Košarkarski klub Olimpija (English: Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| KK Olimpija | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Nickname | Zmaji (The Dragons) Zeleno-beli (The Green and Whites) | ||
| Founded | 1946 | ||
| Folded | 2019 | ||
| History | KK Svoboda (1946) KK Enotnost (1947–1954) AŠK Olimpija (1955–1976) KK Olimpija (1976–2019) KK Cedevita Olimpija (2019–present) | ||
| Location | Ljubljana, Slovenia | ||
| Team colors | Green, white, black | ||
| Championships | 17 Slovenian Leagues 20 Slovenian Cups 8 Slovenian Supercups 6 Yugoslav Leagues 1 Saporta Cup 1 Adriatic League 2 Central European Leagues | ||
|
| |||
Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They have played in two different National Leagues since 1946, the Yugoslav Federal League (1946–1991) and the Slovenian League (1991–2019). Olimpija has won three regional league championships, one in the Adriatic League and two championships in the Central European League. They have also won 20 National Cup tournaments, 8 National Supercup titles, and one FIBA Saporta Cup. In July 2019, the team merged with Cedevita, forming a new club Cedevita Olimpija.
History
editOlimpija basketball club was founded in 1946 as a section of the Svoboda Physical Culture Society. The first basketball game was played the same year against Udarnik and Olimpija came out on top with the score of 37–14. Late in 1946, the club was renamed Enotnost and was known by that name until 1954 when it assumed the name AŠK Olimpia.
Olimpija won its first Yugoslav League title in the 1957 season under the direction of the coach/player Boris Kristančić. In the following years, Olimpija won five more Yugoslav titles, in 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, and 1970. A new era for the club began with Slovenia's independence when Olimpija won eight consecutive league titles between 1992 and 1999.
On the international stage, the 1993–94 season was the club's best season as they won the European Cup against the Spanish ACB League club Taugrés under the direction of coach Zmago Sagadin. In the 2001–02 season, Olimpija won the "Small Triple Crown", taking the Slovenian League championship, Slovenian Cup, and the Adriatic League.
On 8 July 2019, Olimpija merged with Croatian team Cedevita, forming Cedevita Olimpija.[1][2]
The club was a founding member of the Adriatic Basketball Association in 2015.[3] In November 2020, the club's shares were transferred to Mornar Bar.[4]
Names through history
editThe club was established in 1946 as the basketball department of the larger sports club Svoboda. Later, the name of the club was changed several times. Since 1976 and until its dissolution in 2019, the name of the club included the sponsorship name.
|
Arenas
editThe team's first venue was Tabor Gymnasium, before they moved to the 4,500 capacity[5] Tivoli Hall in 1965. In 2010, the club moved into their new arena, Arena Stožice, with a capacity of 12,480.
Notable players
edit
The following players are regarded as the most important for Olimpija by the club's official website.
- Ivo Daneu – has won the Yugoslav national championship six times with Olimpija and earned over 200 appearances for the Yugoslavia national basketball team. In 2007, he became the first Slovenian player included in the FIBA Hall of Fame.[6]
- Borut Bassin – became the most valuable player of the 1967 FIBA European Champions Cup Final Four after scoring 30 points against Real Madrid. Bassin has also won the silver medal with Yugoslavia at the 1967 FIBA World Championship.[7]
- Marko Milič – former Olimpija and Slovenia national team captain, he became the first Slovenian player to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[8]
- Vinko Jelovac – earned 240 appearances for the Yugoslavia national team, with which he won the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.[9]
- Peter Vilfan – spent most of his career playing for Olimpija; he became the first captain of the Slovenia national team after the country gained independence in 1991.[10]
- Jure Zdovc – Regarded as one of the best point guards in Europe during the time of his career, Zdovc played for Olimpija in three spells between the 1980s and the early 2000s. Zdovc has won the EuroBasket with Yugoslavia in 1989 and 1991, and became the world champion with the team in 1990.[11]
A total of 16 former Olimpija players have played in the NBA:
Retired numbers
edit| Olimpija retired numbers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Nat. | Player | Position | Tenure | Date retired | Ref |
| 12 |  |
Marko Milič | PF | 1994–1997, 1999–2000, 2006–2009 | 2015 | [12] |
| 13 | |
Ivo Daneu | PG | 1956–1970 | 2007 | [13][14] |
Players in the NBA draft
edit| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team |
| # | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |
| Position | Player | Year | Round | Pick | Drafted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PF | Marko Milič
|
1997 | 2nd round | 33rd | Philadelphia 76ers |
| C |  Vladimir Stepania
|
1998 | 1st round | 27th | Seattle SuperSonics |
| C | Primož Brezec
|
2000 | 1st round | 27th | Indiana Pacers |
| SG/SF |  Jiří Welsch
|
2002 | 1st round | 16th | Philadelphia 76ers |
| SG/PG |  Yotam Halperin#
|
2006 | 2nd round | 53rd | Seattle SuperSonics |
| PG | Goran Dragić*
|
2008 | 2nd round | 45th | San Antonio Spurs |
| PF |  Dāvis Bertāns
|
2011 | 2nd round | 42nd | Indiana Pacers |
| PG |  Issuf Sanon#
|
2018 | 2nd round | 44th | Washington Wizards |
| PF |  Luka Šamanić
|
2019 | 1st round | 19th | San Antonio Spurs |
Honours
editDomestic competitions
edit- Winners (17): 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2016–17, 2017–18
- Runners-up (8): 2002–03, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2018–19
- Winners (20): 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017
- Runners-up (3): 2004, 2007, 2014
- Winners (8): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017
- Runners-up (5): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018
- Yugoslav League (defunct)
- Winners (6): 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969–70
- Runners-up (8): 1953, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1967, 1967–68, 1968–69
- Yugoslav Cup (defunct)
- Runners-up (5): 1960, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1986–87
- Yugoslav 1. B League (defunct)
- Winners: 1984–85, 1986–87
- Slovenian Republic League (defunct)
- Winners: 1946, 1947
European competitions
edit- FIBA Saporta Cup (defunct)
Regional competitions
edit- Central European League (defunct)
- Winners: 1993, 1994
Other competitions
edit- Fourth place: 1998
Notable performances in European and worldwide competitions
edit| Season | Achievement | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EuroLeague | |||
| 1959–60 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Rīgas ASK, 79–95 (L) in Ljubljana and 63–79 (L) in Riga | |
| 1961–62 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Real Madrid, 105–91 (W) in Ljubljana and 53–69 (L) in Madrid | |
| 1962–63 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Spartak ZJŠ Brno, 86–83 (W) in Ljubljana and 72–79 (L) in Brno | |
| 1966–67 | Final Four | third place in Madrid, lost to Real Madrid 86–88 in the semi-final, defeated Slavia VŠ Praha 88–83 in the third place game | |
| 1970–71 | Quarter-finals | third place in a group with Ignis Varese, Slavia VŠ Praha and Olympique Antibes | |
| 1996–97 | Final Four | third place in Rome, lost to Olympiacos 65–74 in the semi-final, defeated ASVEL 86–79 in the third place game | |
| 1999–00 | Quarter-finals | eliminated 2–1 by FC Barcelona, 67–70 (L) in Barcelona, 71–64 (W) in Ljubljana & 66–71 (L) in Barcelona | |
| 2000–01 | Quarter-finals | eliminated 2–0 by Kinder Bologna, 79–80 (L) in Bologna and 79–81 (L) in Ljubljana | |
| FIBA Saporta Cup | |||
| 1967–68 | Quarter-finals | eliminated by Slavia VŠ Praha, 64–95 (L) in Prague and 82–70 (W) in Ljubljana | |
| 1968–69 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Slavia VŠ Praha, 76–83 (L) in Ljubljana and 61–82 (L) in Prague | |
| 1982–83 | Semi-finals | eliminated by Scavolini Pesaro, 78–97 (L) in Pesaro and 92–107 (L) in Ljubljana | |
| 1991–92 | Semi-finals | eliminated 2–1 by PAOK, 81–68 (W) in Ljubljana, 61–79 (L) & 86–104 (L) in Thessaloniki | |
| 1992–93 | Quarter-finals | third place in a group with Efes Pilsen, NatWest Zaragoza, CSKA Moscow, Hapoel Tel Aviv and ASK Brocēni | |
| 1993–94 | Champions | defeated Taugrés 91–81 in the final of the FIBA European Cup in Lausanne | |
| 1995–96 | Quarter-finals | 6th place in a group with PAOK, Dynamo Moscow, Zrinjevac, Kalev and Nobiles Włocławek | |
The road to the FIBA European Cup victory
edit1993–94 FIBA European Cup
| Round | Team | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third | Bye | ||
| Top 12 |  Rabotnički
|
89–77 | 80–66 |
 Tofaş
|
87–78 | 103–90 | |
 Taugrés
|
86–73 | 63–67 | |
 Fidefinanz Bellinzona
|
77–62 | 53–50 | |
| Croatia Osiguranje
|
68–76 | 84–79 | |
| Semi-final |  Sato Aris
|
84–78 | 79–83 |
| 74–61 | |||
| Final | Taugrés
|
91–81 | |
Season-by-season records
editKey
|
|
| Season | Tier | Domestic league | Pos | Domestic cup | Supercup | Adriatic League | European competitions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | |||
| 1992–93 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | 1 European League | 2R | |||
| 2 European Cup | QF | ||||||||
| 1993–94 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | 1 European League | 2R | |||
| 2 European Cup | W | ||||||||
| 1994–95 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | 1 European League | GS | |||
| 1995–96 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Round of 16 | 1 European League | R32 | |||
| 1996–97 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | 1 Euroleague | 3rd | |||
| 1997–98 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | 1 Euroleague | R16 | |||
| 1998–99 | 1 | Liga Kolinska | 1st | Winners | 1 Euroleague | R16 | |||
| 1999–00 | 1 | Liga Kolinska | 3rd | Winners | 1 Euroleague | QF | |||
| 2000–01 | 1 | Liga Kolinska | 1st | Winners | 1 Euroleague | QF | |||
| 2001–02 | 1 | HYPO Liga | 1st | Winners | Winners | 1 Euroleague | T16 | ||
| 2002–03 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 2nd | Winners | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | T16 | ||
| 2003–04 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Runners-up | Winners | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | T16 | |
| 2004–05 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | Winners | Quarterfinals | 1 Euroleague | RS | |
| 2005–06 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | Winners | 10th place | 1 Euroleague | RS | |
| 2006–07 | 1 | Liga UPC Telemach | 2nd | Runners-up | 9th place | 1 Euroleague | RS | ||
| 2007–08 | 1 | Liga UPC Telemach | 1st | Winners | Winners | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | RS | |
| 2008–09 | 1 | Liga UPC Telemach | 1st | Winners | Winners | 9th place | 1 Euroleague | RS | |
| 2009–10 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Winners | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | RS | |
| 2010–11 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Runners-up | Runners-up | 1 Euroleague | T16 | |
| 2011–12 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Runners-up | 6th place | 1 Euroleague | RS | |
| 2012–13 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Runners-up | 8th place | 1 Euroleague | RS | |
| 2013–14 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Runners-up | Winners | 10th place | 2 Eurocup | L32 | |
| 2014–15 | 1 | Telemach League | 5th | Semifinals | Runners-up | 5th place | 2 Eurocup | L32 | |
| 2015–16 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 4th | Quarterfinals | 7th place | 2 Eurocup | L32 | ||
| 2016–17 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 1st | Winners | 11th place | 2 EuroCup | RS | ||
| 2017–18 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 1st | Semifinals | Winners | First Division | 7th | 3 Champions League | RS |
| 2018–19 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 2nd | Semifinals | Runners-up | First Division | 12th | 3 Champions League | RS |
Head coaches
edit
Boris Kristančič (195?–1967)- Lazar Lečić (1973–1975)
- Krešimir Ćosić (1976–1978)
- Lazar Lečić (1978–1982)
- Zmago Sagadin (1985–1994)
- Sergej Ravnikar (1995)
- Peter Vilfan (1995)
- Janez Drvarič (1995–1996)
- Žarko Đurišić (1996)
- Zmago Sagadin (1996–2002)
- Tomo Mahorič (2002–2003)
- Sašo Filipovski (2003–2005)
- Josip Grdović (2005)
- Denis Bajramović (2005)
- Zmago Sagadin (2005–2006)
- Tomo Mahorič (2006)
- Gašper Okorn (2006–2007)
- Memi Bečirović (2007–2008)
Aleksandar Džikić (2008)- Jure Zdovc (2008–2011)
- Miro Alilović (2011)
- Sašo Filipovski (2011–2013)
- Miro Alilović (2013)
- Aleš Pipan (2013–2015)
- Memi Bečirović (2015)
- Gašper Potočnik (2015–2016)
- Gašper Okorn (2016–2018)
- Zoran Martič (2018)
Saša Nikitović (2018–2019)- Jure Zdovc (2019)
References
edit- ^ R. K. (8 July 2019). "Rimac trener Cedevite Olimpije, prva okrepitev Edo Murić" (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: RTV Slovenija. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ "Assemblies confirmed new club BC Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana". kkcedevita.hr. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ "REGIONALNA KOŠARKA PREŽIVJELA Klubovi postaju vlasnici nove ABA lige". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). 16 June 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "FMP i dalje sporan". Dnevni list Danas (in Serbian). 12 November 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Hala Tivoli (dvorana in drsališče Tivoli) – Šport Ljubljana". sport-ljubljana.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ "Ivo Daneu" (in Slovenian). KK Olimpija. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Borut Bassin Taubi" (in Slovenian). KK Olimpija. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Marko Milić" (in Slovenian). KK Olimpija. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Vinko Jelovac" (in Slovenian). KK Olimpija. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Peter Vilfan" (in Slovenian). KK Olimpija. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Jure Zdovc" (in Slovenian). KK Olimpija. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
- ^ Union Olimpija Ljubljana retires Marko Milic's jersey.
- ^ Olympic Legends – Ivo Daneu.
- ^ SLO – Daneu reflects on amazing Hall of Fame career [part I].
External links
edit