By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After leading Monaco to the 7DAYS EuroCup trophy and to the EuroLeague, the club picked up the option on coach Zvezdan Mitrovic’s contract for next season.
Per EuroLeague: AS Monaco and 7DAYS EuroCup Coach of the Year Zvezdan Mitrovic are working together for one more season, the club announced Thursday. Mitrovic, 51, was chosen by Euroleague Basketball from among many deserving candidates after he guided Monaco to its first EuroCup trophy in a 2-0 finals sweep against UNICS Kazan of Russia. That result followed a semifinals sweep of Herbalife Gran Canaria after Monaco had aced the last two games of the quarterfinals to outlast Buducnost VOLI Podgorica. With that season-ending six-game streak, coupled with a first-place finish in its Top 16 group, Monaco won 11 of its final 13 games to finish with a 17-6 record. He also helped Monaco reach the French League semifinals.
Mitrovic began his head coaching career by leading teams in Ukraine for 10 seasons between 2002 and 2014. He helped Khimik Yuzhny win the Ukrainian League title in 2009 and lifted the Ukrainian Cup trophy with Budivelnik Kiev in 2012. Mitrovic first joined Monaco in March of 2015 and led its promotion to the French first division later that season. Once in the French elite, Mitrovic immediately turned Monaco into a force, winning three consecutive French Leaders Cup trophies and ranking first after the French League regular season in 2016, 2017 and 2018. After helping Monaco finish third in the FIBA Basketball Champions League in 2017 and second in 2018, Mitrovic left to coach LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne for two seasons. They won the French League title in 2019, downing Monaco 3-2 in the finals, and also lifted the French Cup trophy. He led ASVEL to a 10-18 record in the 2019-20 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague before that season’s ending was suspended and finally canceled due to the global pandemic. Mitrovic has also coached the Montenegrin national team.