Boban MarjanoviÃÂ (; born August 15, 1988) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Ilirija of the Slovenian League and the ABA League. He represented the Serbian national team in international competition.
A 2007 junior world champion, MarjanoviÃÂ played abroad in Russia and Lithuania between 2010 and 2012 before making his breakthrough in his home country. As the 2013 MVP of the Serbian league, he moved to KK Crvena zvezda, with whom he won the national championship and the cross-border Adriatic Basketball League (ABA League) in 2015. In addition to further MVP awards in Serbia, MarjanoviÃÂ was also voted one of the five best players in the ABA League and the top European club competition EuroLeague in 2015.
MarjanoviÃÂ signed his first ever NBA contract as a 27-year-old rookie in 2015 with the San Antonio Spurs. He also played for the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets between 2016 and 2024. At , MarjanoviÃÂ is one of the tallest players in NBA history.
MarjanoviÃÂ was born and raised in Boljevac in eastern Serbia. Although he was tall from a young age, his family members are all of average height: his father stands only in height. A pituitary gland condition is thought to have contributed to his gigantism.
Marjanoviàbegan playing basketball with the youth teams of Boljevac-based club Rtanj. By age 14, he was tall, and began playing for the Serbian professional team Hemofarm. He played in their youth categories until the 2005âÂÂ06 season.
Marjanoviàjoined Hemofarm's first team, playing in the Adriatic League, in the second half of the 2005âÂÂ06 season. He played there until January 2007 when he was loaned to the Serbian League team Swisslion Takovo. After half a season there, he returned to Hemofarm. His teammates included Stefan Markoviàand Milan MaÃÂvan, with whom he had played on the Serbian junior national team.
In the summer of 2010, Marjanoviàsigned a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow, on the insistence of Duà ¡ko Vujoà ¡eviÃÂ.
After Vujoà ¡eviàwas fired, Marjanoviàlost his place in CSKA's first team. On December 31, 2010, he was loaned to à ½algiris, until the end of the 2010âÂÂ11 season.
In July 2011, MarjanoviÃÂ signed for Nizhny Novgorod, staying there for half a season.
In January 2012, Marjanoviàreturned to Serbia and signed for RadniÃÂki Kragujevac on loan for the rest of the 2011âÂÂ12 season.
In July 2012, Marjanoviàsigned a contract with Serbian team Mega Vizura for the 2012âÂÂ13 season. He was named the MVP of the Serbian League.
On July 2, 2013, Marjanoviàsigned a two-year contract with Crvena zvezda. In December 2013, he was named EuroLeague MVP of the Round for Round 10. In April 2014, along with his teammate DeMarcus Nelson, he was selected for the Ideal Team for the 2013âÂÂ14 ABA League season.
In the first game of the 2014âÂÂ15 EuroLeague season, Marjanoviàled his team to a 76âÂÂ68 victory against Galatasaray, scoring 22 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in 28 minutes on the court. He was later named the EuroLeague MVP of the Round for Round 1. On November 22, 2014, he recorded 23 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, for a total index rating of 39 in a double overtime 103âÂÂ110 loss against Galatasaray. At the time, his 17 rebounds in a single game was the highest number by any player in the EuroLeague since 2011âÂÂ12.
On April 9, in a game against Panathinaikos, he set the EuroLeague record (since the 2000âÂÂ01 season) for the most rebounds in a single season with 256, passing the previous record by Mirsad Türkcan, who had 248 rebounds in the 2002âÂÂ03 season. He also set the EuroLeague record for the most double-doubles in a season with 16, surpassing the record of 14 set by Tanoka Beard in the 2004âÂÂ05 season. Over 24 EuroLeague games, he averaged all career-highs of 16.6 points, a league-leading 10.7 rebounds and a record (since the EuroLeague 2000âÂÂ01 season) of 25.67 in PIR.
On April 2, 2015, he was selected for the Ideal Team for the 2014âÂÂ15 ABA League season. Later that month, he helped his team to win the 2014âÂÂ15 ABA League trophy. He was named the MVP of the ABA League playoffs. In May 2015, he was chosen for the All-EuroLeague First Team.
On June 5, 2015, Marjanoviàwas named the Serbian Super League MVP for the third consecutive season, having helped his team to reach first place in the regular season with a record of 13âÂÂ1. Crvena zvezda won the 2014âÂÂ15 Serbian League championship after a 3âÂÂ0 series victory over Partizan Belgrade.
On July 17, 2015, Marjanoviàsigned a one-year, $1.2 million contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He made his NBA debut on October 30, recording six points and five rebounds in the Spurs' 102âÂÂ75 win over the Brooklyn Nets. On December 4, he was assigned to the Austin Spurs, San Antonio's D-League affiliate. He was recalled by San Antonio on December 6, and, the following day, scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting in a 119âÂÂ68 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. On December 28, in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Tim Duncan out injured and LaMarcus Aldridge limited to six points, Marjanoviàscored 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting in 14 minutes to help the Spurs defeat the Timberwolves 101âÂÂ95 and extend their franchise-record home winning streak to 27 games (dating to the 2014âÂÂ15 season). Two days later, in a win over the Phoenix Suns, he became the first player in Spurs franchise history to record 12 rebounds in 15 minutes or less. On January 21, 2016, he recorded 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in a 117âÂÂ89 win over the Phoenix Suns. On March 20, he was reassigned to the Austin Spurs, earning a recall two days later. On March 23, he scored a then career-high 19 points in a 112âÂÂ88 win over the Miami Heat. On April 13, in the team's regular-season finale, Marjanoviàrecorded a career-high 22 points and 12 rebounds in a 96âÂÂ91 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
After the 2015âÂÂ16 season, Marjanoviàbecame a restricted free agent. On July 7, 2016, he received a three-year, $21 million offer sheet from the Detroit Pistons. The Spurs declined to match the offer and he signed with the Pistons on July 12. On January 5, 2017, Marjanoviàrecorded 15 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in a 115âÂÂ114 win over the Charlotte Hornets. He had played only 76 minutes all season prior to the game against the Hornets but, with Andre Drummond in foul trouble and Aron Baynes out injured, coach Stan Van Gundy was forced to give Marjanoviàextended minutes. On April 7, 2017, he led the Pistons with a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in a 114âÂÂ109 win over the Houston Rockets.
On January 29, 2018, MarjanoviÃÂ, along with Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, a future protected first-round draft pick and a future second-round draft pick, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson. On February 27, 2018, he scored a season-high 18 points in a 122âÂÂ120 win over the Denver Nuggets.
On February 6, 2019, MarjanoviÃÂ, alongside Tobias Harris, was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. In 22 appearances for the 76ers in the regular season, MarjanoviÃÂ averaged 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game. He later helped the 76ers get past the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2019 NBA playoffs, but the 76ers were eventually eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in the Conference Semifinals.
On July 23, 2019, MarjanoviÃÂ signed with the Dallas Mavericks.
On March 11, 2020, Marjanoviàregistered a career-high 31 points, along with 17 rebounds, in a 113âÂÂ97 win over the Denver Nuggets, in what was the final game before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 10, 2021, MarjanoviÃÂ re-signed with the Mavericks.
On June 24, 2022, MarjanoviÃÂ was traded alongside Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss, Sterling Brown and the draft rights to Wendell Moore Jr., to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Christian Wood. On February 9, 2023, the Rockets waived MarjanoviÃÂ, as a result of a three-team trade.
However, on February 13, 2023, MarjanoviÃÂ re-signed with the Rockets, four days after being waived. On April 14, 2024, in a road game for the Houston Rockets at the Los Angeles Clippers, the Clippers had a partnership with fast food chain Chick-fil-A, where fans in attendance received a free chicken sandwich if any visiting team misses two consecutive free throws in the 4th quarter of a home game. MarjanoviÃÂ intentionally missed his two free throws, thereby granting those in attendance a free chicken sandwich. The television announcers cried, "He gave them chicken! He's a man of the people!" In September 2024, it was announced he signed at Fenerbahce of Turkey.
On September 18, 2024, Marjanoviàreturned to Europe and signed with Fenerbahçe Beko of the BSL and the EuroLeague for the 2024âÂÂ25 season. On December 23, 2024, Marjanoviàparted ways with the Turkish team.
On January 2, 2025, MarjanoviÃÂ signed with the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
On December 11, 2025, MarjanoviÃÂ signed with the Ilirija of the Slovenian League and the ABA League.
As a junior national team player with Serbia, MarjanoviÃÂ won gold medals at the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship and the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. He was named on the candidates list before both the EuroBasket 2009 and the 2010 FIBA World Championship, but did not get in the final 12-man squads. His senior debut with the Serbian national basketball team at a major tournament came at EuroBasket 2011 in Lithuania, where Serbia finished in eighth place.
In August 2015, the San Antonio Spurs prohibited him from playing for the Serbian national team at EuroBasket 2015 due to risk of injury after signs of pain in his left foot, although the Serbian Basketball Federation (KSS) stated that no bone fractures were found.
MarjanoviÃÂ represented Serbia at EuroBasket 2017. They won the silver medal, losing the final to Slovenia. Over nine tournament games, he averaged 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game on 56.2% shooting from the field.
At the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Serbian national team was considered a favorite to win the trophy, but was eventually upset in the quarter-finals by Argentina. With wins over the United States and Czech Republic, they finished in fifth place. MarjanoviÃÂ averaged 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds over 8 games.
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 54 || 4 || 9.4 || .603 || || .763 || 3.6 || .4 || .2 || .4 || 5.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | 35 || 0 || 8.4 || .545 || || .810 || 3.7 || .3 || .2 || .3 || 5.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | 19 || 1 || 9.0 || .519 || || .800 || 3.0 || .7 || .2 || .3 || 6.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Clippers | 20 || 0 || 8.3 || .551 || || .788 || 4.4 || .4 || .3 || .3 || 5.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|L.A. Clippers | 36 || 9 || 10.4 || .607 || .000 || .758 || 4.2 || .6 || .3 || .5 || 6.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 22 || 3 || 13.9 || .625 || .500 || .722 || 5.1 || 1.5 || .2 || .5 || 8.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 44 || 5 || 9.6 || .573 || .235 || .754 || 4.5 || .5 || .2 || .2 || 6.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 33 || 3 || 8.2 || .508 || .125 || .816 || 3.9 || .3 || .1 || .2 || 4.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 23 || 0 || 5.6 || .600 || .250 || .591 || 1.7 || .1 || .0 || .1 || 4.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Houston | 31 || 0 || 5.5 || .683 || .000 || .741 || 1.9 || .3 || .2 || .1 || 3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Houston | 14 || 0 || 5.1 || .529 || .000 || .643 || 2.3 || .4 || .1 || .1 || 3.2 |-class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 331 || 25 || 8.7 || .578 || .238 || .762 || 3.6 || .5 || .2 || .3 || 5.5
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|San Antonio | 7 || 0 || 6.0 || .667 || || .889 || 2.0 || .4 || .0 || .3 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 11 || 0 || 9.5 || .600 || .000 || .842 || 3.3 || 1.0 || .2 || .3 || 5.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 6 || 0 || 13.7 || .567 || .000 || .778 || 5.8 || .8 || .0 || .3 || 6.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 4 || 3 || 20.8 || .513 || || .778 || 8.0 || 1.0 || .0 || .3 || 11.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Dallas | 3 || 0 || 2.0 || .250 || || 1.000 || 1.0 || .0 || .3 || .0 || 1.3 |-class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 31 || 3 || 10.3 || .560 || .000 || .833 || 3.9 || .7 || .1 || .3 || 5.8
|- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| 2010âÂÂ11 | style="text-align:left;"| CSKA Moscow | 8 || 3 || 11.4 || .458 || || .923 || 3.5 || .4 || .6 || .6 || 4.3 || 5.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| à ½algiris | 6 || 1 || 12.3 || .647 || || .643 || 3.5 || .3 || .2 || .5 || 5.2 || 5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2013âÂÂ14 | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| Crvena zvezda | 10 || 9 || 19.9 || .616 || || .621 || 7.7 || 1.0 || .9 || .8 || 10.8 || 15.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2014âÂÂ15 | 24 || 24 || 27.3 || .621 || || .781 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|10.7* || 1.0 || .4 || .9 || 16.6 || style="background:#CFECEC;"|25.7* |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2024âÂÂ25 | style="text-align:left;"| Fenerbahçe Beko | 6 || 2 || 10.0 || .455 || .000 || 1.000 || 3.5 || .7 || .2 || .0 || 4.0 || 5.2 |- |-class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 54 || 39 || 20.0 || .601 || .000 || .761 || 7.5 || .8 || .5 || .7 || 11.0 || 16.3
Marjanoviàmade a cameo appearance as JÃÂnis Krà «mià Âà ¡ in the 2015 Serbian sports drama film We Will Be the World Champions.
In 2019, MarjanoviÃÂ played an assassin named Ernest who quotes Dante's Divine Comedy in the American action thriller ' and fights John Wick (Keanu Reeves) in the New York Public Library.
In 2021, Marjanoviàplayed the grand master in the 1,629th episode of the Serbian television comedy show Drà ¾avni posao. Marjanoviàis close friends with Tobias Harris, with whom he has been traded twice. Marjanoviàand Harris appeared in a 2021 series of Goldfish commercials. Marjanoviàhas also appeared in an advertising campaign for State Farm Insurance.
MarjanoviÃÂ made an appearance in the Netflix film Hustle, produced by LeBron James and Adam Sandler.
In 2023, MarjanoviÃÂ made an appearance as an assassin in the 2023 comedy thriller Hulu original film Self Reliance.
In 2025, Marjanoviàmade an appearance in Happy Gilmore 2, playing the role of Drago Larson â a towering, deadpan enforcer hired to intimidate HappyâÂÂs newest rival on the pro golf circuit.