[4] Karabatić began his professional career at the top French club Montpellier HB.

In the summer of 2009 he left Germany and returned to Montpellier HB, winning three further French champion titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

At the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, he was voted into the All-Star Team in which France finished fourth.

Nikola's father Branko Karabatić, who was also a professional handball player, is originally from Vrsine, a village between Trogir and Marina in Croatia.

[5][6][7] In his career, Branko played for the Železničar handball team from Niš, which is where he met his wife Radmila, who is originally from Aleksinac, Serbia.