Paul Victor Louis Zipser (born 18 February 1994) is a German professional basketball player for MLP Academics Heidelberg of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). Standing at 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in), he mainly plays at the small forward position. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 48th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Paul Zipser
Zipser in 2022
No. 9 – MLP Academics Heidelberg
PositionSmall forward / power forward
LeagueBasketball Bundesliga
Personal information
Born (1994-02-18) 18 February 1994 (age 30)
Heidelberg, Germany
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight231 lb (105 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2016: 2nd round, 48th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2012Heidelberg
2013–2016Bayern Munich
20162018Chicago Bulls
2016–2018Windy City Bulls
2019San Pablo Burgos
2019–2023Bayern Munich
2023–presentMLP Academics Heidelberg
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Professional career

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Heidelberg (2010–2012)

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Zipser began his professional career in his hometown with USC Heidelberg in 2010. In 2011–12, he averaged 7.9 points, 3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.[1] He managed just two games for Heidelberg in 2012–13 due to injury.

Bayern Munich (2013–2016)

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On 18 January 2013, Zipser signed a four-year deal with Bayern Munich.[2]

On 21 April 2015, Zipser entered the 2015 NBA draft as an early-entrant,[3] only to withdraw from it later.[4]

In 2015–16, Zipser played 40 league games for Bayern Munich, averaging 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 18.5 minutes per game.[5] For the season, he was named the League's Best German Young Player.[6]

In June 2016, Zipser attended the Adidas Eurocamp, a basketball camp based in Treviso for the NBA Draft prospects. He was named the Eurocamp 2016 MVP.[7]

Chicago Bulls (2016–2018)

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On 23 June 2016, Zipser was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 48th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.[8] On 15 July, he signed with the Bulls.[9] On 12 January 2017, in just his 11th appearance of the season, Zipser made his first career start in the Bulls' 104–89 loss to the New York Knicks; he had a then season-high seven points.[10] On 22 March, he scored a career-high 15 points in a 117–95 win over the Detroit Pistons.[11] In the Bulls' regular-season finale on 12 April, Zipser set a new career high with 21 points in a 112–73 win over the Brooklyn Nets. During his rookie season, he has received multiple assignments to the Windy City Bulls, Chicago's D-League affiliate.[12]

Throughout 2017–18 season, he received very little playing time due to the Bulls' front office trying to develop other young talents. He was sent down to their G-League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls on several occasions. Zipser began seeing more playing time during the middle of the season.[13] On 18 May 2018, Zipser was reported to have surgery in repairing a broken left foot.[14] On 14 July, he was waived by the Bulls.[15]

San Pablo Burgos (2019)

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After being close to signing with the Brooklyn Nets according to media reports in January 2019, Zipser moved to Spanish Liga ACB side San Pablo Burgos on 17 January 2019.[16]

Return to Bayern Munich (2019–2023)

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On 5 August 2019 Zipser signed with Bayern Munich of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).[17]

Return to Heidelberg (2023–present)

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On 1 July 2023, after a break of 11 years, he signed for a second stint with MLP Academics Heidelberg of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).[18]

National team career

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Zipser has been a member of the German national under-16 and under-18 teams. He played in the 2010 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, 2011 and 2012 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. In 2012 he also played in Albert Schweitzer Tournament and was named to the All-Tournament Team, averaging 14.6 points, 5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.[19][20]

On 30 July 2015, Zipser made his debut for the Germany national basketball team in a game against Austria. During FIBA EuroBasket 2015, he averaged 5.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.[21]

Personal life

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During EuroBasket 2015, Zipser raised controversy by refusing to sign an autograph for Vuk Ivanović, a boy of Serbian descent who was wearing a Serbian jersey, who claimed he wants to sell the autograph later.[22] However, Zipser gave an autographed game-worn jersey and shorts to Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church for a special raffle at 2018 SerbFest in Merrillville, Indiana.[23][better source needed]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Chicago 44 18 19.2 .398 .333 .775 2.8 .8 .3 .4 5.5
2017–18 Chicago 54 12 15.3 .346 .336 .760 2.4 .9 .4 .3 4.0
Career 98 30 17.0 .371 .335 .769 2.6 .8 .4 .3 4.7

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2017 Chicago 6 0 22.7 .455 .375 1.000 3.5 .5 .2 .2 7.3
Career 6 0 22.7 .455 .375 1.000 3.5 .5 .2 .2 7.3

EuroLeague

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* Led the league
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2013–14 Bayern 5 0 7.6 .375 .333 1.000 1.0 .6 4.2 2.8
2014–15 3 1 12.7 .500 .500 1.7 .3 .3 .3 3.3 1.7
2015–16 10 1 15.2 .475 .278 1.000 3.1 1.2 .4 .7 5.3 7.1
2019–20 28* 8 22.1 .441 .403 .800 3.4 1.2 .5 .4 8.5 8.1
2020–21 39 6 22.0 .496 .438 .805 3.0 1.1 .7 .3 9.1 9.5
2021–22 3 0 7.0 .500 .333 1.7 .3 1.7 1.0
2022–23 20 5 9.5 .391 .424 .833 1.1 .1 .4 .1 2.8 1.9
Career 108 21 17.7 .463 .415 .824 2.6 .9 .5 .3 6.8 6.8

References

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  1. ^ "Paul Zipser Basketball Profile". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Bayern Munich signs Paul Zipser to a four-year deal". Sportando.com. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Paul Zipser enters the 2015 NBA Draft". Sportando.com. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Paul Zipser withdraws from the 2015 NBA Draft". Sportando.com. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Paul Zipser BBL 2015-2016 Stats". EasyCredit-BBL.de (in German). Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Auszeichnungen: Gordon Herbert ist "Trainer des Jahres" / Paul Zipser "Bester deutscher Nachwuchsspieler U22"". EasyCredit-BBL.de (in German). 11 May 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  7. ^ "EUROCAMP 2016 Awards". AdidasEurocamp.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Chicago Bulls draft Paul Zipser, German SF, at No. 48 overall". ESPN.com. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  9. ^ "BULLS SIGN PAUL ZIPSER". NBA.com. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Knicks beat Bulls with big games from Anthony, Rose, Noah". ESPN.com. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 13 January 2017.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Mirotic scores season-high 28, Bulls beat Pistons 117-95". ESPN.com. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  12. ^ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Bulls clinch playoff spot with 112-73 rout over Nets". ESPN.com. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Bulls F Paul Zipser has surgery to repair broken left foot". NBA.com. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  15. ^ "BULLS SIGN JABARI PARKER". NBA.com. 14 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  16. ^ "ACB.COM - Paul Zipser se suma al proyecto del San Pablo Burgos". Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Paul Zipser kehrt zu den Bayern zurück". fcbayern.com (in German). 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  18. ^ "tDie Rückkehr von Paul Zipser zu den MLP Academics ist perfek". mlp-academics-heidelberg.de (in German). 11 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  19. ^ "SPAIN WINS ALBERT SCHWEITZER TOURNAMENT". FIBAEurope.com. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  20. ^ "Paul Zipser Player Profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  21. ^ "Paul Zipser". EuroBasket2015.org. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  22. ^ "German basketball player refuses to sign a boy's autograph because he is a Serb". telegraf.rs. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  23. ^ "SerbFest – Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church – Merrillville, Indiana". Nikola Mirotic and Paul Zipser 2016 - 2017 Season Chicago Bulls Game-Worn Autographed Jersey and Shorts
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