Zubac came through the youth ranks of Cibona Zagreb and then played for KK Zrinjevac Zagreb in the second Croatian division during the 2013–14 season. He made the roster of Cibona Zagreb's men's team the following season, becoming a part of a group of prospects including Nik Slavica and Ante Žižić after the departure of Dario Šarić. He played in Croatia's top-tier level A1 league and in the Adriatic League his first year and also saw action in the FIBA Europe Cup his second year. In February 2016, he left Cibona because of the financial difficulties of the team, and signed with Mega Leks of Serbia.
Los Angeles Lakers (2016–2019)
Rookie season (2016–17)
On 23 June 2016, Zubac was selected with the 32nd overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. On 7 July, he signed with the Lakers and joined the team for the 2016 NBA Summer League. Zubac made his NBA debut on 2 November 2016, scoring six points as the fill-in starter for Timofey Mozgov, as the Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 123–116. After appearing in only 10 NBA games over the first half of the season, Zubac had a season-best game on 17 January 2017 against the Denver Nuggets. He put together his first double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots in the 127–121 loss. On 12 March 2017, he had 10 points, six rebounds and a season-high four blocked shots in a 118–116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. The following night, he had a season-best game with a career-best 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting to go with 11 rebounds in a 129–101 loss to the Denver Nuggets. On 31 March 2017, he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a high ankle sprain in his right ankle. During his rookie season, Zubac had multiple assignments with the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Lakers' D-League affiliate.
2017–18 season
During the 2017–18 season, Zubac had multiple assignments with the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers' NBA G League affiliate due to limited playing time in the regular season.
2018–19 season
On January 17, 2019, Zubac scored a career-high 26 points along with 12 rebounds including a career-high 6 offensive rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 138–128 overtime win.
Los Angeles Clippers (2019–present)
On February 7, 2019, Zubac and Michael Beasley were traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Mike Muscala. Zubac became a key member for the Clippers during the final stretch of the season, eventually reaching the playoffs for the first time in his career with them.
2019–20 season
On February 22, 2020, Zubac posted a season-high 15 rebounds in 20 minutes of play against the Sacramento Kings. In a win over the Houston Rockets, Zubac shot a perfect 6 for 6 from the field and made a season-high 17 points, while also collecting 12 rebounds and blocking 1 shot on March 5th.
Croatian national team
Zubac represented the Croatian junior national team during the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. He averaged 17.6 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest during the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Greece, while receiving All-World Championship Under-19 Second Team honors from the European basketball website eurobasket.com. Zubac averaged double digits in scoring and rebounding, to go along with 3.0 blocks per game at the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, while making the all-tournament second team.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
Playoffs
Personal life
Zubac was born in Mostar and grew up in Čitluk, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, just east of the Croatian border. He has dual citizenship, but identifies as Croatian.
