{"id":585143,"date":"2026-02-06T00:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/585143\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T00:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:12:16","slug":"new-celtics-addition-nikola-vucevic-labeled-winner-of-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/585143\/","title":{"rendered":"New Celtics Addition Nikola Vucevic Labeled ‘Winner’ Of Deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nikola Vucevic had one of the best trade deadlines in the NBA, according to ESPN\u2019s Zach Kram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Kram labeled Vucevic one of the \u2018winners\u2019 of the deadline due to the fact that the veteran center finally landed on a contender for the first time in his career by being traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Boston Celtics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cVucevic is a consummate professional who has enjoyed a long and productive NBA career,\u201d Kram wrote. \u201cThe 15-year veteran is a two-time All-Star with more than 17,000 points and 10,000 rebounds, plus nearly $200 million in career earnings. But he has never had a deep playoff run, as his postseason r\u00e9sum\u00e9 consists of just three five-game losses in the first round (not counting his rookie season, when he was a deep reserve who played three playoff minutes for the 2011-12 76ers).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, the 35-year-old center will get his chance \u2026 Vucevic is a defensive liability against the best competition \u2026 (but he) is an upgrade on the offensive end, and a great fit for Boston\u2019s perimeter-oriented system. Over the past two seasons, he has made 39% of his 4.5 3-point attempts per game.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Vucevic has delivered another steady season in 2025-26, averaging 16.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game through 48 appearances with the Chicago Bulls.<\/p>\n

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The vet is shooting 50.5% from the field, 37.6% from three-point range, and 83.8% from the free-throw line, posting double-doubles consistently while providing reliable interior scoring and rebounding.<\/p>\n

In recent outings with the Bulls, Vucevic showed flashes of his scoring touch, including a 25-point, 9-rebound effort against the Indiana Pacers on January 28 and an 18-point, 11-rebound performance versus the Los Angeles Lakers on January 26. His production dipped in limited minutes during a February 1 loss to the Miami Heat (12 points in 22 minutes), but he\u2019s maintained solid efficiency overall this year.<\/p>\n

Over his entire career, spanning the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, and Chicago Bulls before Boston, Vucevic has appeared in 1,020 regular-season games, averaging 17.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. <\/p>\n

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Selected 16th overall in the 2011 draft, he\u2019s earned two All-Star selections and ranks among the league\u2019s most durable big men.<\/p>\n

Known for his post moves, mid-range game, and improved three-point shooting in recent years, Vucevic remains a dependable contributor who bolsters team frontcourts with his scoring and board work. His move to Boston adds depth to a contending roster as he enters the later stages of a productive career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nikola Vucevic had one of the best trade deadlines in the NBA, according to ESPN\u2019s Zach Kram. On…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,45,75,3798,46,6,3853],"class_list":{"0":"post-585143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-bostonceltics","12":"tag-celtics","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nikola-vucevic"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116020795614085704","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}