Prior to College
Competed for FC Barcelona in Spain, signing with FC Barcelona’s youth team in 2023 … in the summer of 2026, averaged a team-leading 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in seven games for his native country of Serbia at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey … at the U17 tournament, shot 46.8 percent from the field and 72.9 percent from the free-throw line, including a team-high 37 points in Serbia's loss to the United States in the gold-medal game (July 5, 2026) … was named the tournament's Best Defensive Player and earned All-Star Five honors – led Serbia with 16 steals and 12 blocks during the tournament … in May of 2026, at the U18 Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Greece, averaged 16.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in six games … finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in an 85-77 champinoship game win over Real Madrid (at the U18 Adidas Tournament) … competing in Spain’s U22 league in 2025-26, he averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 19 games … scored in double figures in 16 contests during the season … in 2025, was named the Most Valuable Player of the FIBA U16 EuroBasket tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia, after averaging 20.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game … guided Serbia to its first U16 EuroBasket title since 2007 and recorded 18 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in a 99-86 victory over Lithuania in the championship game.
Personal
Nikola Kusturica is pronounced NEE-koh-lah koo-ster-EET-zah … was born in Novi Sad, Serbia … can speak Serbian (native language), English and Spanish … moved to Spain in 2023 when he signed with FC Barcelona’s youth team … in addition to basketball, played soccer as a youngster … undeclared major.
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