By Stefan Djordjevic/ info@eurohoops.net
The club from the capital of Slovenia has a great tradition. They have won 16 Slovenian national league titles, 20 Slovenian Cups, six Yugoslavia’s league times, the ABA League once and one FIBA Saporta Cup. Petrol Olimpija has founded back in 1946 as they celebrated their 71st anniversary this year.
Through more than 70 years a lot of outstanding players has worn the green jersey. Eurohoops presents you the Top 5 of the players who were members of Petrol Olimpija.
Point Guard – Sarunas Jasikevicius
European legend Sarunas Jasikevicus was a member of Olimpija back in the 1999/2000 season. In that season the Lithuanian magician improved a lot as he was training against Jure Zdovc. Zdovc was well known all around Europe as the beast in the defense. He was pushing Saras to improve especially his weaker, left hand. He was part of the team that won the Slovenian Basketball League title as he was averaging 9,3 points and 3,4 assists per game.
Shooting Guard – Goran Dragic
Ok, this is not Goran’s primary position, but along Saras, he would adapt to it easily. He played for the”Dragons” back in the season 2007-2008 as he also won the domestic title (photo). After the season in Ljubljana, he moved to the NBA.
Small Forward – Danny Green
NBA champion Danny Green had his ups and downs through his career. Danny Green signed 10-days contract with San Antonio Spurs back in 2010. Due to his lack of discipline, legendary coach Gregg Popovich didn’t want to extend Green’s contract. So Danny moved to Europe and his destination was Olimpija. That was the right move for him as that was his return ticket to the NBA. He signed for Spurs again as he remains one of their key players.
Power Forward – Bostjan Nachbar
Bostjan Nachbar started his professional career in Olimpija back in 1997. He gained his first Euroleague experience while averaging 7 points and 2 rebounds per game in season 1997/1998. Nachbar spent six years in NBA with three teams (New Orleans, Houston Rockets, and New Jersey). In his season at Olimpija Bostjan won the Slovenian League and he earned his place at Nike Hoop Summit.
Center – Aron Baynes
Aron Baynes’ story is the similar one to the Danny Green’s one. Like Danny, Aron Baynes moved from Olimpija to the San Antonio Spurs. Alongside Green, Baynes became an NBA champion with the Spurs in 2014. Before he started playing for Olimpija, Aron Baynes has been a member of another team from the Basketball Champions League – EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
History has proven that Olimpija can be the right step for young players who are pursuing a career even the NBA. After all, the “hottest” name in the basketball world right now, Luka Doncic, was a member of Olimpija as well. He started his development in Olimpija’s youth setup as his father Sasha was playing for the senior team alongside Goran Dragic. Yes, he is the kid in the main photo of this post.
Petrol Olimpija is in Group C of the Basketball Champions League with a 1-3 record. Next week they will meet Umana Reyer Venezia at home on Day 5 of the Basketball Champions League.