Dragan Bender to the NBA Draft

Nine of the projected top-10 picks in the June 23 NBA Draft are American college players. The tenth, Dragan Bender, made his intentions known on Wednesday morning.

ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla reported on Wednesday that the 7-foot-1, 18-year-old Croatian has declared for the NBA Draft, according to his NBA agent, Doug Neustadt.

Bender, the projected No. 3 pick, according to DraftExpress, declaring for the draft comes as no surprise. He has played professionally since he was 15, and spent this season with Euroleague power Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Bender made headlines last summer when, at the age of 17, he was called up to the Croatian Under-19 National Team for the FIBA Under-19 World Championships, but was unable to play. That stemmed from a sneaker dispute. Bender wears adidas, but the national team was outfitted in Jordan Brand.

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Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.