KK Olimpija

For other uses, see Olimpija Ljubljana (disambiguation).

Union Olimpija
Union Olimpija logo
Nickname	Zmaji (The Dragons)
Leagues	Slovenian League ABA League Eurocup
Founded	1946 (1946)
Arena	Arena Stožice (capacity: 12,480)
Location	Ljubljana, Slovenia
Team colors	Green, white
Main sponsor	Union Brewery
President	Jani Möderndorfer
Head coach	Gašper Potočnik
Championships	15 National Championships 19 National Cups 7 Slovenian Supercups 6 Yugoslav Championships 1 Adriatic Championship 1 Saporta Cup 2 SBA League Championships
Website	Official website
Uniforms
Home Away

Active sport clubs of Olimpija
Football	Basketball	Hockey

Košarkaški klub Olimpija Ljubljana (English: Olimpija Ljubljana Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Olimpija or simply Olimpija, is a professional basketball team that is based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The team competes in the Premier A Slovenian League, the Adriatic League, and the Eurocup.

History

In the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, green and white are the colours of Union Olimpija, a club that has become known as a talent farm. 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 conquered its first Yugoslav League title of then Yugoslavia 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 dominance took on another meaning, namely 10 consecutive years of winning both the league and cup trophies in Slovenia.

On the international stage, 1993–94 was the club's best season as they took home 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. The club added to its trophy collection in 2002–03, winning the Slovenian Cup.

Name through history

File:Smelt Olimpija.png

Older crest

The club was established in 1946 as the basketball department of the larger sports club Svoboda (in English, "Freedom"). Later it changed names quite a few times, from KK Enotnost (1947–54) (Unity) to AŠK 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 6,000 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 5 Rupnik, Luka 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) 71 kg (157 lb) – (1993-05-20)20 May 1993 PG 6 Robinson, Dawan 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 88 kg (194 lb) – (1982-02-10)10 February 1982 G/F 7 Hrovat, Gregor 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 87 kg (192 lb) – (1994-08-18)18 August 1994 G 9 Mesiček, Blaž 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 79 kg (174 lb) – (1997-06-12)12 June 1997 F 10 Nikolić, Mitja 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) 92 kg (203 lb) – (1991-02-24)24 February 1991 F/C 12 Vučetić, Vasilije 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 104 kg (229 lb) – (1996-05-04)4 May 1996 G 13 Lapornik, Miha 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 92 kg (203 lb) – (1993-10-18)18 October 1993 F 15 Lešić, Sava 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 101 kg (223 lb) – (1988-02-23)23 February 1988 F/C 17 Zagorac, Saša (C) 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 110 kg (243 lb) – (1984-01-01)1 January 1984 F 21 Mahkovic, Blaž 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 90 kg (198 lb) – (1990-03-21)21 March 1990 F/C 30 Zaķis, Ronalds 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in) 105 kg (231 lb) – (1987-07-08)8 July 1987 F 31 Čančar, Vlatko 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 91 kg (201 lb) – (1997-04-10)10 April 1997 G – Pavličević, Nikola 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) – (1988-08-13)13 August 1988	Head coach Gašper Potočnik Assistant coach(es) Luka Bassin Žiga Mravljak Strength & conditioning coach(es) Saša Ogrizović Physiotherapist(s) Rok Žagar Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: 14 March 2016

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Ronalds Zaķis	Vasilije Vučetić
PF	Sava Lešić	Saša Zagorac
SF	Mitja Nikolić	Blaž Mahkovic	Vlatko Čančar
SG	Gregor Hrovat	Miha Lapornik	Blaž Mesiček
PG	Zackary Wright	Dawan Robinson	Luka Rupnik

Squad Changes for the 2015–16 Season

In

• Vlatko Čančar (loan return from LTH Castings)
• Blaž Mesiček (loan return from LTH Castings)
• Miha Lapornik (from Zlatorog Laško)
• Mitja Nikolić (from USK Praha)
• Saša Zagorac (from Zlatorog Laško)
• Ronalds Zaķis (from VEF Rīga)
• Sava Lešić (from Yenisey Krasnoyarsk)
• Zackary Wright (from İstanbul BB)
• Dawan Robinson (from Auxilium CUS Torino)

Out

• Jaka Brodnik (to BC Dzūkija)
• Goran Jagodnik (to KD Ilirija)
• Halil Kanacević (to CAI Zaragoza)
• Marko Marinović (to Steaua București)
• Dino Murić
• Hristo Nikolov (to BC Levski Sofia)
• Klemen Prepelič (to EWE Baskets Oldenburg)
• Alen Omić (to Gran Canaria)

Out on loan

• Paolo Marinelli (to Kvarner 2010)
• Grega Sajevic (to LTH Castings)
• Vlatko Čančar (to LTH Castings)
• Žiga Habat (to LTH Castings)

Notable former players

• Borut Bassin
• Sani Bečirović
• Mirza Begić
• Jaka Blažič
• Primož Brezec
• Jaka Daneu
• Goran Dragić
• Gregor Fučka
• Jurica Golemac
• Boris Gorenc
• Roman Horvat
• Goran Jagodnik
• Nebojša Joksimović
• Goran Jurak
• Ivica Jurković
• Jaka Klobučar
• Slavko Kotnik
• Marijan Kraljević
• Domen Lorbek
• Erazem Lorbek
• Marko Milič
• Stipe Modrić
• Boštjan Nachbar
• Radoslav Nesterovič
• Alen Omić
• Sašo Ožbolt
• Klemen Prepelič

• Hasan Rizvić
• Uroš Slokar
• Marko Tušek
• Beno Udrih
• Samo Udrih
• Gašper Vidmar
• Miha Zupan
• Krešimir Ćosić
• Ivo Daneu
• Dušan Hauptman
• Vinko Jelovac
• Pavle Polanec
• Slobodan Subotić
• Peter Vilfan
• Jurij Zdovc
• Aljoša Žorga
• Aron Baynes
• Edin Bavčić
• Jasmin Hukić
• Haris Mujezinović
• Aleksej Nešović
• Aleksandar Radojević
• Ratko Varda
• Vassil Evtimov
• Marino Baždarić
• Emilio Kovačić
• Damir Markota

• Sandro Nicević
• Joško Poljak
• Dženan Rahimić
• Damjan Rudež
• Luka Žorić
• Jiří Welsch
• Teemu Rannikko
• Sasu Salin
• Vladimir Boisa
• Manuchar Markoishvili
• Giorgi Shermadini
• Vladimir Stepania
• Yotam Halperin
• Dāvis Bertāns
• Roberts Štelmahers
• Deividas Gailius
• Saulius Kuzminskas
• Šarūnas Jasikevičius
• Mindaugas Žukauskas
• Soumaila Samake
• Vladimir Dašić
• Vladimir Golubović
• Goran Jeretin
• Suad Šehović
• Remon van de Hare
• Aloysius Anagonye
• Tunji Awojobi

• Olumide Oyedeji
• Szymon Szewczyk
• Andrés Rodríguez
• Dušan Bocevski
• - Vlado Ilievski
• Vitaly Nosov
• Nemanja Aleksandrov
• Radisav Ćurčić
• Marko Marinović
• Ender Arslan
• Walter Berry
• Danny Green
• Kenny Gregory
• Lorinza Harrington
• Darren Henrie
• Ariel McDonald
• DeMarco Johnson
• Jimmy Oliver
• Dylan Page
• Marque Perry
• Kevinn Pinkney
• Alex Stepheson
• John Taylor
• Deon Thompson
• Matt Walsh

Union Olimpija II

Olimpija has also a second team, composed mainly of his Under 18 team players and some experienced players: the team participates also in the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. The team competes in the Slovenian Third Basketball League with the goal to give playing time and experience to young players. Current first team players Blaž Mesiček and Vlatko Čančar have played for the team.

The current roster is composed of [1] :

• Davor Sattler, PG
• Stefan Tovilović, PG
• Jakob Jesih, PG
• Blaž Jamšek, PG
• Andrej Podvršnik, SG
• David Kralj, SG
• David Purić, SG
• Marko Travica, SG
• Anže Javoršek, SG
• Jan Strmčnik, SG
• Maks Klanjscek, SF
• Žiga Jurček, SF
• Aljaž Stopar, SF
• Jan Dornik, SF
• Rok Korelc, PF
• Matej Janežič, PF
• Haris Čučović, C
• Matevž Mlakar, C
• Lovro Hren, C

Honours

Total titles: 49

Domestic competitions

Yugoslav League (6): 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969–70 Yugoslav 1. B League (2): 1984-85, 1986–87 SR Slovenian League (2): 1946, 1947 Slovenian League (15): 1991-92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000-01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09 Slovenian Cup (19): 1991-92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012-13 Slovenian Supercup (7): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013

European & Worldwide competitions

FIBA Saporta Cup (1): 1993-94 Triple Crown (unofficial) (1): 1993-94 (small) ABA League (1): 2001-02 Runners-up (1): 2010-11 SBA - Central European League – (2): 1993, 1994

International record

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-final group stage	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 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
2001–02	Quarter-final group stage	4th place in a group with Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and AEK Athens
2002–03	Quarter-final group stage	3rd place in a group with FC Barcelona, Olympiacos and ASVEL
2003–04	Quarter-final group stage	4th place in a group with Skipper Bologna, Efes Pilsen and Pau-Orthez
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-final group stage	3rd place in a group with Efes Pilsen, NatWest Zaragoza, CSKA Moscow, Hapoel Tel Aviv and ASK Brocēni
1993–94	European Cup Winners	defeated Taugrés 91–81 in the final of the FIBA European Cup in Lausanne
1995–96	Quarter-final group stage	6th place in a group with PAOK, Dynamo Moscow, Zrinjevac, Tallinna Kalev and Nobiles Włocławek
Korać Cup
1973–74	Quarter-final group stage	2nd place in a group with ASVEL and Innocenti Milano
1978–79	Quarter-final group stage	3rd place in a group with Cotonificio, Standard Liège and Hapoel Gvat/Yagur

Notable coaches

• Boris Kristančič (19??-1966)
• 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)

Olimpija players who have played in the NBA

Radisav Čurčić Marko Milič Radoslav Nesterovič - Vladimir Stepania Boštjan Nachbar Primož Brezec Soumaila Samake

Šarūnas Jasikevičius Walter Berry Beno Udrih Jiří Welsch Aleksandar Radojević - Ratko Varda Olumide Oyedeji

Jimmy Oliver DeMarco Johnson Goran Dragič Damjan Rudež Lorinza Harrington Uroš Slokar Matt Walsh

Damir Markota Kevinn Pinkney Danny Green Aron Baynes Cedric Jackson

Individual awards

Euroleague Awards

Season	Name	Award
2001–02	Beno Udrih	Euroleague Weekly MVP
2003–04	Dženan Rahimić	Euroleague Weekly MVP
2006–07	Teemu Rannikko	Euroleague Weekly MVP
2007–08	Marko Milič	Euroleague Weekly MVP
2009–10	Matt Walsh	Euroleague Weekly MVP
2010–11	Goran Jagodnik Kenny Gregory	Euroleague Monthly MVP Euroleague Weekly MVP

Eurocup Awards

Season	Name	Award
2013–14	Sasu Salin	Eurocup Weekly MVP
2014–15	Halil Kanačević	Eurocup Weekly MVP
2015–16	Zack Wright	Eurocup Weekly MVP

Adriatic League Awards

2001–02	Sandro Nicević Jasmin Hukić Jurica Golemac Jure Zdovc	Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Final MVP
2004–05	Vladimir Boisa	3xAdriatic League Weekly MVP
2005–06	Teemu Rannikko Yotam Halperin	Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP
2006–07	Teemu Rannikko	Adriatic League Weekly MVP
2007–08	Jasmin Hukić Goran Dragić	2xAdriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP
2008–09	Vladimir Golubović Lorinza Harrington	Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP
2009–10	Matt Walsh Gašper Vidmar	Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP
2011–12	Damir Markota Aron Baynes Jaka Blažič	Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP Adriatic League Weekly MVP
2013–14	Deividas Gailius	Adriatic League Weekly MVP
2014–15	Alen Omić	Adriatic League Weekly MVP

Greatest Euroleague Contributors

• Šarūnas Jasikevičius

Basketball Hall of Fame

• Krešimir Ćosić

FIBA Hall of Fame

• Krešimir Ćosić
• Ivo Daneu

External links

• Official website (Slovene) (English)
• Twitter profile
• Euroleague.net Official team profile
• Basketpedya.com Profile