KK Olimpija

History

Olimpija 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.

The club was a founding member of the Adriatic Basketball Association in 2015. In November 2020, the club's shares were transferred to Mornar Bar.

Names through history

The 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

The team's first venue was Tabor Gymnasium, before they moved to the 4,500 capacity Tivoli Hall in 1965. In 2010, the club moved into their new arena, Arena Stožice, with a capacity of 12,480.

Notable players

Main article: Category:KK Olimpija players

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.
• 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.
• Marko Milič – former Olimpija and Slovenia national team captain, he became the first Slovenian player to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
• Vinko Jelovac – earned 240 appearances for the Yugoslavia national team, with which he won the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
• 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.
• 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.

A total of 16 former Olimpija players have played in the NBA:

• Goran Dragić
• Rašo Nesterović
• Beno Udrih
• Šarūnas Jasikevičius
• Damjan Rudež
• Marko Milič
• Primož Brezec
• Vladimir Stepania
• Boštjan Nachbar
• Jiří Welsch
• Soumaila Samake
• Radisav Ćurčić
• Danny Green
• Aron Baynes
• Dāvis Bertāns
• Damir Markota

Retired numbers

Players in the NBA draft

Honours

Domestic competitions

• Slovenian League : 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
• Slovenian Cup : 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
• Slovenian Supercup : Winners (8): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017 : Runners-up (5): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018
• Yugoslav League : Winners (6): 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969–70 : Runners-up (8): 1953, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1967, 1967–68, 1968–69
• Yugoslav Cup : Runners-up (5): 1960, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1986–87
• Yugoslav 1. B League : Winners: 1984–85, 1986–87
• Slovenian Republic League : Winners: 1946, 1947

European competitions

• EuroLeague : Semifinalists: 1961–62 : Third place: 1966–67, 1996–97 : Final Four: 1967, 1997
• FIBA Saporta Cup : Winners: 1993–94 : Semifinalists: 1968–69, 1982–83, 1991–92

Regional competitions

• Adriatic League : Winners: 2001–02 : Runners-up: 2010–11
• Central European League : Winners: 1993, 1994

Other competitions

• FIBA International Christmas Tournament : Fourth place: 1998

Notable performances in European and worldwide competitions

Main article: KK Olimpija in international competitions

The road to the FIBA European Cup victory

1993–94 FIBA European Cup

Season-by-season records

Key

• 2R = Second round
• QF = Quarter-final
• W = Winners
• GS = Group stage
• R32 = Round of 32
• R16 = Round of 16
• T16 = Top 16
• RS = Regular season
• L32 = Last 32

Head coaches

Main article: Category:KK Olimpija coaches

• YUG Boris Kristančič (195?–1967)
• YUG Lazar Lečić (1973–1975)
• YUG Krešimir Ćosić (1976–1978)
• YUG Lazar Lečić (1978–1982)
• YUG SLO Zmago Sagadin (1985–1994)
• SLO Sergej Ravnikar (1995)
• SLO Peter Vilfan (1995)
• SLO Janez Drvarič (1995–1996)
• SLO Žarko Đurišić (1996)
• SLO Zmago Sagadin (1996–2002)
• SLO Tomo Mahorič (2002–2003)
• SLO Sašo Filipovski (2003–2005)
• CRO Josip Grdović (2005)
• CRO Denis Bajramović (2005)
• SLO Zmago Sagadin (2005–2006)
• SLO Tomo Mahorič (2006)
• SLO Gašper Okorn (2006–2007)
• SLO Memi Bečirović (2007–2008)
• SRB Aleksandar Džikić (2008)
• SLO Jure Zdovc (2008–2011)
• SLO Miro Alilović (2011)
• SLO Sašo Filipovski (2011–2013)
• SLO Miro Alilović (2013)
• SLO Aleš Pipan (2013–2015)
• SLO Memi Bečirović (2015)
• SLO Gašper Potočnik (2015–2016)
• SLO Gašper Okorn (2016–2018)
• SLO Zoran Martič (2018)
• SRB Saša Nikitović (2018–2019)
• SLO Jure Zdovc (2019)

References

References

1. (8 July 2019). "Rimac trener Cedevite Olimpije, prva okrepitev Edo Murić". [[RTV Slovenija]].
2. "Assemblies confirmed new club BC Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana".
3. (16 June 2015). "REGIONALNA KOŠARKA PREŽIVJELA Klubovi postaju vlasnici nove ABA lige".
4. (12 November 2020). "FMP i dalje sporan".
5. "Hala Tivoli (dvorana in drsališče Tivoli) – Šport Ljubljana".
6. "Ivo Daneu". KK Olimpija.
7. "Borut Bassin Taubi". KK Olimpija.
8. "Marko Milić". KK Olimpija.
9. "Vinko Jelovac". KK Olimpija.
10. "Peter Vilfan". KK Olimpija.
11. "Jure Zdovc". KK Olimpija.
12. [https://web.archive.org/web/20171113060240/http://www.eurocupbasketball.com/eurocup/news/i/6ftyy53davptcqvl Union Olimpija Ljubljana retires Marko Milic's jersey.]
13. [http://www.fiba.basketball/news/Olympic-Legends-Ivo-Daneu Olympic Legends – Ivo Daneu.]
14. [http://www.fiba.basketball/news/SLO-Daneu-reflects-on-amazing-Hall-of-Fame-career2 SLO – Daneu reflects on amazing Hall of Fame career [part I].]