Nemanja Bjelica Shows Off Instant Impact in Debut

Of the offseason acquisitions to the Warriors roster, Serbian sharpshooter Nemanja Bjelica was probably the most unheralded. Although he’s been a solid player throughout his career, the return of championship-winning swingman Andre Iguodala and addition of former key to the Wizards big 3 Otto Porter Jr. overshadowed Bjelica’s arrival, especially because many were unfamiliar with his game. Drafted by the Wizards in 2010 but playing overseas (and winning a Euro League MVP in 2015, which is kind of cool I guess) until he made his NBA debut with the Timberwolves in 2015, the big man is a career 38.8% shooter from three and stands at 6’10. He was one of the prototypical super-spacing bigs that we see so much of nowadays, and given he played most of his career alongside centers who were either stars (Karl-Anthony Towns) or projected to be stars (Marvin Bagley III in San Antonio), his role was to spot up on the outside and pull the opposing team’s big far enough away from the hoop to unclog the lane.

Bjelica, of course, is most familiar to Warriors fans for his thunderous welcome to the Bay in the form of 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists while missing one shot and drilling his only three, ultimately prompting the “We Bjelieve” slogan, and for these t-shirts to be made. Bjelica showed a unique ability to attack bigs off the dribble akin to reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, and while he only had 4 assists off the bench, he showed off some rather impressive court vision by making a lot of good reads in addition to setting his teammates up directly. For someone who was billed as a sharpshooter, Bjelica didn’t do a whole lot of outside shooting, instead nailing midrange jumpers and finishing around the rim with some impressive craft. While a one-game sample size isn’t a ton to go off of, he did show that he fit like a glove into the Warriors high-motion offense that allowed him to capitalize on his height and versatility. He had an effective-enough preseason for what was expected of him, shooting a solid 40% from three overall and grabbing a few boards in some low-stakes environments, but his opener was a whole different animal.

Finding this kind of instant impact is precisely how the Warriors have nailed their veteran minimums in the past (last season exempt), and it warrants a tip of the hat to Meyers and company for finding gems like Bjelica and Porter Jr. for the prices they did. The Serbian big man in particular is a great find because he brings something to the game that the Warriors have sorely lacked in seasons past alongside his spacing: Rebounding. Being 6’10 and playing the 4 or 5 will likely net Bjelica, who showed he can scrap with guys like Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard on the boards, plenty of opportunity to stay active in the paint as needed. We can’t expect these kinds of performances every single night as he’s 33 years old, but his Euro League and NBA careers indicate he’ll be a rotational mainstay, he’ll bring a type of bigman versatility to this Warriors squad that the team has sparingly seen before, and most importantly, that he’ll be able to relieve some of the burden carried by Curry and Poole on the offensive end by making a veteran impact.

(Photo credit: eurohoops.net)