Who is Dragan Bender?
It’s encouraging to see how young people are becoming more interested in sports. Similarly, the NBA has given many young people opportunities and turned them into rising stars. Dragan Bender is a rising star in basketball.
Dragan is a gifted player who currently plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League and the Euro League.
He also made his NBA debut with the Phoenix Suns. His NBA career began when he was selected as the fourth overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft.
He is also a member of Croatia’s national team. He is a Croatian native who moved to the United States to make a name for himself. Fortunately, he was allowed to play in the NBA, and he is now thriving in his career.
Dragan poses with a basketball during one of the Suns’ cover shoots.
Stick with us until the end of this article to learn more about Dragan. We will discuss Dragan’s early life, career, love life, and other minor details in this section.
Relationship Details, Dragan Bender Is single?
Even though Bender works in a field where being flashy and sharing every detail about yourself attracts people, Bender prefers to keep things low-key.
He prefers to keep his personal life private and does not discuss it in public.
According to sources, he is dating Nina Dedic. However, Nina and Bender have been seen together at several events.
Nina is currently studying and pursuing a degree. She also plays center for her college basketball team as the #13.
She studies French and Spanish at Filozofski fakultet Zadar.
Bender and Nina are currently doing well and have no plans to marry anytime soon. They are both busy with their careers and believe they are too young to consider marriage at this time.
Unfortunately, we know nothing about how this love story began. However, as soon as we learn of any developments, we will notify you.
Quick facts about Dragan Bender
Age | 24 |
Height | 7 ft (2.13 m) |
Weight | 102 kg (225 lbs) |
Hair Color | Black |
Eye Color | Brown |
Dragan Bender: Early Life, Age, Wiki, Parents, Ethnicity
This gifted athlete was born on November 17, 1997, in Apljina, Bosnia, and Herzegovina.
He later relocated to Croatia, however. Dragan loved basketball from a young age, but he also had a strong interest in other sports.
He began playing basketball as a point guard at Nikola Vuji academy when he was 12 years old. If you don’t know who Vujcic is, he is a former Maccabi Tel Aviv star who served as Dragan’s coach or, shall we say, guardian angel.
Even though he knew what basketball was, Nikola helped Dragan develop as a player by making him more versatile.
Dragan’s older brother Ivan, as well as Dragan, used to practice with him. Bender was doing amazing things from a young age and was quickly selected for the Croatian under-16 national basketball team.
Dragan’s dream has always been to play in the NBA, and he used to watch NBA game tapes. Aside from that, he enjoyed watching EuroLeague videos.
Dragan’s father, Rafo Bender, and mother, Bernada Bender, were similarly supportive and gave him the courage to pursue his dreams.
Education, Schooling, University
There is no information about his education and schooling.
Professional Career, (Basketball Player)
Dragan, as we all know, grew up loving basketball and made his professional debut with K.K. Split when he was only fifteen years old.
Everyone was taken aback when he scored two points in six minutes. Because of his outstanding performance, KK Katella signed Bender for the following season as well, and he was forced to remain in Croatia.
Dragan and his team made it to Croatia’s top league, A-1 Liga, thanks to his enormous contributions.
The highlight of the game was Dragan’s game-winning shot, which came with only three seconds remaining in the game.
Dragan joined KK Cedevita in 2014 after two years with Kastel. He finished the season with 21 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
He has also played for Croatia’s junior and senior basketball teams. Furthermore, through these tournaments, Bender established himself as a competent player.
Bender made headlines in 2016 after being drafted into the NBA.
Dragan was then signed for seven years by an Israeli team called Maccabi Tel Aviv. He did an outstanding job there, reaching new heights of success. Everyone recognized him after that, and everyone enjoyed his games.
Despite having a seven-year contract with Israel, Dragan was forced to leave after only two years because his name was listed in the NBA and he needed to go to the United States. As a result, the Phoenix Suns were forced to pay the Israel team $1.3 million.
Basketball Career
Years of hard work paid off when Bender was selected in the NBA draft in 2016. Every team’s manager in the draft wanted Dangar to be on their team.
Bender was well-known for both his shooting and defending abilities. However, the Phoenix Suns struck a great deal and acquired Bender. Bender was also the Suns’ highest-drafted rookie after 1987.
For your information, Bender was only a teenager when he made his NBA debut. Unfortunately, his team lost that game, but Bender praised his skills and mental fortitude.
Despite this, Bender had to take a short break from his career due to some health issues, but he returned to the Suns in the 2017 NBA League.
Dragan had his best season that year, recording a career-high 14 rebounds and 14 points.
Furthermore, Dragan was declared a free agent in 2018 after the Suns declined Bender’s $5.9 million rookie option for the fourth year.
Dragan joins the Milwaukee Bucks after finishing the 2018 season. Dangar, on the other hand, didn’t accomplish much while working with Bucks.
Bender joined the Golden State Warriors in 2020 after being waived by the Bucks. Nonetheless, for ten days, this was an intriguing contract.
However, due to COVID-19, the NBA suspended the 2020 season. However, in the final game, Bender managed to set a new career-high with 23 points.
Dangar also returned to the Israel Premier League in 2020. Dragan, without a doubt, is a rising star who has achieved tremendous success in a relatively short period. But Dragan still has a long way to go before he can claim first place.
Net Worth, Salary, Assets
Dragan’s primary source of income is his basketball career. Even though he began his career at the age of fifteen, it is clear that he has made a good living.
Dragan’s net worth is $5 million as of 2022.
As previously stated, Bender was signed by the Golden States on a ten-day contract. As a result, the state’s contract was worth $94,850, which included $94,850 in guaranteed pay and $9,485 in annual average pay.
Similarly, Bender will earn $94,850 as a base salary in 2019-2020, with a cap hit of $91,557 and a dead cap value of $91,557.
Dragan was drafted to the NBA by Phoenix, who paid him $8.7 million over two years.
In terms of earnings, Bender earned $4,276,320 in 2016 and $4,468,800 in 2017.
Phoenix paid Bender $4.66 million for the 2018 season. Indeed, Bender has made enough money to live a lavish lifestyle.
However, we do not have any records of how he spends his money, property, or car collection. However, as soon as we find out more about his property, we will notify you.
Rumors and Controversy
Talking about his rumors and controversy, he has not been in any part of rumors as well as controversy to date.
What is the Height of Dragan Bender? Weight, Full Body Status
Height | 7 ft (2.13 m) |
Weight | 102 kg (225 lbs) |
Hair Color | Black |
Eye Color | Brown |
Father’s Name | Rafo Bender |
Mother’s Name | Bernada Bender |
Siblings | Ivan Bender |
Social Media Accounts
Dragan is a frequent user of Instagram and Twitter. We could see some amazing photo collections if we opened Bender’s Instagram.
Bender mostly posts pictures of NBA moments, his parents, and his brothers on Instagram. However, he has not shared any photos of his girlfriend.
Similarly, Bender has a sizable fan base, with nearly 33.9k followers on Instagram.
In terms of his Twitter account, he hasn’t tweeted since 2013. There have only been seven tweets, and only 22 people follow this account.
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