# KK Olimpija

Active sport clubs named Olimpija Ljubljana :
| Football | Basketball | Ice Hockey |
| Football (Women's) | Handball (Women's) | |
Defunct clubs named Olimpija Ljubljana :
| Football (1945–2005) | Basketball (1946–2019) | Ice Hockey (1928–2017) |
Košarkarski klub Olimpija (English: Olimpija Basketball Club) was a men's professional basketball club based in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Olimpija has won 23 National League championships, including eight consecutive titles between 1992 and 1999. They have played in two different National Leagues since 1946, the Yugoslav Federal League (1946–1991) and the Slovenian League (1991–2019). Olimpija has won three regional league championships, one in the Adriatic League and two championships in the Central European League. They have also won 20 National Cup tournaments, 8 National 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.
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 numbers :
| No | Nat. | Player | Position | Tenure | Date retired | Ref |
| 12 | | Marko Milič | PF | 1994–1997, 1999–2000, 2006–2009 | 2015 | |
| 13 | | Ivo Daneu | PG | 1956–1970 | 2007 | |

### Players in the NBA draft

| * | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game |
| Position | Player | Year | Round | Pick | Drafted by |
| PF | Marko Milič | 1997 | 2nd round | 33rd | Philadelphia 76ers |
| C | Vladimir Stepania | 1998 | 1st round | 27th | Seattle SuperSonics |
| C | Primož Brezec | 2000 | 1st round | 27th | Indiana Pacers |
| SG/SF | Jiří Welsch | 2002 | 1st round | 16th | Philadelphia 76ers |
| SG/PG | Yotam Halperin$^#$ | 2006 | 2nd round | 53rd | Seattle SuperSonics |
| PG | Goran Dragić$^*$ | 2008 | 2nd round | 45th | San Antonio Spurs |
| PF | Dāvis Bertāns | 2011 | 2nd round | 42nd | Indiana Pacers |
| PG | Issuf Sanon$^#$ | 2018 | 2nd round | 44th | Washington Wizards |
| PF | Luka Šamanić | 2019 | 1st round | 19th | San 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 (defunct)
    Winners (6): 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969–70
    Runners-up (8): 1953, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1967, 1967–68, 1968–69
* Yugoslav Cup (defunct)
    Runners-up (5): 1960, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1986–87
* Yugoslav 1. B League (defunct)
    Winners: 1984–85, 1986–87
* Slovenian Republic League (defunct)
    Winners: 1946, 1947

### European competitions

* EuroLeague
    Semifinalists: 1961–62
    Third place: 1966–67, 1996–97
    Final Four: 1967, 1997
* FIBA Saporta Cup (defunct)
    Winners: 1993–94
    Semifinalists: 1968–69, 1982–83, 1991–92

### Regional competitions

* Adriatic League
    Winners: 2001–02
    Runners-up: 2010–11
* Central European League (defunct)
    Winners: 1993, 1994

### Other competitions

* FIBA International Christmas Tournament
    Fourth place: 1998

## Notable performances in European and worldwide competitions
### The road to the FIBA European Cup victory

1993–94 FIBA European Cup
| Round | Team | Home | Away |
| Third | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| Top 12 | Rabotnički | 89–77 | 80–66 |
| Top 12 | Tofaş | 87–78 | 103–90 |
| Top 12 | Taugrés | 86–73 | 63–67 |
| Top 12 | Fidefinanz Bellinzona | 77–62 | 53–50 |
| Top 12 | Croatia Osiguranje | 68–76 | 84–79 |
| Semi-final | Sato Aris | 84–78 | 79–83 |
| Semi-final | Sato Aris | 74–61 | 79–83 |
| Final | Taugrés | 91–81 | 91–81 |

## Season-by-season records

Key
| Season | Tier | Domestic league | Pos | Domestic cup | Supercup | Adriatic League | Adriatic League | European competitions | European competitions |
| 1991–92 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | | |
| 1992–93 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 1 European League | 2R |
| 1992–93 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 2 European Cup | QF |
| 1993–94 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 1 European League | 2R |
| 1993–94 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 2 European Cup | W |
| 1994–95 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 1 European League | GS |
| 1995–96 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Round of 16 | — | — | — | 1 European League | R32 |
| 1996–97 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 1 Euroleague | 3rd |
| 1997–98 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 1 Euroleague | R16 |
| 1998–99 | 1 | Liga Kolinska | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 1 Euroleague | R16 |
| 1999–00 | 1 | Liga Kolinska | 3rd | Winners | — | — | — | 1 Euroleague | QF |
| 2000–01 | 1 | Liga Kolinska | 1st | Winners | — | — | — | 1 Euroleague | QF |
| 2001–02 | 1 | HYPO Liga | 1st | Winners | — | Winners | Winners | 1 Euroleague | T16 |
| 2002–03 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 2nd | Winners | — | Semifinals | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | T16 |
| 2003–04 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Runners-up | Winners | Semifinals | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | T16 |
| 2004–05 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | Winners | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2005–06 | 1 | 1. A SKL | 1st | Winners | Winners | 10th place | 10th place | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2006–07 | 1 | Liga UPC Telemach | 2nd | Runners-up | | 9th place | 9th place | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2007–08 | 1 | Liga UPC Telemach | 1st | Winners | Winners | Semifinals | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2008–09 | 1 | Liga UPC Telemach | 1st | Winners | Winners | 9th place | 9th place | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2009–10 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Winners | Semifinals | Semifinals | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2010–11 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Runners-up | Runners-up | Runners-up | 1 Euroleague | T16 |
| 2011–12 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Runners-up | 6th place | 6th place | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2012–13 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Winners | Runners-up | 8th place | 8th place | 1 Euroleague | RS |
| 2013–14 | 1 | Telemach League | 2nd | Runners-up | Winners | 10th place | 10th place | 2 Eurocup | L32 |
| 2014–15 | 1 | Telemach League | 5th | Semifinals | Runners-up | 5th place | 5th place | 2 Eurocup | L32 |
| 2015–16 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 4th | Quarterfinals | | 7th place | 7th place | 2 Eurocup | L32 |
| 2016–17 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 1st | Winners | | 11th place | 11th place | 2 EuroCup | RS |
| 2017–18 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 1st | Semifinals | Winners | First Division | 7th | 3 Champions League | RS |
| 2018–19 | 1 | Liga Nova KBM | 2nd | Semifinals | Runners-up | First Division | 12th | 3 Champions League | RS |

## 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)