Former NBA Forward Nikola Mirotic Inks Multi-Year Extension With FC Barcelona
Nikola Mirotic, the sharpshooting forward/center who famously spurned NBA teams a year ago in order to sign with La Liga ACB’s FC Barcelona, looks to be extending his stay in Europe. Per an announcement from the organization on Friday, Barça and Mirotic have reached an agreement on a contract extension through June 2025.
The Montenegrin’s previous deal ran through the 2022 campaign and included a player option for 2023.
As shared previously by The Inquisitr, Mirotic had multiple suitors around the association last summer following a strong — albeit injury-shortened — a year where he split his time between the New Orleans Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks. Per Basketball-Reference, the 6-foot-10-inch, 250-pounder averaged 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in just over 27 minutes per game in 2018-19.
Moreover, he attempted almost 59 percent of his shots from three-point range and connected on nearly 37 percent of those attempts, which made him one of the more efficient scorers in the league that season.
Along the way, he helped the Bucks clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket.
That performance, as well as his lengthy track record as a high-level, floor-spacing big man, had more than one team willing to offer him a lucrative, long-term contract to stay stateside. However, he opted instead to return to the country and league where he had exhibited star potential ahead of his decision to make the NBA jump with the Chicago Bulls in 2014.
While the contrasting financial considerations and perceived prestige of the respective leagues can be debated, there’s no doubt that Mirotic’s move to Spain paid dividends on the basketball court. In 2019-20, Barcelona finished with an overall record of 24-6 before losing to Kirolbet Baskonia in the league final. The team also performed well in Euroleague competition with a third-place finish.
Mirotic was arguably the best player in Europe throughout the campaign, averaging 19 points and more than six rebounds per contest across all competitions, per RealGM. In doing so, he captured La Liga’s MVP trophy.
In the extension announcement from Barça, Mirotic expressed gratitude toward the team for his new deal.
“I’m very happy and very grateful to the club for this new opportunity. I’m happy to have extended my contract. 2025 sounds great. So many years wearing this shirt and hopefully achieving further success. I look forward to repaying that trust,” he stated.
“The club has trusted in me ever since I arrived. Everyone knows it is never easy to come back from the U.S., but the club has given me everything,” he continued. “They wanted to bring me here, the fans have been good to me, the energy is great and I have often said how surprised I have seen to be so well received.”
