Ivica Zubac

“One of my roles is rebounding the ball and not giving up offensive boards, and I feel like I can be one of the best in the league at that.”

“I'm feeling like I can stay on the floor for a while. I can run the floor. I can fight in the post with guys. I can rebound.”

“What really pushed me into chasing basketball even more was my cousin making the NBA too, in 2003.”

“I live in the part of Bosnia-Herzegovina where we are the only Croatians, and we are the proudest in the world.”

“I don't really know any people from Boston.”

“It's good to have someone who speaks your own language just to get your mind off of basketball.”

“It's hard to fall asleep after a game. I often go to sleep at 4 A. M. because I'm thinking about the game and my mind is racing.”

“We went to SpaceX to talk to Elon Musk, that was cool. He gave us the tour. We couldn't film it or anything. There were rockets, it was impressive. It was a lot of cool stuff.”

“I just wanted to play and that's all I worried about. If someone wanted to trade for me, I always thought it was a good sign.”

“I think I want to come straight to the NBA, but if the team who drafts me, they want me to stay in Europe and develop my game, I will stay.”

“I have good mid-range shot and I can shoot threes, but in Europe coaches didn't want me to shoot outside because I was tall and big.”

“I think that's the only way I can improve: to work hard, to listen to my coaches. Not to question anything.”

“I don't want to waste my minutes on the court just trying to pop.”

“I had to move out when I was 14 and live by myself in the capital of Croatia. That's when it got a little serious. From there, I played on the Croatian national team.”

“It was even hard to imagine I was going to play in the NBA, because so many guys playing in Europe are not even getting to the Euroleague and everything. But everybody wants to play in the NBA. So when draft night came, it was a dream come true.”

“In Europe, I was limited. I didn't have minutes and when I had minutes, it was just, 'Do this. Do this. You gotta listen to the coach.'”

“Wherever I go, I have to speak English, which is my second language. So whenever you get a chance to speak in your own language? It feels good.”

“But every time I make a mistake, I put some pressure on myself. That's not really good. I'm trying not to do that.”

“I am living a great life.”

“I was always trying to get in the paint and get the easiest shots I can.”