By Johnny Askounis/ [email protected]
Playing in the NBA is considered extremely unlikely, a decade after being selected with the final pick of the NBA draft in 2015, but 32-year-old Luka Mitrovic was placed in a trade, specifically his NBA rights.
In Barclays Center on Thursday, with the Los Angeles Clippers looking to secure 23-year-old Kobe Sanders, they sent the 51st pick of the 2025 NBA Draft presented by State Farm and the Mitrovic rights to the New York Knicks to receive the 50th pick and draft the former Nevada and Cal Poly NCAA player. In turn, the Knicks drafted 20-year-old French forward Mohamed Diawara.
Back in 2015, during his first spell with Crvena Zvezda, Mitrovic was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 60th overall selection. A few weeks later, his rights were traded to the Sacramento Kings, and from there moved to the Clippers in 2023. Joining a long list of NBA rights controlled by the Knicks, he fit in with fellow Turkish Airlines EuroLeague stars, Spanish Sergio Llull of Real Madrid and Lithuanian Rokas Jokubaitis of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.
After focusing his career abroad with Brose Bamberg, UCAM Murcia, Baxi Manresa, Hapoel Jerusalem, and Buducnost VOLI, Mitrovic reunited with Zvezda in 2021. Overall, he is a veteran of 197 appearances in the EuroLeague, with his career stretching to several domestic league titles. Following successful showings across all junior national teams of Serbia from 2009 to 2013, his appearances at the senior level have been limited to the Qualifiers of the FIBA World Cup 2023 and EuroBasket 2025.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net