Dražen "Praja" Dalipagić (; 27 November 1951 – 25 January 2025) was a Serbian professional basketball player and
head
A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...
coach. He was selected
the best athlete of Yugoslavia in the year 1978, and is one of the most decorated athletes in
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
n history. He was named one of
FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. Dalipagić was enshrined into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
as a player in 2004, and into 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. Originally built in ...
, also as a player, in 2007. In 2008, he was named one of the
50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors
The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural s ...
. Playing for
Partizan, Dalipagić won two Yugoslav league titles, a Yugoslav Cup, and two Korać Cups. He is the club's all-time leading scorer with 8,278 points. In 243 appearances with the Yugoslavia national team (second most) between 1973 and 1986, Dalipagić won 12 medals (second most) including gold medals at the Olympics (1980), World Cup (1978), and EuroBasket (1973, 1975, 1977).
During his professional playing career, he scored at least 50 points in a game 15 times. His single-game career scoring high was 70 points scored, achieved during an
Italian League game, between
Venezia and
Virtus Bologna
Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna.
The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...
, on 25 January 1987. He was nicknamed "The Sky Jumper".
Professional career
Dalipagić started playing basketball at the age of 19, and one year later he signed his first professional contract with
Partizan, in 1971. He stayed in Partizan for eight seasons, until 1980. Over that time, he won the
Mr. Europa European Player of the Year award twice, in 1977 and 1978, and the European Player of the Year
Euroscar award in 1980. He was declared
the best athlete of Yugoslavia in 1978. In the
1975–76 season, he led Partizan to the
Yugoslav League title, and also to the
European-wide 3rd-tier level FIBA Korać Cup
The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...
title, in the
1977–78 season. He was also a member of Partizan, at the time when they won the
1978–79 season Korać Cup title, but he was serving in the
Yugoslav army at the time.
In the 1980–81 season, he went abroad for the first time in his career. During that season, he played with
Reyer Venezia, of the Italian
Lega Basket Serie A
The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...
league. After just one season with Venezia, he returned to his former club, Partizan, for one season. In the following seasons, he played for numerous European teams, including
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
, of the Spanish
Primera División, during the
1982–83 season, in which he only played with the club in
FIBA European Champions Cup (now called
EuroLeague) games. He also played with Reyer Venezia, and
Glaxo Verona of the Italian League. He finished his professional career after the 1990–91 season, in which he played with Partizan's arch-rivals,
Crvena zvezda.
As a Partizan Belgrade player, he scored 8,278 points, in 305 games played, for a scoring average of 27.1 points per game. While playing in Italy, he scored 7,993 points in 241 games played, for a scoring average of 33.2 points per game. He led the
Italian League in scoring average, in the 1987–88 season, with an average of 37.7 points per game.
National team career
Dalipagić debuted for senior the
Yugoslavian national basketball team
The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; ; ) represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, in 1973. In total, he played in 243
games
A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...
with Yugoslavia's senior national team, between 1973 and 1986, scoring a total of 3,700 points,
which was the most points scored by any player in the history of the Yugoslav national team.
He won the gold medal at the
1978 FIBA World Championship, and the gold medal at the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...
. As a member of the Yugoslavian national team, he also won three gold medals at 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 E ...
. His four medals won at the
FIBA World Cup
The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...
(Silver,
1974 FIBA World Championship; Gold,
1978 FIBA World Championship; Bronze,
1982 FIBA World Championship, and
1986 FIBA World Championship) is tied for the all-time international basketball record. A three-time
Olympian, Dalipagić was instrumental in the Yugoslavian team's capturing of the gold, at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Personal life and death
Dalipagić finished high school at the Technical School in
Mostar
Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.
Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...
and graduated from the Teachers College in
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. He was married to Sonja Požeg, former Yugoslav tennis player. They had two children, Sanja and Davorin.
Dalipagić died on 25 January 2025, at the age of 73.
See also
*
Yugoslav First Federal Basketball League career stats leaders
*
List of flag bearers for Yugoslavia at the Olympics
References
External links
Dražen Dalipagićat 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. Originally built in ...
*
Drazen Dalipagicat
FIBA Europe
FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all List of men's national basketball teams#FIBA Europe, 50 national European basketball federations.
...
Drazen Dalipagicat the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
Drazen Dalipagicat Interbasket.net
Euroleague.net 50 Greatest EuroLeague ContributorsDrazen Dalipagicat
Legabasket.it (archived)
*
archive
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalipagic, Drazen
1951 births
2025 deaths
Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in Serbia
Competitors at the 1975 Mediterranean Games
European champions for Yugoslavia
Euroscar award winners
FIBA EuroBasket–winning players
FIBA Hall of Fame inductees
FIBA World Championship–winning players
KK Crvena zvezda players
KK Partizan players
KK Lavovi 063 coaches
Lega Basket Serie A players
Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia
Mediterranean Games medalists in basketball
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Olympic basketball players for Yugoslavia
Olympic bronze medalists for Yugoslavia
Olympic gold medalists for Yugoslavia
Olympic medalists in basketball
Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia
Pallalcesto Amatori Udine players
Real Madrid Baloncesto players
Reyer Venezia players
Scaligera Basket Verona players
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Small forwards
Basketball players from Mostar
Yugoslav men's basketball players
1974 FIBA World Championship players
1978 FIBA World Championship players
1982 FIBA World Championship players
Yugoslav expatriate basketball people
1986 FIBA World Championship players
Serbia and Montenegro sports coaches
Expatriate basketball people in Spain
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate basketball people in Italy
Serbian men's basketball players
Serbian men's basketball coaches
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia
Expatriate basketball people in North Macedonia
Serbia and Montenegro sportsmen
Goodwill Games medalists in basketball