KK Olimpija

Union Olimpija
Nickname	Zmaji (The Dragons)
Leagues	Slovenian League Adriatic League
Founded	1946
Arena	Arena Stožice
Capacity	12,480
Location	Ljubljana, Slovenia
Team colors	Green, White
Main sponsor	Union Brewery
President	Jani Möderndorfer
Head coach	Gašper Okorn
Championships	15 Slovenian Leagues 19 Slovenian Cups 7 Slovenian Supercups 6 Yugoslav Leagues 1 FIBA Saporta Cup 1 Adriatic League 2 Central European Leagues
Website	Official website
Uniforms
Home Away

Active sport clubs of Olimpija
Football	Basketball	Hockey

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.

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

1983–1997 crest

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.

Names

KK Svoboda (1946) KK Enotnost (1947–54) AŠK Olimpija (1955–76) KK Olimpija (1976 to present) From 1976 all the names of the club have included the names of the club's main sponsors. Brest (1976–78) Iskra (1978–82) ZZI (1982–83) Smelt (1983–97) Union (1997 to present)

Arenas

The team played in Tabor Gymnasium first, then moved to the 5,600 capacity Tivoli Hall in 1965. The club then moved into their new arena, Arena Stožice, with a capacity of 12,480 in 2010.

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

KK Union Olimpija roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age PG 4 Barbarič, Jan 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 21 – 30 September 1995 SF 5 Oliver, Devin 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 24 – 2 July 1992 F 6 Shashkov, Semen 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 97 kg (214 lb) 27 – 28 November 1989 F 7 Bubnić, Dražen 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 30 – 13 January 1986 SG 8 Mulalić, Mirko (C) 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 28 – 16 April 1988 G 9 Mesiček, Blaž 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 19 – 12 June 1997 G 10 Pelko, Jure 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 26 – 17 May 1990 C 11 Milošević, Stevan 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 125 kg (276 lb) 31 – 13 October 1985 F/C 12 Janković, Nikola 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 108 kg (238 lb) 22 – 13 February 1994 PG 13 Jefferson, Brandon 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) 79 kg (174 lb) 25 – 25 November 1991 G 14 Jurček, Žiga 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 18 – 22 April 1998 G/F 15 Hrovat, Gregor 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 22 – 18 August 1994 F 16 Stopar, Aljaž 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 19 – 10 April 1997 C 17 Janežič, Matej 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 18 – 5 July 1998 PF 18 Mladjan, Marko 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 23 – 26 March 1993 PF 20 Dragan, Nik 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 16 – 5 June 2000	Head coach Gašper Okorn Assistant coach(es) Luka Bassin Igor Kešelj Strength & conditioning coach(es) Saša Ogrizović Physiotherapist(s) Rok Žagar Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 2 November 2016

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Nikola Janković	Stevan Milošević
PF	Semen Shashkov	Dražen Bubnić	Marko Mladjan
SF	Devin Oliver	Gregor Hrovat
SG	Mirko Mulalić	Jure Pelko	Blaž Mesiček	Žiga Jurček
PG	Brandon Jefferson	Jan Barbarič

Squad Changes for the 2016–17 Season

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
• 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)

Notable players

Aron Baynes Edin Bavčić Jasmin Hukić Haris Mujezinović Aleksej Nešović Aleksandar Radojević Ratko Varda Zack Wright Marino Baždarić Emilio Kovačić Damir Markota Sandro Nicević Damjan Rudež Luka Žorić Jiří Welsch Teemu Rannikko Sasu Salin Vassil Evtimov Vladimir Boisa Manuchar Markoishvili Giorgi Shermadini Vladimir Stepania Yotam Halperin Gregor Fučka Dāvis Bertāns

Roberts Štelmahers Ronalds Zakis Deividas Gailius Šarūnas Jasikevičius Mindaugas Žukauskas Saulius Kuzminskas Dušan Bocevski Vlado Ilievski Soumaila Samake Vladimir Dašić Vladimir Golubović Goran Jeretin Suad Šehović Remon van de Hare Aloysius Anagonye Tunji Awojobi Olumide Oyedeji Szymon Szewczyk Andrés Rodríguez Sani Bečirović Mirza Begić Jaka Blažič Primož Brezec Jaka Daneu Goran Dragić

Jurica Golemac Boris Gorenc Dušan Hauptman Goran Jagodnik Nebojša Joksimović Goran Jurak Ivica Jurković Jaka Klobučar Slavko Kotnik Marijan Kraljević Miha Lapornik Domen Lorbek Erazem Lorbek Ariel McDonald Marko Milič Stipe Modrić Boštjan Nachbar Radoslav Nesterović Alen Omić Sašo Ožbolt Klemen Prepelič Hasan Rizvić Uroš Slokar Marko Tušek Beno Udrih

Samo Udrih Gašper Vidmar Miha Zupan Vitaly Nosov Nemanja Aleksandrov Marko Marinović Sava Lešić Ender Arslan Walter Berry Danny Green Kenny Gregory Lorinza Harrington Jimmy Oliver Marque Perry Deon Thompson Borut Bassin Krešimir Ćosić Radisav Ćurčić Ivo Daneu Vinko Jelovac Pavle Polanec Slobodan Subotić Peter Vilfan Jure Zdovc Aljoša Žorga

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.

Honours and achievements

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 (19): 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
• 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

Top performances in European & Worldwide competitions

Season	Achievement	Notes
Euroleague
1959–60	Quarter-finals	eliminated by ASK Riga, 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	3rd place in Madrid, lost to Real Madrid 86–88 in the semi-final, defeated Slavia Prague 88–83 in the 3rd place game
1970–71	Quarter-finals	3rd place in a group with Ignis Varèse, Slavia Prague and Olympique Antibes
1996–97	Final Four	3rd place in Rome, lost to Olympiacos 65–74 in the semi-final, defeated ASVEL 86–79 in the 3rd place game
1999–00	Quarter-finals	eliminated 2–1 by 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
Saporta Cup
1967–68	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Slavia Prague, 64–95 (L) in Prague and 82–70 (W) in Ljubljana
1968–69	Semi-finals	eliminated by Slavia Prague, 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	3rd 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, Tallinna Kalev and Nobiles Włocławek

The road to the European victory

1993–94 FIBA European Cup

Round	Team	Home	Away
3rd round	Bye
Quarter-finals	Rabotnički	89–77	80–66
	Tofaş	87–78	103–90
	Taugrés	86–73	63–67
	Fidefinanz Bellinzona	77–62	53–50
	Croatia Osiguranje Split	68–76	84–79
Semi-finals	Sato Aris	84–78	79–83
		74–61
Final	Taugrés	91–81

Season-by-season records

Season	Tier	Domestic league	Position	Domestic cup	Supercup	Adriatic League	Europe	Result
1991–92	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	—	—	—
1992–93	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	—	—	European League, European Cup	Second round, Quarterfinals
1993–94	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	—	—	European League, European Cup	Second round, Winners
1994–95	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	—	—	European League	Group stage
1995–96	1	1. A SKL	Winners	N/A	—	—	European League	Round of 32
1996–97	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	—	—	Euroleague	Third place
1997–98	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	—	—	Euroleague	Round of 16
1998–99	1	Liga Kolinska	Winners	Winners	—	—	Euroleague	Round of 16
1999–00	1	Liga Kolinska	Semifinals	Winners	—	—	Euroleague	Quarterfinals
2000–01	1	Liga Kolinska	Winners	Winners	—	—	Euroleague	Quarterfinals
2001–02	1	HYPO Liga	Winners	Winners	—	Winners	Euroleague	Top 16
2002–03	1	1. A SKL	Runners-up	Winners	—	Semifinals	Euroleague	Top 16
2003–04	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Runners-up	Winners	Semifinals	Euroleague	Top 16
2004–05	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	Winners	Quarterfinals	Euroleague	Regular season
2005–06	1	1. A SKL	Winners	Winners	Winners	10.	Euroleague	Regular season
2006–07	1	Liga UPC Telemach	Runners-up	Runners-up	—	9.	Euroleague	Regular season
2007–08	1	Liga UPC Telemach	Winners	Winners	Winners	Semifinals	Euroleague	Regular season
2008–09	1	Liga UPC Telemach	Winners	Winners	Winners	9.	Euroleague	Regular season
2009–10	1	Telemach League	Runners-up	Winners	Winners	Semifinals	Euroleague	Regular season
2010–11	1	Telemach League	Runners-up	Winners	Runners-up	Runners-up	Euroleague	Top 16
2011–12	1	Telemach League	Runners-up	Winners	Runners-up	6.	Euroleague	Regular season
2012–13	1	Telemach League	Runners-up	Winners	Runners-up	8.	Euroleague	Regular season
2013–14	1	Telemach League	Runners-up	Runners-up	Winners	10.	Eurocup	Last 32
2014–15	1	Telemach League	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Runners-up	5.	Eurocup	Last 32
2015–16	1	Liga Nova KBM	Semifinals	Quarterfinals	—	7.	Eurocup	Last 32

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)

External links

• Official website (Slovene) (English)
• Euroleague.net Official team profile