Bjelica played seven seasons in the NBA, how much money did he make, and how much did he get in retirement
In the wee hours of the morning, Bjelica suddenly announced his retirement through his social media account, he wrote: 20 years, thank you, basketball. In fact, he had long expected that he would choose to retire, because after winning the championship with the Warriors in 2022, Bjelica never appeared on the NBA court again, and even received the championship ring in the Warriors' offseason training camp. But he can be said to have retired successfully, because his biggest pursuit is to win the championship, and after receiving the ring, he said that he felt very dreamy, the ring is very big, and it may be a few years before he feels that winning the championship is real. Bjelica also expressed his gratitude to the Warriors and said that it was really great to work with Kuchaitang.
Therefore, now Belitsa can be regarded as a successful retirement, satisfying the biggest dream of his life, and starting the next journey with a sense of happiness. So, how much money did he make in seven seasons in the NBA?
In the 2010 draft, Forest selected him with the No. 5 pick in the second round, but Bjelica had already signed a five-year contract with a European team that year, and if he broke the contract, he would have to pay a huge amount of liquidated damages. So the Timberwolves can only retain the signing rights of Bjelica. As the saying goes, every player who can play in the NBA is Jordan in his own story, and Bjelica played for a club in Turkey in 2013 and won the EuroBasket League MVP that year. By the end of his contract in 2015, he signed a three-year, $11.7 million contract with Forest.
At the Wolves, Bjelica was primarily used as a backup for Towns, playing limited minutes and not stellar stats, averaging 6.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in his third season, with the only bright spot being 41.5 percent of his three-point shooting. In 2018, Bjelica did not renew his contract with the Timberwolves, but jumped to the Kings and signed a three-year, $20.5 million contract. He was reused by the Kings and played a role similar to that of Divac, averaging 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in the 2019-20 season, which was already the best season of his career. But then, Bjelica, who was in contract year, was traded to the Heat by the Kings.
In 2021, Bjelica became a free agent, opting to sign a base salary with the Warriors. With the Warriors, Bjelica maintained good health, playing 71 games in the regular season and 10 in the playoffs, averaging 6.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in the regular season, making him a very important bench player.
After winning the championship, Bjelica chose to return to Europe and return to a place closer to his hometown, but suffered a major injury for 2 consecutive seasons, playing only 7 games in total, so injury was also one of the reasons for Bjelica's retirement. After all, life is bigger than basketball, and he also has to think about his future life. Playing a total of 7 seasons in the NBA and signing 3 contracts, Bjelica earned a salary of $33.7889 million. But he has actually been playing in the professional league since he was 15 years old, and his total career salary should be more than 35 million. And his pension is also relatively high, after the age of 50, he can receive $2144.38 per month, which is enough to ensure a normal quality of life.