Los Angeles Lakers rookie center Ivica Zubac has seen his first year in the league come to a close after suffering a high ankle sprain on Thursday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers are 21-54 through their first 75 games of the 2016-17 NBA season. Los Angeles has already been eliminated from playoff contention. Now one of their young players in center Ivica Zubac is done for the season.
In Thursday night’s road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-104, Zubac suffered a high ankle sprain. Since the Lakers are positioning themselves for position in the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery, they have wisely shut him down for the season.
It’s a bummer to not see Zubac play for the Lakers’ remaining seven games. He’s quietly had a good rookie year for the Lakers. Zubac was the No. 32 overall selection by the Lakers in the 2016 NBA Draft out of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Coming into the league, some were skeptical that the 20-year-old seven-footer would be able to hold his own in the Western Conference. Zubac didn’t back down from anybody in his rookie year. He averaged 7.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in 38 games with the Lakers. Zubac shot 52.9 percent from the field in 16.0 minutes per game.
In limited action, Zubac was able to score efficiently in the low post and play solid defense as a primary rim protector. This was not a great season for the Lakers by any means, but the Lakers can look back on their No. 32 selection and feel good about what lies ahead for Zubac.
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At the very least, Zubac proved to be a reliable rotational player this season on a young, but bad team. Overall, Zubac proved his doubters wrong in year one. It’s a shame his rookie year has come to an end a few weeks early.