Košarkarski klub Olimpija () was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Founded in 1946, Olimpija competed in the Yugoslav Federal League (1946 to 1991) and the Slovenian League (1991 to 2019). They won 17 Slovenian League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They also won three regional league championships, one in the Adriatic League and two in the Central European League. In addition, Olimpija won 20 Slovenian Cup tournaments, 8 Slovenian Supercup titles, and one FIBA Saporta Cup. In July 2019, the team merged with Cedevita, 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 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.
Names KK Svoboda (1946) KK Enotnost (1947–1954) AŠK Olimpija (1955–1976) KK Olimpija (1976–2019)
Between 1976 and 2019, the names of the club included the sponsorship names: Brest (1976–1978) Iskra (1978–1982) ZZI (1982–1983) Smelt (1983–1997) Union (1997–2017) Petrol (2017–2019)
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
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 Olimpija retired numbersNoPlayerPositionTenureDate retiredRef 12 Marko Milič PF 1994–1997, 1999–2000, 2006–2009 2015 Union Olimpija Ljubljana retires Marko Milic's jersey. 13 Ivo Daneu PG 1956–1970 2007 Olympic Legends – Ivo Daneu.SLO – Daneu reflects on amazing Hall of Fame career [part I].
Players in the NBA draft
Position Player Year Round Pick Drafted byPF Marko Milič19972nd round33rdPhiladelphia 76ersC Vladimir Stepania19981st round27thSeattle SuperSonicsC Primož Brezec20001st round27thIndiana PacersSG/SF Jiří Welsch20021st round16thPhiladelphia 76ersSG/PG Yotam Halperin#20062nd round53rd Seattle SuperSonicsPG Goran Dragić*20082nd round45th San Antonio SpursPF Dāvis Bertāns20112nd round42nd Indiana PacersPG Issuf Sanon#20182nd round44th Washington WizardsPF Luka Šamanić20191st round19thSan Antonio Spurs
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
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 1993–94 FIBA European Cup Round Team Home Away ThirdByeTop 12 Rabotnički89–7780–66 Tofaş87–78103–90 Taugrés86–7363–67 Fidefinanz Bellinzona77–6253–50 Croatia Osiguranje68–7684–79Semi-final Sato Aris84–7879–8374–61Final Taugrés91–81
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
SeasonTierDomestic leagueDomestic cupSupercupAdriatic LeagueEuropean competitions1991–921 1. A SKL1stWinners rowspan="14" colspan=2 rowspan="12" 1992–931 1. A SKL1stWinners European League European Cup QF1993–941 1. A SKL1stWinners European League European Cup W1994–951 1. A SKL1stWinners European League1995–961 1. A SKL1st Round of 16 European League1996–971 1. A SKL1stWinners Euroleague3rd1997–981 1. A SKL1stWinners Euroleague1998–991 Liga Kolinska1stWinners Euroleague1999–001 Liga Kolinska3rdWinners EuroleagueQF2000–011 Liga Kolinska1stWinners EuroleagueQF2001–021 HYPO Liga1stWinnersWinners Euroleague2002–031 1. A SKL2ndWinnersSemifinals Euroleague2003–041 1. A SKL1stRunners-upWinnersSemifinals Euroleague2004–051 1. A SKL1stWinnersWinnersQuarterfinals Euroleague2005–061 1. A SKL1stWinnersWinners10th place Euroleague2006–071 Liga UPC Telemach2ndRunners-up9th place Euroleague2007–081 Liga UPC Telemach1stWinnersWinnersSemifinals Euroleague2008–091 Liga UPC Telemach1stWinnersWinners9th place Euroleague2009–101 Telemach League2ndWinnersWinnersSemifinals Euroleague2010–111 Telemach League2ndWinnersRunners-upRunners-up Euroleague2011–121 Telemach League2ndWinnersRunners-up6th place Euroleague2012–131 Telemach League2ndWinnersRunners-up8th place Euroleague2013–141 Telemach League2ndRunners-upWinners10th place Eurocup2014–151 Telemach League5th SemifinalsRunners-up5th place Eurocup2015–161 Liga Nova KBM4th Quarterfinals7th place Eurocup2016–171 Liga Nova KBM1stWinners11th place EuroCup2017–181 Liga Nova KBM1st SemifinalsWinners First Division 7th Champions League2018–191 Liga Nova KBM2nd SemifinalsRunners-up First Division 12th Champions League
Head coaches
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
External links
Euroleague.net Official team profile