Longtime NBA Big Man in Talks to Sign with Top EuroLeague Squad

He's looking to make a splash at his next destination.

Apr 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Jazz forward Luka Samanic (19) goes to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) during the first quarter at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Longtime NBA forward Luka Šamanić is nearing a deal to continue his pro career abroad.

Sources inform BasketNews that the 24-year-old apparently is "in advanced talks" to sign up with Spanish EuroLeague club Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. BasketNews notes that the league's signing deadline this season is February 26.

Despite not finding an NBA landing spot, Šamanić has nevertheless been well-traveled this season.

He started off suiting up for Turkish team Fenerbahce, but the two sides split up in September as Šamanić tended to "personall matters." He then joined ABA League squad KK Cibona Zagreb of his native Croatia. Across three games for the club, he posted averages of 9.3 points, 5.7 boards and 1.7 dimes a night. He played for his homeland in a pair of EuroBasket 2025 qualifying games, logging averages of 5.5 points per bout against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Šamanić wrapped up his most recent NBA run last year with the Jazz, notching four straight double-digit scoring games. He finished that year with Ryan Kostecka of Jazz.com.

“It’s the only way to stay professional," Šamanić said of his stay-ready approach in an interview with "You’ve got to work because you never know when you’re gonna play... One thing I’ve learned throughout this is that you’ve got to stay working, really even harder when you don’t play."

"You see all these other guys play, and then you’ve got to come in the next day and work even harder," Šamanić added in conversation with Kostecka. "But if you can channel that and use it as a motivation, it can be a good thing.”

The 6-foot-10 power forward was selected with the No. 19 pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2019 NBA Draft, after starting out his pro career with stints for FC Barcelona and Petrol Olimpija. He played two years in San Antonio, but was often toggled between the Spurs proper and their NBAGL affiliate, the Austin Spurs. He then continued to wait for his next NBA opportunity stateside, playing for the New York Knicks' G League squad, the Westchester Knicks, in 2021-22, and the Boston Celtics' NBAGL team, the Maine Celtics, before finally linking up with the Utah Jazz late into the team's lottery-bound 2022-23 season. He signed a multi-year deal with Utah before the end of the year.

Šamanić appeared in 43 regular season games for the Jazz in 2023-24, averaging 4.1 points on .380/.203/.786 shooting splits and 2.4 rebounds across 9.5 minutes a night.

Across 86 career regular season bouts for the Spurs and Jazz in parts of four years (16 starts), Šamanić holds averages of 4.5 points on .411/.247/.706 shooting splits, 2.4 boards and 0.6 dimes.

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