Vlatko Čančar (/ˈtʃɑːntʃɑːr/ CHAHN-char;[1] born 10 April 1997) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m), he plays as small forward.
 Čančar with Slovenia in 2016 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 31 – Denver Nuggets | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Small forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | NBA | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 10 April 1997 Koper, Slovenia | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 236 lb (107 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| NBA draft | 2017: 2nd round, 49th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Denver Nuggets | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2014–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Union Olimpija | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | →LTH Castings | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Mega Leks | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | →Burgos | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Burgos | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–present | Denver Nuggets | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | →Erie BayHawks | ||||||||||||||
| 2021 | →Grand Rapids Gold | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at NBA.com | |||||||||||||||
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Professional career
editUnion Olimpija (2015–2016)
editOn 16 April 2015, Čančar signed a five-year contract with Union Olimpija.[2]
Mega Leks (2016–2018)
editOn 30 June 2016, Čančar left Olimpija and signed with Serbian team Mega Leks.[3]
Burgos (2018–2019)
editOn 13 March 2018, Čančar was loaned to the Spanish club San Pablo Burgos.[4]
On 13 June 2018, Čančar renewed his contract with the club for an additional two seasons.[5]
Denver Nuggets (2019–present)
editOn 22 June 2017, Čančar was selected with the 49th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.[6]
On 2 August 2019, Čančar signed his rookie contract with the Denver Nuggets.[7]
On 13 May 2021, Čančar scored a career-high 14 points off the bench in a 114–103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[8][9]
On 3 January 2022, during a 89–103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Čančar suffered a right foot injury. Two days later, he was diagnosed with a fracture of his right fifth metatarsal.[10] On 7 January, Čančar underwent surgery for the fracture and was ruled out for at least three months.[11]
On 10 April, in the regular season finale, Čančar returned to the Nuggets and played a season high 24 minutes in an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Čančar recorded 2 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in his last regular season game.[12]
On 7 July 2022, Čančar re-signed with the Nuggets on a three-year deal.[13]
On 23 November 2022, Čančar scored a career high 20 points, along with 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in an overtime win against the Oklahoma City Thunder.[14][15]
In June 2023, Čančar won his first NBA championship when the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals. During the season, he played in 60 games, almost 15 minutes per game, and scored approximately five points per game.[16] In the five-game NBA Finals, he played for 29 seconds.[17]
On 9 July 2024, Čančar re-signed with the Nuggets.[18]
National team career
editČančar has been a member of the Slovenia national basketball team. He played with the team at EuroBasket 2017, where he won the gold medal with his country.
Čančar represented the Slovenian national basketball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won an NBA championship |
NBA
editRegular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Denver | 14 | 0 | 3.2 | .400 | .167 | 1.000 | .7 | .2 | .1 | .1 | 1.2 |
| 2020–21 | Denver | 41 | 1 | 6.9 | .458 | .273 | .769 | 1.2 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 2.1 |
| 2021–22 | Denver | 15 | 1 | 11.7 | .561 | .583 | .643 | 2.1 | 1.1 | .1 | .2 | 4.1 |
| 2022–23† | Denver | 60 | 9 | 14.8 | .476 | .374 | .927 | 2.1 | 1.3 | .4 | .2 | 5.0 |
| Career | 130 | 11 | 10.7 | .479 | .361 | .847 | 1.7 | .9 | .3 | .2 | 3.5 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Denver | 5 | 0 | 4.2 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .800 | .6 | .2 | .2 | .2 | 2.2 |
| 2022 | Denver | 2 | 0 | 4.5 | .667 | .500 | — | 1.0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 2.5 |
| 2023† | Denver | 5 | 0 | 2.0 | .000 | .000 | — | .6 | .2 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 12 | 0 | 3.3 | .455 | .286 | .800 | .7 | .3 | .1 | .1 | 1.3 | |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide". NBA.com (Press release). 24 October 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Olimpija Ljubljana signs Vlatko Cancar to a 5-year contract". 16 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- ^ "Čančar from Union Olimpija to Mega Leks". 30 June 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Vlatko Čančar se seli v Burgos". KZS (in Slovenian). 13 March 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "ACB.COM - Vlatko Čančar renueva con el San Pablo Burgos por dos años". ACB.com (in European Spanish). 13 June 2018. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
- ^ "2017 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Denver Nuggets sign Vlatko Čančar". NBA.com. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Jokic scores 31 points; Nuggets beat Timberwolves 114-103". CBSSports.com. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
JaVale McGee had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Vlatko Cancar scored a career-high 14 points off the bench for Denver.
- ^ "Nikola Jokic leads super-sized Nuggets past Timberwolves". The Denver Post. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
Both Markus Howard (15 points) and Vlatko Cancar (14) enjoyed career-highs and helped offset Karl-Anthony Towns' 20-point, 11-rebound effort for Minnesota.
- ^ "Vlatko Cancar out indefinitely due to fractured right foot". BasketNews.com. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Vlatko Čančar Injury Update". NBA.com. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Vlatko Cancar, Denver Nuggets, SF - 2021-22 Game Log - NBA". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Vlatko Cancar signs three-year contract extension with Nuggets". The Denver Post. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Nikola Jokic, Bruce Brown and Vlatko Cancar save Nuggets with gripping OT win vs. Thunder". The Denver Post. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
Cancar scored a career-high 20 points, with numerous instances of spectacular defense to stymie the Thunder.
- ^ "Vlatko Čančar 2022-23 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "For Čančar, NBA ring a dream come true". SloveniaTimes.com. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
- ^ "Vlatko Čančar z Denverjem do naslova lige NBA! (VIDEO)" [Vlatko Cancar and Denver to the NBA title (VIDEO)]. Sportklub N1info (in Slovenian). 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Denver Nuggets resign Vlatko Čančar". NBA.com. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
External links
edit
- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
- Vlatko Čančar at Eurobasket.com
- Vlatko Čančar at FIBA
- Union Olimpija Profile