Filip Petrušev

Filip Petrušev (Филип Петрушев; born April 15, 2000) is a Serbian professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League (GBL) and the EuroLeague.

He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Petrušev was born in Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia.

He started to play basketball for youth systems of Serbian powerhouses Crvena zvezda and Partizan.

In 2014, Petrušev, already over 2.00 meters in height, who had just completed the seventh grade of primary school in Serbia, signed for the youth system of Spanish club Saski Baskonia (Laboral Kutxa).

Moving away from home to Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country, the fourteen-year-old began living a structured life within the club's youth system: residing with other youth team foreign players in a club-provided house with a cook, attending school classes in the morning, and participating in basketball training sessions in the afternoon.

In accordance with the club's training methods, in addition to team practices, he spent a lot of time on daily individual work—honing footwork in the post and practicing the hook shot—with coach Iñaki Iriarte.

In summer 2015, the youngster was picked by coach Vladimir Đokić for the Serbia under-16 national team ahead of the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Kaunas.

As per the advice and wishes of his family, he decided to leave Saski Baskonia during summer 2016 at age sixteen once the club wanted him to turn professional, which was to entail stopping his formal education, devoting his time fully to basketball, and likely being sent out on loans to smaller Spanish clubs in pursuit of making the full squad at Baskonia.

Summarizing his two year stay in Spain, Petrušev described it as "essentially becoming a semi-professional at fourteen" while crediting it for "significant personal growth".

Not keen on stopping his secondary education as part of turning professional, Petrušev began looking for a way to continue his schooling while simultaneously pursuing basketball.

After making the Serbia under-16 national team for the 2016 U16 European Championship where he appeared alongside youth prospects Alen Smailagić, Dalibor Ilić, and Marko Pecarski, sixteen-year-old Petrušev began playing high school basketball in the United States with Avon Old Farms, an all-boys boarding school in Avon, Connecticut.

Arriving to Connecticut with a foot injury he had picked up at the European under-16 Championship, Petrušev missed the majority of the season, watching the games from the bench and reportedly being disappointed with the style of basketball played at Avon, specifically its run-and-gun nature and disorganized structure.

Once he finally got on the court, though, he quickly adapted to the different style of play, eventually growing to appreciate its faster pace, focus on athleticism as well as being able to stretch the floor, shoot the three, and have the ball in his hands more, none of which he had been exposed to at Baskonia or Serbia under-16 national team.

He originally committed to the University of Hartford on October 24, 2016, but later de-committed on July 26, 2017.

In July 2017, ahead of his senior season, Petrušev transferred to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, an elite professional sports private prep school that a number of NBA players had come up through.

In August 2017, he attended the Basketball Without Borders Europe Camp 16 in Netanya, Israel.

On October 22, 2017, he announced his commitment to Gonzaga.

On November 8, 2017, Petrušev signed a letter of intent with the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

As a freshman, Petrušev averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game and was named to the West Coast Conference (WCC) All-Freshman Team.

Playing on a roster led by the number 1 prospect in the country RJ Barrett as well as top recruits Andrew Nembhard and Michael Devoe, Petrušev immediately gained the trust of the team's head coach Kevin Boyle who envisioned the 6' 11" (2.11 m) Serbian as a modern big (power forward or center) who could shoot threes and set himself apart as an inside-outside player. Adjudged to be too thin, the player was simultaneously put through a physical regiment to bulk up. Petrušev attended Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in El Segundo, California in February 2018.

Petrušev was a consensus four-star recruit, according to major recruiting services.

He scored a career-high 25 points in a 110–60 win over Arkansas–Pine Bluff on November 9, 2019.

On December 21, Petrušev had 24 points and nine rebounds in a 112–77 win over Eastern Washington.

He was named to the midseason watchlist for the Wooden Award.

Petrušev went down with an ankle injury in the second half of a game against BYU on January 18, 2020.

At the conclusion of the regular season, Petrušev was named WCC player of the year.

He averaged 17.5 points and eight rebounds per game.

Following the season Petrušev declared for the 2020 NBA draft.

Later, he withdrew his name from consideration for the 2020 NBA draft.

On July 20, 2020, Petrušev signed his first professional contract with Mega Soccerbet of the Basketball League of Serbia.

"There's a lot of uncertainty with the NCAA season," he said.

"Here I should be able to showcase some skills I wasn't able to at Gonzaga and improve my draft stock."

He was named the ABA League October MVP.

On November 8, Petrušev withdrew from the 2020 NBA draft.

He won the ABA League MVP, ABA League Top Prospect, and ABA League Top Scorer awards for the 2020–21 season.

In August 2021, having been drafted by the team earlier in the summer, Petrušev joined the Philadelphia 76ers for the NBA Summer League.

On August 9, 2021, he made his debut in the Summer League in a 95–73 win against the Dallas Mavericks in which he posted 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 19 minutes.

On August 17, 2021, Petrušev signed a one-year contract with reigning EuroLeague champions Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Super League.

Joining the accomplished squad led by a duo of guards Shane Larkin and Petrušev's Serbian compatriot Vasilije Micić, Petrušev started out well in the EuroLeague opening game loss away at Real Madrid, his EuroLeague debut, with 17 points in 16 minutes of action on 6 of 8 field goal shooting.