Dragan Bender

Dragan Bender (born 17 November 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player who last played for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He stands 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) and plays the power forward and center positions. He was selected by the Suns with the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Bender represents the Croatian national team, with experience in the FIBA Europe junior tournaments. Before playing in Israel, he competed with multiple teams in Croatia and in Nikola Vujčić\'s academy.\n', '

Bender was born on 17 November 1997, in Čapljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a city on the Croatian border, and he later moved to Split, Croatia. At 12 years of age, he started playing at Nikola Vujčić\'s basketball academy as a point guard. Vujčić was a former Maccabi Tel Aviv star and became Bender\'s guardian. At the academy, Bender became a more versatile playe…