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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

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 are ...

, 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 The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League. For most of the competition's history, the draw has ...

tournaments, 8

National Supercup National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

titles, and one

FIBA Saporta Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA E ...

. 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 Atlantic ...

, forming a new club

Cedevita Olimpija Košarkarski klub Cedevita Olimpija ( en, Cedevita Olimpija Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Cedevita Olimpija or simply Olimpija, is a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the ABA Le ...

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 The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

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 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 Co ...

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

Slovenian Cup Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

, and the

. On 8 July 2019, Olimpija merged with Croatian team

, forming

. The club was a founding member of the

Adriatic Basketball Association Adriatic Basketball Association – ABA League, G.P., commonly referred to as the ABA League JTD, is a Croatian company based in Zagreb. It is the general partnership for organizing sports competitions. The company has been running the Adriatic L ...

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 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 Yugoslav ...

– 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 " Samar ...

. * Borut Bassin – became the most valuable player of the

1967 FIBA European Champions Cup Final Four The 1967 FIBA European Champions Cup Final Four was the concluding tournament of the 1966–67 FIBA European Champions Cup, and the last final four format until the new FIBA European Champions Cup Final Four era began in the late 1980s, with ...

after scoring 30 points against Real Madrid. Bassin has also won the silver medal with Yugoslavia at the

1967 FIBA World Championship The 1967 FIBA World Championship was the 5th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Montevideo, Uruguay from 27 May to 11 June 1967. Venues Competing nations Competition fo ...

. * 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 St ...

(NBA). *

Vinko Jelovac Vinko Jelovac (alternate spelling: Vinto Jelovac) (born 18 November 1948 in Pazin, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia) is a former Slovenian-Croatian professional basketball player and coach. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10") tall, and a weight of 95 kg (210 lbs ...

– 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 P ...

. * 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 caree ...

– 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 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 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 Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

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 Phi ...

, 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 Goran Dragić (born 6 May 1986) is a Slovenian professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Dragon", he had played professional basketball in Slovenia and Spain before entering ...

* 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 Damjan Rudež (born 17 June 1986) is a Croatian former professional basketball player. He represented the Croatian national team. Standing at , he played at both forward positions. Professional career Europe From 2002 to 2004, Rudež played fo ...

* Marko Milič *

Primož Brezec Primož Brezec (born October 2, 1979) is a Slovenian retired professional basketball player. He is a 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) tall center. Brezec has played eight seasons in the NBA. Professional career Europe/Asia Brezec grew up in Sežana, ...

Vladimir Stepania Vladimir Stepania (born 8 May 1976) is a retired Georgian professional basketball player. He played at the center position. Professional career After starting to play basketball in his native country, Stepania played several years in Slovenia, na ...

Boštjan Nachbar Boštjan "Boki" Nachbar (born July 3, 1980) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. A 2.06 m forward, he spent most of his career between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the EuroLeague. Nachbar helped lead the Slovenian ...

* Jiří Welsch *

Soumaila Samake Soumaila Samake (born March 18, 1978) is a Malian former professional basketball player. A 7'0" tall center, he was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the second round of the 2000 NBA draft, and played for the Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers. He ...

* Radisav Ćurčić * Danny Green * Aron Baynes *

Dāvis Bertāns Dāvis Bertāns (born 12 November 1992) is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed the "Latvian Laser", he also represents the Latvian national team. He was the 4 ...

Damir Markota Damir Markota (born December 26, 1985 as Damir Omerhodžić) is a Croatian professional basketball player currently playing for Dinamo in the Croatian League. Standing at , he plays at the power forward position. Professional career Markota, b ...

Retired numbers

Players in the NBA draft

Honours

Domestic competitions

* Slovenian League : Winners (17): 1991–92,

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, 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 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 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 *

Slovenian Supercup The Slovenian Supercup ( sl, Superpokal Slovenije) was a Association football, football match played between the Slovenian PrvaLiga champions and the Slovenian Football Cup, Slovenian Cup winners. Prior 2007, the match was held only twice, in 1995 ...

: Winners (8): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2017 : Runners-up (5): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018 *

(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 year ...

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 of E ...

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 wor ...

, 1966, 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 Yug ...

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

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,

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, 1967–68, 1968–69 *

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

(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:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

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

Regional competitions

: Winners: 2001–02 : Runners-up:

*Central European League (defunct) : Winners: 1993, 1994

Other competitions

FIBA International Christmas Tournament FIBA International Christmas Tournament also known as the Christmas Tournament (''Torneo de Navidad'') was a men's basketball international friendly competition at the club level (and in some editions with national teams), organized by FIBA at its ...

: 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 Boris Kristančič (November 21, 1931 – October 29, 2015) was a Slovenian basketball player and coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Basketball career He spent most of his career at the AŠK Olimpija i ...

(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 w ...

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

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

Žarko Đurišić Žarko Đurišić ( sr-cyr, Жарко Ђуришић; born March 31, 1961), also credited as Zarko Durisic, is a Montenegrin-born Slovenian basketball scout, former player, and former coach who is currently the Director of international player ...

(1996) *

(1996–2002) *

Tomo Mahorič Tomo Mahorič (born April 28, 1965) is a Slovenian basketball coach. He was a coach of Krško, KD Slovan, Slovan, KK Union Olimpija, Union Olimpija, BC Lietuvos rytas, Lietuvos rytas, BC Kyiv, Guerino Vanoli Basket, Vanoli Cremona and JSA Bordeau ...

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

(2005–2006) *

(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 coac ...

(2008) *

(2008–2011) * Miro Alilović (2011) * Sašo Filipovski (2011–2013) * Miro Alilović (2013) *

Aleš Pipan Aleš Pipan (born 24 May 1959) is a Slovenian basketball coach and former basketball player, who is currently coach of Šentjur in the Liga Nova KBM. Coaching career Pipan coached Slovenia at the EuroBasket 2005, 2006 FIBA World Championship ...

(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