Subscribe
Follow Us
Nobody thought the Golden State Warriors would win another title after missing the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, but they were able to take down the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals to capture their fourth title in an eight-year span. This championship team featured a lot of depth and veteran voices, one of which was big man Nemanja Bjelica.
Agreeing to a one-year, minimum contract with the Warriors that season, Bjelica's only goal was to win a championship while being a contributor off the bench. He did just that, averaging 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game over the course of the 2021-22 season with the Warriors. The team really embraced the veteran, as Draymond Green even stated last offseason that it was hard to see the big man head overseas.
Returning to Europe last year, Bjelica agreed to a contract with Fenerbahçe in Turkey, but he is now heading to a new team ahead of the 2023-24 season. The 35-year-old big man is returning home to Serbia in order to play for Crvena zvezda, an organization he spent time with at the very beginning of his playing career.
The team formally announced that they had agreed to terms on a contract with Bjelica on Tuesday.
In two seasons with Crvena zvezda earlier in his career, Bjelica made a name for himself as a perimeter shooting threat and as a result, he ended up being drafted 35th overall by the Washington Wizards in 2010. However, his NBA career began with the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2015-16 season after his draft rights were traded.
Playing in a total of seven NBA seasons, Bjelica managed to average 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 38.4 percent from three-point range for his career. While he did not make that big of an impact in his career, the veteran will always be remembered by Warriors fans for his contributions during their most recent title run.
A highly decorated EuroLeague player and the 2015 EuroLeague MVP, Nemanja Bjelica will now play in front of friends and family as he continues his career in Serbia.
