Nemanja Bjelica, the European center who played a key role in the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 championship-winning season, is reportedly retiring from professional basketball due to injuries, as per Sportando.
Nemanja Bjelica to reportedly retire due to injurieshttps://t.co/kXcByxFTm3
— Sportando (@Sportando) October 9, 2023
Bjelica’s professional career has spanned a total of sixteen years and has been characterized by both remarkable successes and heartbreaking losses in EuroLeague, Turkish League, NBA, and Liga ACB.
However, his seven-season stint in the NBA has earned him international recognition and cemented his status as a European icon.
Coming off his successful run with Fenerbahçe, where he was named EuroLeague MVP of the 2015 season, Bjelica, or as his teammates and fans like to call him ‘Belli’, signed with the Minessota Timberwolves. He made his debut in the team’s season opener, scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds in a 112-111 win over the Lakers.
In 2018, Belli had planned to head back home to Europe but was offered a three-year, $20.5 million contract by Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac, per Sactown Sports. Deciding to stay, Belli spent the next three seasons with the Kings and registered his best stats in the 2019-20 season since coming to the league with an average of 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists over 72 games.
Bjelica at Miami Heat
After ending his season with the Kings in 2021, he signed with the Miami Heat for one season and subsequently landed with the Golden State Warriors the following season. He made his Warriors debut on October 2021, coming off the bench to snag a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in Golden State’s 121–114 victory over the Lakers.
Free agent F Nemanja Bjelica has agreed to a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2021
Belli played for the Warriors for 71 regular season games and 15 postseason games, tremendously helping the team clinch the championships in 2022. Golden state of mind, a news outlet, described his time with the Warriors as “brief but spectacular.”
2022 Champs Chris Chiozza & Nemanja Bjelica received their championship rings during a surprise appearance at @gswacademy pic.twitter.com/vRIxyKruSg
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) July 19, 2023
After his championship stint with the Warriors, Belli moved on and signed with the Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, but not before penning a heartwarming farewell to his fans on Instagram. In it, the Serb player wrote,
“Thank you, Warriors, the 2022 NBA champions. To the best fans and everyone who supported and pushed us through the whole season until the very end, thank you. To this amazing organization who believed in me and let me be part of this legendary group of players, my braces. To all of you, for this unforgettable experience in closing my NBA chapter, thank you. I will always remember this season, these fans and the Bay. Always a Warrior, Thank you #DjudjuFandjo 🐬”
In his podcast, Draymond Green admitted that losing Belli hurt him a little, “Another loss that was huge for us was losing Beli, Nemanja Bjelica. He is headed back to Fenerbahce in Turkey. I’m a little hurt by this one,”.
In September this year, it was reported by Eurohoops that Belli parted ways with Fenerbahce to reunite with Crvena Zvezda, his former team in 2008-2010. However, after sustaining a Calf injury, Belli couldn’t appear in the team’s first games which has left him contemplating instead whether it was time for him to throw in the towel and call it a career.
The photo above is from a YouTube screengrab