Košarkarski klub Olimpija ( en, Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

club based in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the a ...

, Slovenia. 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 The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the 1st-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Mac ...

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 Cedevita d.o.o. is a Croatian company which produces a wide range of teas, instant drinks, and dietetic products. A notable owner of the company was the Croatian pharmaceutical company Pliva d.d. Since 2001 Cedevita has been part of the Atlant ...

, forming a new club Cedevita 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 The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competiti ...

against the

Spanish ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administrated by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, wi ...

club Taugrés under the direction of coach

Zmago Sagadin Zmago Sagadin (; born 1 November 1952 in Celje) is widely considered as the most successful Slovenian and top European basketball coach with 25 championship titles both on a national and international level, recognized 9 times as Slovenian Top C ...

. In the 2001–02 season, Olimpija won the "Small Triple Crown", taking the Slovenian League championship, Slovenian Cup, and the

. On 8 July 2019, Olimpija merged with Croatian team

, forming Cedevita Olimpija. The club was a founding member of the Adriatic Basketball Association in 2015. In November 2020, the club's

shares In financial markets, a share is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation, and can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Share capital refers to all of the shares of an ...

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 Tivoli may refer to: * Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli Buildings * Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855 * Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), ...

in 1965. In 2010, the club moved into their new arena,

Arena Stožice The Stožice Arena ( sl, Arena Stožice) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was designed by Slovenian Sadar Vuga d.o.o. architects and is the biggest indoor arena in the country. It lies in the Bežigrad district ...

, with a capacity of 12,480.

Notable players

The following players are regarded as the most important for Olimpija by the club's official website. *

Ivo Daneu Ivo Daneu (born 6 October 1937) is a retired Slovenian professional basketball player and coach. During his playing career, at a height of 1.91 m (6'3") tall, he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions. He represented the Yugosl ...

– has won the Yugoslav national championship six times with Olimpija and earned over 200 appearances for the

Yugoslavia national basketball team The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; sl, Jugoslovanska košarkarska reprezentanca; mk, ...

. In 2007, he became the first Slovenian player included in the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA, in 1991. It includes the " Sa ...

. * Borut Bassin – became the most valuable player of the 1967 FIBA European Champions Cup Final Four after scoring 30 points against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

. 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 The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United ...

(NBA). * Vinko Jelovac – earned 240 appearances for the Yugoslavia national team, with which he won the silver medal at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Ph ...

. * 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 Jurij "Jure" Zdovc (born 13 December 1966) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player and coach Zdovc Returning to Helm of National Team.] As a player, he was a 1.98 m (6'6") tall point guard, who began his professional playing care ...

– Regarded as one of the best

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by ...

s 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 EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the ...

with Yugoslavia in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Ph ...

, and became the world champion with the team in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

. A total of 16 former Olimpija players have played in the NBA: * Goran Dragić * Rašo Nesterović * Beno Udrih *

Šarūnas Jasikevičius Šarūnas "Šaras" Jasikevičius (; born 5 March 1976) is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. During his playing career, standing ...

* 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 (defunct) : Winners (6):

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th ye ...

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

, 1969–70 : Runners-up (8):

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in for a full te ...

, 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

* EuroLeague : Semifinalists: 1961–62 : Third place: 1966–67, 1996–97 : Final Four: 1967,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...

* FIBA Saporta Cup (defunct) : Winners: 1993–94 : Semifinalists: 1968–69, 1982–83, 1991–92

Regional competitions

: Winners: 2001–02 : Runners-up: 2010–11 *Central European League (defunct) : Winners: 1993, 1994

Other competitions

* FIBA International Christmas Tournament : Fourth place:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

Notable performances in European and worldwide 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

* Boris Kristančič (195?–1967) * Lazar Lečić (1973–1975) *

Krešimir Ćosić Krešimir "Krešo" Ćosić (; 26 November 1948 – 25 May 1995) was a Croatian- Yugoslavian professional basketball player and coach. He was a collegiate All-American at Brigham Young University. He revolutionized basketball in Yugoslavia and ...

(1976–1978) * Lazar Lečić (1978–1982) *

(1985–1994) * Sergej Ravnikar (1995) * Peter Vilfan (1995) * Janez Drvarič (1995–1996) * Žarko Đurišić (1996) *

(1996–2002) * Tomo Mahorič (2002–2003) * Sašo Filipovski (2003–2005) * Josip Grdović (2005) * Denis Bajramović (2005) *

(2005–2006) * Tomo Mahorič (2006) * Gašper Okorn (2006–2007) * Memi Bečirović (2007–2008) *

Aleksandar Džikić Aleksandar Džikić ( sr, Александар Џикић; born 23 March 1971) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and current head coach of Hapoel Jerusalem. Coaching career Early career KK Partizan youth system Džikić began his coa ...

(2008) *

(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) *

(2019)

References

External links

Euroleague.net Official team profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olimpija, KK KK Olimpija, Basketball teams established in 1946 Basketball teams disestablished in 2019 Basketball teams in Slovenia Sports clubs in Ljubljana Basketball teams in Yugoslavia 1946 establishments in Slovenia 2019 disestablishments in Slovenia