Serbia’s Nikola Kusturica lands at UCLA, boosting 2028 NBA draft buzz

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nikola Kusturica of Serbia is joining UCLA's basketball program this fall, along with Gunars Grinvalds of Latvia, the school announced Thursday.

They join center Javonte Floyd of Atlanta and guard/forward Joe Philon III of Tampa, Florida, in the Bruins' freshman class.

Kusturica turned 17 in April and is already an early prospect to be the No. 1 pick in the 2028 NBA draft. He's two years from being eligible for the league.

Kusturica, a 6-foot-9 guard/forward, has played with FC Barcelona’s youth team since 2023. He helped the team win the U18 Adidas Next Generation tournament championship in May, averaging 16.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in six games. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in an 85-77 win over Real Madrid in the title game.

Competing in Spain’s U22 league during the 2025-26 season, Kusturica averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 19 games. He scored in double figures in 16 contests.

Grinvalds, a 6-7 forward, most recently competed for Real Madrid in Spain’s Liga ACB. In May at the U18 Adidas Next Generation tournament, Grinvalds averaged 12.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six games with Real Madrid. He shot 51% overall and 37% from 3-point range while averaging at least 25 minutes per game.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball