inside six feet as Zubac last year—Walker Kessler, Kristaps Porzingis, and Rudy Gobert—held opponents to a lower hit rate,” Grant continued.

While Hollywood’s spotlight remains squarely on Kawhi Leonard and James Harden this coming season, Zubac’s consistent contributions will be crucial if the Clippers want to stay afloat in the stacked Western Conference.

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