Phoenix Suns’ Croatian pick Dragan Bender looks up to Toni Kukoc

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, left, congratulates Dragan Bender after Bender was selected fourth overall by the Phoenix Suns during the NBA basketball draft, Thursday, June 23, 2016, in New York. AP Photo

Call him the draft’s mystery man, but Dragan Bender is confident that he can make a mark in Phoenix the same way his contemporaries did before him.

“People will always put comparison between European talents because of our very much same stories. Media will always do that, but I just need to take focus, stay on the ground, and be able to do everything in accordance to what coach and the team needs from me,” the 18-year-old big man said through Cisco Telepresence on Friday.

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Selected fourth by the Suns, the 7-foot-1 Bender is the highest drafted Croatian player ever and is just ecstatic to bring his talent to the desert, saying, “I’m excited and happy to be part of this organization and start something new.”

“It’s an amazing thing for me and my family and for the people who are supporting me. It’s a great accomplishment and I’m very happy about it,” he said.

Bender is also hoping to follow the footsteps of Croatian legend Toni Kukoc as he starts his NBA career in Phoenix.

“He was a role model for me when I was growing up,” he noted. “He was playing in the same park in Croatia so I was watching a lot of him even when he went to the NBA and won championships in Chicago.”

Kukoc won three championships with the Bulls as the Michael Jordan-led squad scored their second three-peat from 1996 to 1998.

Just like New York’s Kristaps Porzingis last year, Bender is optimistic that he will fit the role with the young Suns crew as he grows with the team together with fellow rookies Marquese Chriss and Skal Labissiere.

“We have young guys here. It’s great for our future, to have young guys here to compete and help each other to get better,” he said. IDL