KK Olimpija


Košarkarski klub Olimpija 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 and the Slovenian League. 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. The club was a founding member and shareholder of the Adriatic Basketball Association. 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.

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
  • KK Enotnost
  • AŠK Olimpija
  • KK Olimpija
Between 1976 and 2019, the names of the club included the sponsorship names:
  • Brest
  • Iskra
  • ZZI
  • Smelt
  • Union
  • Petrol

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.
A total of 16 former Olimpija players have played in the NBA:

Honours

Domestic competitions

The road to the FIBA European Cup victory

1993–94 FIBA European Cup

Season-by-season records

Key