Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

KK Olimpija

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Nickname
  
Zmaji (The Dragons)

Team colors
  
Green, White

President
  
Jani Möderndorfer

Arena/Stadium
  
Arena Stožice

Mascot
  
KK Union Olimpija Dragon

Arena Capacity
  
12,480

Main sponsor
  
Union Brewery

Founded
  
1946

Head coach
  
Gašper Okorn

Location
  
Ljubljana, Slovenia


Championships
  
15 Slovenian Leagues 20 Slovenian Cups 7 Slovenian Supercups 6 Yugoslav Leagues 1 FIBA Saporta Cup 1 Adriatic League 2 Central European Leagues

Leagues
  
Premier A Slovenian Basketball League, ABA League

Profiles

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Košarkarski Klub Olimpija (English: Olimpija Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Olimpija or simply Olimpija, currently named Union Olimpija due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The team competes in the Premier A Slovenian League and the Adriatic League.

Contents

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.

The club has been called by its current name since 1997. Union Olimpija won its first Yugoslav League title in 1957 under the direction of the coach/player Boris Kristančić. In one of the world's best emerging leagues, Olimpija went on to dominate the next 15 years, winning the Yugoslav title five more times, 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, 1993–94 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 2001–02, the Slovenian team won the small triple crown, taking the Slovenian League championship, Slovenian Cup, and the Adriatic League.

Name through history

The club was established in 1946 as the basketball department of the larger sports club Svoboda. Later it changed names quite a few times, from KK Enotnost (Unity, 1947–54) to AŠK Olimpija (Akademski Športni Klub Olimpija, 1955–76), to KK Brest Olimpija (1976–78), to KK Iskra Olimpija (1978–82), to KK ZZI Olimpija (1982–83), to KK Smelt Olimpija (1983–96), and finally, to KK Union Olimpija (1997–present). The last five names of the team have all included names of the main sponsors of the team.

Arenas

The team's first venue was Tabor Gymnasium, before they moved to the 5,600 capacity Tivoli Hall in 1965. In 2010, the club moved into their new arena, Arena Stožice, with a capacity of 12,480.

In

  • Paolo Marinelli (loan return from Kvarner 2010)
  • Mirko Mulalić (from Krka)
  • Nikola Janković (from Mega Leks)
  • Jure Pelko (from UBSC Raiffeisen Graz)
  • Devin Oliver (from SPO Rouen Basket)
  • Dražen Bubnić (from Donar Groningen)
  • Jan Barbarič (from Portorož)
  • Stevan Milošević (from Polski Cukier Toruń)
  • Semen Shashkov (from Lastovka)
  • Brandon Jefferson (from Phoenix Hagen)
  • Marko Mladjan (from BBC Monthey)

    • Out

  • Vlatko Čančar (to Mega Leks)
  • Miha Lapornik (to Bilbao Basket)
  • Nikola Pavličević (to Szolnoki Olaj KK)
  • Luka Rupnik (to Força Lleida CE)
  • Dawan Robinson (to Tezenis Verona)
  • Mitja Nikolić (to Fortitudo Bologna)
  • Sava Lešić (to Reggio Emilia)
  • Blaž Mahkovic (to Igokea)
  • Ronalds Zakis (to BK Ventspils)
  • Vasilije Vučetić (to Bilbao Basket)
  • Saša Zagorac (to Lukoil Academic)
  • Paolo Marinelli (to Cibona)
  • Marko Mladjan (to Lions de Genève)
  • Semen Shashkov (to Irkut Irkutsk)
  • Blaž Mesiček (to New Basket Brindisi)

    • Olimpija youth team

    Olimpija also has a second team, composed mainly of their Under-18 team players and some experienced players; the team participates in the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament and in the Slovenian Second Basketball League with the goal to give playing time and experience to young players.

    Domestic competitions

    Slovenian League

  • Winners (15): 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
  • Runners-up (7): 2002–03, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14

    • 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 (7): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013
  • Runners-up (4): 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014

    • Former domestic competitions

    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 League (1. B)

  • Winners (2): 1984–85, 1986–87

    • Slovenian League (SR)

  • Winners (2): 1946, 1947

    • European competitions

    FIBA European Champions Cup / Euroleague

  • Final Four (2): 1967, 1997

    • FIBA Saporta Cup

  • Winners (1): 1993–94

    • Regional competitions

    Adriatic League

  • Winners (1): 2001–02
  • Runners-up (1): 2010–11

    • Central European League (SBA)

  • Winners (2): 1993, 1994

    • The road to the European victory

    1993–94 FIBA European Cup

    Coaches

  • Boris Kristančič
  • Zmago Sagadin (1985–1995, 1996–2002, 2005–2006)
  • Tomo Mahorič (2002–2003, 2006)
  • Sašo Filipovski (2003–2005, 2011–2013)
  • Memi Bečirović (2007–2008, 2015)
  • Aleksandar Džikić (2008)
  • Jure Zdovc (2008–2011)
  • Aleš Pipan (2013–2015)
  • Gašper Potočnik (2015–2016)

    • References

    KK Olimpija Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA