By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After a one-year absence from basketball courts due to a torn ACL, former lottery pick Dragan Bender signed with Spanish ACB side Obradoiro for the upcoming season, the club announced.
Bender is returning to action following his 2020-21 stint with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel. The 24-year-old Croatian forward played in 34 Euroleague games with the Yellows and averaged 6.6 points plus 3.8 rebounds in 19:07 minutes. On a domestic level, he won the Israeli League and Cup titles but his personal run with the team ended abruptly when he tore his ACL in the playoffs opener.
In 2016, Bender was selected with the No. 4 overall pick by the Phoenix Suns. He was considered one of the top international prospects ever but didn’t manage to establish himself in the NBA, amid also injury problems and ankle surgery in 2017.
Bender last played in the NBA in 2019 when he joined the Golden State Warriors to register career-highs 9.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists over nine games.