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Šamanić has been widely considered one of the top European prospects, and a potential lottery selection, for the 2019 NBA draft.

Early life
Šamanić was born in Zagreb, Croatia. His father Marko played basketball professionally for 19 years, including in the EuroLeague with Slovenian club Krka. Due to his father's career, Šamanić lived in a number of countries in his early life. When he was 9 months old, he moved to Belgium, and he later stayed in Slovenia and Germany. Šamanić grew up playing football, handball, and tennis, and was also involved in breakdancing. He did not start playing basketball, the last sport he attempted, until he was 11 years old. Still, he credits his football experience for improving his coordination as a basketball player.

Youth career
Šamanić began his basketball career at the youth levels with local club Zagreb. He collected 29 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks for Zagreb in a 22 November 2014 win over the junior team for Šanac Karlovac. On 16 November, he recorded 43 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 steals for Zagreb to help trounce Samobor, 160–21. On 3 January 2016, Šamanić led his team to a championship win against HSC Virtus Roma in a youth tournament in Italy, for which he earned most valuable player (MVP) honors. He scored 32 points on 16 January, in a blowout 111–43 win over the Rudeš junior team. Later in the month, Šamanić dominated versus the Cedevita junior team, notching 26 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, and 4 blocks. He continued his success on 22 February, when he erupted for 39 points and 21 rebounds in a 160–50 win over the junior team for Sisak. On May 29, Šamanić was named MVP of the Croatian cadet championship after his double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds in a blowout of Cibona junior squad. In June, he attended the Adidas EuroCamp, a three-day pre-NBA draft camp for international prospects held in Treviso, Italy.

On 14 June 2016, Šamanić signed a 2-year amateur contract with Spanish club FC Barcelona, initially joining its junior ranks. On December 22, he won the Slam Dunk Contest at a youth tournament in Tenerife. In January 2017, Šamanić played with Barcelona's junior team at the Ciutat de L'Hospitalet qualifiers for the 2016–17 Adidas Next Generation Tournament and was one year younger than most of his opponents at both events. In his first game at the qualifiers, on January 6, he recorded 11 points and 5 rebounds in a 79–56 win over the Olimpija junior team. In the final tournament in May, Šamanić averaged 8.7 points, 6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists through 3 games, earning the Rising Star Trophy. Later that month, he won the Slam Dunk Contest at EuroLeague FanZone, a three-day entertainment event at the 2017 EuroLeague Final Four.

By August 2017, Šamanić was drawing attention from several NCAA Division I programs, including Florida, Gonzaga, and Purdue. In the 2017–18 season with FC Barcelona junior team, he assumed a greater role after many of its top players left. In January 2018, Šamanić joined Barcelona at the Ciutat de L'Hospitalet qualifiers for the 2017–18 Adidas Next Generation Tournament. He posted 27 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 7 January, as his team lost to the Joventut Badalona junior team in the championship. Still, Šamanić was named L'Hospitalet tournament MVP and earned All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 23.2 points, 14.8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.8 blocks through 4 games.

FC Barcelona B (2017–2018)
In the 2017–18 season, Šamanić competed for FC Barcelona Bàsquet B—the reserve team of FC Barcelona—in the LEB Oro, the second-tier Spanish league. He debuted on 1 October 2017, in a 76–69 win over Força Lleida, playing only 4 minutes. Šamanić stood out in his next game versus Cáceres, scoring 10 points in 20 minutes and performing a windmill dunk. On 4 November 2017, he 11 points in 19 minutes against Araberri. In his following appearance, Šamanić collected 10 points and 8 rebounds in a win over Peñas Huesca. He scored a season-high 17 points on 9 February 2018, leading his team past Palencia. Through 22 games, Šamanić averaged 5.1 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 12.7 minutes per game. In February 2018, he took part in a Basketball Without Borders camp in Los Angeles, joining several other international NBA prospects.

Olimpija (2018–present)
On 31 May 2018, Šamanić signed a multi-year professional contract with Petrol Olimpija of the Slovenian League and ABA League. He joined Olimpija after failing to agree to terms with Croatian club Zadar.

National team career
Šamanić represents Croatia in FIBA competition. He made his national team debut at the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Radom, Poland. On 16 August 2016, Šamanić recorded 17 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and 9 blocks in a 74–67 victory over Sweden. In his final game at the event, he posted 24 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 4-of-9 from the three-point line, in a loss to Turkey. As Croatia finished in fourth place, Šamanić averaged 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game, earning All-Star Five honors. In 2017, he played at the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B in Tallinn, Estonia. Šamanić led Croatia to a gold medal after recording 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks in an overtime win over Great Britain. He was named tournament MVP and made the All-Star Five after averaging 13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. Šamanić took part in the 2018 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Latvia. On 3 August 2018, he notched 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks, shooting 5-of-5 from the three-point line, to help defeat Ukraine. Even though Šamanić averaged 17 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game in the tournament, Croatia finished in 11th place.

Personal life
Šamanić often takes advice from his father Marko Šamanić, a former professional basketball player, before and after games and tournaments. He looks up to and emulates Toni Kukoč, a youth basketball star from Yugoslavia who saw great success in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and European leagues. Šamanić has also compared his playing style to those of NBA players Kristaps Porziņģis and Kevin Durant. Outside of the basketball court, he often plays football and table tennis.