Hapoel Tel Aviv Basketball Club has secured Serbian guard Vasilije Micić with the largest contract ever awarded in Israeli sports. Valued at €18 million over three seasons, the deal sets a new record in Israel and places Micić among the highest-paid players in European basketball.
Micić, 29, who became a free agent last week after being waived by the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, returns to the EuroLeague to join Israel’s newest representative in the competition. The Serbian star is a two-time EuroLeague MVP and champion with Anadolu Efes, where he won consecutive titles in 2021 and 2022. At Anadolu, he also played alongside another recent Hapoel signing, Elija Bryant.
The signing follows intense interest from top European clubs including Fenerbahçe, Olympiacos and BC Dubai. Earlier reports noted Micić initially rejected Hapoel’s offer, but the club persisted and ultimately closed the deal.
Micić’s career began early, playing in Serbia’s top league at age 16 before progressing to EuroLeague stints with Bayern Munich, Crvena Zvezda, and Žalgiris Kaunas. His breakthrough came with Anadolu Efes in 2018, culminating in a standout 2020-21 season where he averaged 16.7 points per game and earned EuroLeague MVP honors. That year, he led Anadolu to an 86-81 championship victory over Barcelona. Alongside Serbian teammate Nikola Jokić, Micić became part of the first duo from the same country to win both NBA MVP and EuroLeague MVP awards in the same season.
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The following season, Micić averaged 18.2 points, 4.6 assists, and 2.7 rebounds over 34 EuroLeague games. He hit the game-winning three-pointer in the 2022 Final Four semifinal against Olympiacos and scored 23 points in the final versus Real Madrid, securing another Final Four MVP.
In 2023, Micić signed with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, which held his draft rights from 2020. He saw limited playing time there before being traded mid-season to the Charlotte Hornets, where he increased his averages to 10.8 points and 6.2 assists in 27.2 minutes per game. After starting the 2024-25 season in Charlotte, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in February but played only sparingly, scoring no points in five games.
Milwaukee acquired Micić in a later trade but waived him to clear salary space, paying him $2 million of his original $8.1 million salary without playing him in a game.