The NBA Summer League is winding down but former Duke Basketball center Antonio Vrankovic left one more lasting impression for the Croatian National Team.
The ‘postseason’ of the NBA Summer League has begun and while only eight teams make the single elimination tournament, while the other twenty-four teams play in one consolation game.
One of the first consolation games was between the Croatian National Team and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Croatia was winless in its four games previous to this and playing against ‘NBA’ team, it was clear the Croatians were trying to win this game as the Thunder appeared to be going through the motions for a good portion of the contest.
Antonio Vrankovic led Croatia with a double-double, posting 16 points and 10 rebounds, leading the team in both of those categories. The former Blue Devil also led Croatia with a rating of +14 in 21 minutes.
The 7-foot center shot 8-of-14 from the field and also racked up one assist and one steal but Croatia was not able to hold off a late charge by Oklahoma City as the Thunder prevailed 69-68.
This was the first double-double Vrankovic posted in the Summer League as he has led the Croatian’s in scoring and rebounding before in Vegas, but never able to secure the double-digit points and rebonds in a game.
Vrankovic also never posted a double-double in his four seasons at Duke primarily due to his lack of minutes and superior front court talent ahead of him on the depth chart.
While the professional basketball future of Antonio Vrankovic remains uncertain, it seems likely that he will find a career playing overseas, potentially in his home-country of Croatia.
The Croatian National Team proved it has some serious talent on its team but will leave Las Vegas with an 0-5 record despite a few very close games.