It’s time for another edition of the BadgersWire “where are they now” series. In this post, we look back at a player who was an underrated piece of one of Wisconsin basketball’s greatest teams ever, Duje Dukan.
Beginning with his career as a Badger, the Croatian-American Dukan came to Madison in the 2010-11 season as a three-star recruit according to ESPN. It was the magical 2014-15 National Championship game run that UW fans will most remember Dukan for. The Croatia native, who grew up in Deerfield, Illinois, had his fifth year of eligibility due to missing the entire 2012-13 season because of mononucleosis, and was part of a team that Wisconsin fans will never forget. In 2014-15, Dukan averaged nearly five points per game and over 2.5 rebounds for the Badgers.
After his fifth year at UW, Dukan went undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft. Following an impressive NBA Summer League performance, the former Badger inked his first NBA deal with the Sacramento Kings in 2015. After seeing action in the final game of the 2015-16 NBA regular season with Sacramento, Dukan ended up being waived by the Kings in July of 2016.
Following a stint in Croatia and injury issues, the Chicago product found himself bouncing around the NBA G-League. Dukan spent 40 games with the Windy City Bulls during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, the Chicago Bulls affiliate. The Bulls were Dukan’s childhood team, and according to the 2014-15 Wisconsin roster he had grown up as the Bulls’ ball boy during Chicago’s second stint of championship runs in the 90’s.
In July of 2019, the 6-10 power forward went overseas to Spain, and signed with Movistar Estudiantes in Liga Endesa. Dukan played in 21 games this season before the suspension of the league due to COVID-19.
Dukan, along with Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes and Sam Dekker, is one of four Badgers from the 2014-15 team to have played in an NBA game. Hopefully the former Badger continues to find success in Spain, or elsewhere, when professional basketball resumes worldwide.