Nikola Đurišić

Nikola Đurišić (Никола Ђуришић; born 23 February 2004) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously played for KK Mega Basket.

Early life and career
Đurišić was born in Ghent, Belgium, as his father was playing football professionally. His father is Duško Đurišić, a Montenegrin former professional footballer, and his mother is Vesna Čitaković, a Serbian former professional volleyball player who helped the Serbia national team to win a silver medal at the 2007 European Championship and a bronze at the 2006 World Championship. He spent his early childhood in Belgium, Italy, Turkey, and Germany with his mother as she was playing volleyball, before he moved to Belgrade, Serbia when he was 8. His uncle, Perica Đurišić, a basketball coach, introduced him to the game.

Đurišić was playing basketball for the KK Banjica youth system before he joined the Mega Basket youth system in 2017. At the 2020–21 Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament, he averaged 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, and won the All-Tournament Team selection.

In May 2022, was named the Euroleague NGT Finals MVP and honored with Euroleague NGT All-Tournament Team, after his team won the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament for the 2021–22 season.

Mega Basket (2020–2024)
In September 2020, Mega Basket loaned Đurišić to OKK Beograd for the 2020–21 Basketball League of Serbia. Over 29 regular season games, he averaged 16.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and three assists per game.

Đurišić made his senior debut in the ABA League for Mega Basket on 11 April 2021 in a 84–76 loss to FMP making only 17 seconds of playing time. On his 18th birthday, 23 February 2022, Đurišić signed his first professional contract with Mega Basket. In 2022–23 season, Đurišić became one of the team leaders, averaging 13.1 points, 3.7 assists and 3 rebounds over 24 ABA League games. During the 2023–24 season, Đurišić averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds on 46.3% shooting from the field, in 30 ABA League games with Mega.

Atlanta Hawks (2024–present)
On 27 June 2024, Đurišić was selected with the 43rd overall pick by the Miami Heat in the 2024 NBA Draft, however, immediately on draft night, he was traded along with cash to the Atlanta Hawks via a three-way trade with the Houston Rockets.

National team career
Đurišić was a member of the Serbia U16 national team that participated at the 2019 FIBA U16 European Championship in Udine, Italy. Over seven tournament games, he averaged 4.7 points, three rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. He was a member of the Serbia U19 national team at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup. Over three tournament games, he averaged 7.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.

On 25 February 2022, Đurišić made his debut for the Serbia national team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, just two days after his 18th birthday. In a 75–63 win over Slovakia, he recorded 7 points, 4 rebounds, one assist, and 3 steals in 20 minutes of playing time.