Aleksandar Đorđević

Aleksandar "Saša" Đorđević or Sale Đorđević (Anglicized: Sasha Djordjevic; Serbian Cyrillic: Александар Саша Ђорђевић, pronounced [aleksǎːndar sâʃa dʑǒːrdʑeʋitɕ]; born 26 August 1967) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as the head coach for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Serie A. During his playing career, he was listed as a 1.88 m (6'2") 90 kg (198 lb.)[1][2] point guard.

"Saša Đorđević" redirects here. For the footballer, see Saša Đorđević (footballer). For the former footballer and current coach, see Aleksandar Đorđević (footballer, born 1968). For the Austrian footballer, see Aleksandar Đorđević (footballer, born 1981).
Aleksandar Đorđević
Đorđević with Serbia in 2015
Virtus Bologna
PositionHead coach
LeagueLBA
Personal information
Born (1967-08-26) 26 August 1967
Belgrade, SR Serbia,
Yugoslavia
NationalitySerbian
Listed height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Listed weight90 kg (198 lb)
Career information
NBA draft1989 / Undrafted
Playing career1983–2005
PositionPoint guard
Number4, 6, 10, 19, 20
Coaching career2006–present
Career history
As player:
1983–1992Partizan
1992–1994Olimpia Milano
1994–1996Fortitudo Bologna
1996Portland Trail Blazers
1996–1999FC Barcelona
1999–2002Real Madrid
2003–2004Scavolini Pesaro
2005Olimpia Milano
As coach:
2006–2007Olimpia Milano
2011–2012Benetton Treviso
2013–2019Serbia
2015–2016Panathinaikos
2016–2018Bayern Munich
2019–presentVirtus Bologna
Career highlights and awards
As player

As head coach

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Yugoslavia /  Yugoslavia
Summer Olympic Games
1996 Atlanta
FIBA World Cup
1998 Greece
EuroBasket
1991 Italy
1995 Greece
1997 Spain
1987 Greece
U19 World Cup
1987 ItalyUnder-19
European U-18 Championship
1986 AustriaUnder-18
Head Coach for  Serbia
Summer Olympic Games
2016 Rio de Janeiro
FIBA World Cup
2014 Spain
EuroBasket
2017 TurkeyTeam

During his pro club playing career, Đorđević, along with his teammate Sasha Danilović, helped to lead Partizan Belgrade to its first EuroLeague title in 1992, while he earned an All-Final Four Team selection in the process. He was twice named the Mister Europa Player of the Year, in both 1994 and 1995. He also played in a total of 108 games, while representing the senior national teams of SFR Yugoslavia, and later FR Yugoslavia.

As a player, he won gold medals at the 1991 EuroBasket, the 1995 EuroBasket, the 1997 EuroBasket, where he was named the Most Valuable Player, and the 1998 FIBA World Championship. In 1995, Đorđević received the Golden Badge award for the Best Athlete of FR Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav Olympic Committee declared him the Sportsman of the Year.[3] In 2008, Đorđević was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.

Đorđević is most well-known for two famous game-winning shots that he hit during his playing career. He hit the game-winning shot of the 1992 EuroLeague Final,[4] and the game-winning shot of the 1997 EuroBasket game between FR Yugoslavia and Croatia.[5] He is the only person that has won medals at the Summer Olympic Games,[6] the FIBA World Cup, and the FIBA EuroBasket, as both a player and as a head coach.

Playing career

Partizan Belgrade (1983–1992)

Đorđević joined Partizan Belgrade during the summer of 1983, at the age of 16. The youngster's arrival at the club coincided with a front office shakeup, that saw Yugoslav and club legend Dragan Kićanović, who had just retired from playing, assume the club's vice-president role. The club also appointed Moka Slavnić, another freshly retired Yugoslav legend, to be the new head coach.

In summer 1990, after being away from competitive basketball for a year, due to his mandatory Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) service, the then twenty-three-year-old Đorđević spent four months with the Boston Celtics, at their free agent training camp, competing for a spot on the 1990–91 Celtics roster against some thirty other point guards.[7] Đorđević joined the camp on a recommendation from the Celtics' scout Nedjeljko "Mišo" Ostarčević, and he made it to the very end of the selection process, before getting cut shortly before the season began, due to Brian Shaw's return to the club from Virtus Roma.

Đorđević's pro club career is most remembered for his game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer, in the 1991–92 FIBA European League (EuroLeague)'s 1992 Final, which he hit in the game against the Spanish club Montigalà Joventut. He was named to the 1992 EuroLeague All-Final Four Team. In addition to winning Europe's most prestigious club title, the EuroLeague championship, with Partizan Belgrade in 1992, Đorđević also won Europe's third most important competition at that time, the FIBA Korać Cup title, in the 1988–89 season. He also won two Yugoslav First Federal League championships (1986–87 and 1991–92), and two Yugoslav Cups (1989 and 1992) while with the club.

Olimpia Milano (1992–1994)

Đorđević moved from Partizan Belgrade to Olimpia Milano, which competed in the top level Italian League, in 1992. He stayed at the club for two seasons, from 1992–93 to 1993–94. With Olimpia Milano, he won the FIBA Korać Cup championship, which was Europe's third most significant competition at that time, in the 1992–93 season. He was the top scorer of the finals.

Fortitudo Bologna (1994–1996)

Đorđević moved to the Italian League club Fortitudo Bologna, in 1994. He played with the club during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.

Portland Trail Blazers (1996)

After the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Đorđević had a stint with the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1996–97 season.[8] Đorđević made his NBA debut on November 29, 1996, recording 2 points and a rebound, in a 119–93 win over the Golden State Warriors.[9] His last NBA game was on December 15. Over 8 season games, he averaged 3.1 points per game, in games played in November and December 1996.[10]

FC Barcelona Bàsquet (1996–1999)

After his NBA stint with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1996, Đorđević signed with FC Barcelona of Spain's premier competition, the Liga ACB. He stayed with the club for three seasons (1996–97, 1997–98, and 1998–99). With Barcelona, he won the European-wide third-tier level FIBA Korać Cup championship of the 1998–99 season, and he was the final's top scorer. He also won two Spanish ACB League championships with the club, in the 1996–97 and 1998–99 seasons.

Real Madrid (1999–2002)

In 1999, Đorđević joined the Spanish ACB League club Real Madrid.[11] With Real Madrid, he won the championship of the 1999–00 Spanish League season in FC Barcelona's arena. As he celebrated the title in the court he was pushed by his former teammate Nacho Rodríguez,[12] who claimed that "Sasha has to know that you can't do that in an opponent's grounds".[13]

He also spent the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons with the club.

Scavolini Pesaro (2003–2004)

After a season off, Đorđević returned to Italy and he signed with Scavolini Pesaro for the 2003–04 season. With Scavolini, Djordjevic reached the finals of the 2004 Italian Cup, where his team lost to Benetton Treviso. He also played with Pesaro in the beginning of the 2004–05 season.

Return to Olimpia Milano (2005)

On 25 February 2005, Đorđević signed with Olimpia Milano again. The club made it to the 2004–05 Italian League's Finals, where they lost to Fortitudo Bologna, 3 games to 1. The 2004–05 season was the last season of Đorđević's pro club career.

Retirement game

Đorđević officially retired from playing professional club basketball on 3 July 2005, after an exhibition game, which was held in his honor. The game was held in front of the Serbian fans in Belgrade. Many of his former teammates and toughest opponents played in that game.

National team career

SFR Yugoslav junior national team

Đorđević was a member of SFR Yugoslavia's junior national teams. With the SFR Yugoslav Under-18 national team, he won the gold medal at the 1986 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. As a member of the SFR Yugoslav Under-19 national team, he won the gold medal at the 1987 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.

SFR Yugoslav national team

Đorđević was also a member of the senior SFR Yugoslav national team. With SFR Yugoslavia, he won a bronze medal at the 1987 EuroBasket. He also won a gold medal at the 1991 EuroBasket.

FR Yugoslav national team

Đorđević was also a member of the senior FR Yugoslav national team. With FR Yugoslavia, he won the gold medal at the 1995 EuroBasket, where he had one of the best individual performances ever in a EuroBasket Finals game. In that 1995 EuroBasket Finals game against Lithuania, he scored 41 points and made 9 out of his 12 three-point shot attempts. He also won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Đorđević won another gold medal at the 1997 EuroBasket. During that tournament, he hit a game-winning shot against Croatia. Finally, Đorđević won another gold medal at the 1998 FIBA World Cup.[14]

Coaching career

Olimpia Milano (2006–2007)

Đorđević retired from playing pro basketball in 2005. On 25 January 2006, he began a new career, working as a basketball coach, when he was named the head coach of the last team that he played with, Armani Jeans Milano, of Italy's Lega Basket Serie A and Europe's premier competition, the EuroLeague.[15] He left that position at the end of the 2006–07 Italian League season.

Benetton Treviso (2011–2012)

Đorđević's next head coaching job was with the Italian Serie A club Benetton Treviso. He coached the club during the 2011–12 season. During that season, the club competed in both the 2011–12 Italian League and also in Europe's secondary competition, the 2011–12 EuroCup.

Panathinaikos Athens (2015–2016)

On 20 June 2015, Đorđević signed a two-year contract to be the head coach of Panathinaikos, a club competing in the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague.[16] With Panathinaikos, he won the 2016 edition of the Greek Cup. On 20 April 2016, Panathinaikos announced the termination of Đorđević's contract.[17]

Bayern Munich (2016–2018)

On 1 August 2016, Đorđević signed a two-year contract with the German Bundesliga team Bayern Munich, to be their head coach.[18] In European-wide competitions, Bayern Munich participated in one of Europe's two secondary competitions, the 2016–17 EuroCup, where it was defeated in the quarterfinals by Unicaja. Bayern Munich finished the 2016–17 Basketball Bundesliga regular season in 3rd place, with 28–4 record, and was eliminated by Brose Bamberg in their semifinal playoff series, with a 3–0 series score. Bayern also finished as the runner-up of the 2017 German Cup for the second season in a row, after losing in the Cup's Final to Brose Bamberg, by a score of 74–71.

Over the summer of 2017, Maik Zirbes, a prominent center, joined the team. Bayern Munich started the 2017–18 German League season in a dominant fashion, leading the league's standings table. In February 2018, Bayern Munich won the 2018 German Cup, after an 80–75 win over Alba Berlin, and the club thus won the German Cup trophy for the first time in 50 years.[19]

On 29 March 2018, Đorđević was sacked by Bayern, after the club's elimination in the semifinals of the 2017–18 EuroCup.[20] During that season, Bayern Munich held the first position in the 2017–18 Basketball Bundesliga regular season standings, with a record of 23–2, before he was sacked.[20] A few days after his dismissal, Đorđević stated that his firing was an "insult for common sense", especially since the 2017–18 season was one of the most successful in the team's history.[21] He also added that there was an apparent disagreement between the team's management (in particular general manager Marko Pešić), and his coaching staff, as he had not allowed the team's management to have a bigger role in coaching decisions.[21]

Virtus Bologna (2019–present)
Coach Đorđević and the team, after winning the 2018–19 Basketball Champions League in Antwerp

On 11 March 2019, Đorđević signed to be the head coach of Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A.[22][23][24] In his Virtus Bologna debut on 13 March, Đorđević led the team to an 81–58 victory over Le Mans Sarthe.[25] Virtus Bologna advanced to the 2019 Basketball Champions League Final Four in Antwerp,[26][27] where the club won the championship on the 5th of May, after defeating Iberostar Tenerife, by a score of 73–61, in part thanks to an outstanding game by Kevin Punter, who was named the BCL Final Four MVP.[28] The 2019 BCL championship was the fifth European-wide title in the team's history, and the first one it had won in ten years.[29]

On 13 July, Virtus signed a three-year deal with Miloš Teodosić, 2016 EuroLeague champion and former NBA player,[30] who was widely considered one of the best European point guard of all time.[31] Among others, the team signed also Vince Hunter, Frank Gaines, Kyle Weems, Julian Gamble, Stefan Marković and Giampaolo Ricci.[32] On 7 April 2020, after more than a month of suspension, the Italian Basketball Federation officially ended the 2019–20 season, due to the coronavirus pandemic that severely hit Italy.[33] Virtus ended the season first, with 18 wins and only 2 defeats, but the title was not assigned.[34]

Coaching record
Legend
G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win-loss %

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the team played during the season. He also coached in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

EuroLeague
Team Year G W L W–L% Result
Olimpia Milano 2005–06 321.667Eliminated in group stage
Panathinaikos 2015–16 271512.556Lost in Quarterfinal Playoffs
Career301713.567

National team coaching

Serbia national team (2013–2019)
Đorđević with Željko Obradović in 2015

In November 2013, Đorđević was named the head coach of the Serbian national basketball team.[35] With Serbia, he took the silver medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup. In June 2015, he signed an extension with the Basketball Federation of Serbia, to be the team's selector until 2019.[36]

His second major tournament in which he led the Serbian national team was the 2015 EuroBasket. In the first phase of the tournament, Serbia dominated in the tournament's toughest group (Group B), with a 5–0 record, and then eliminated Finland and the Czech Republic in the round of 16 and quarterfinal games, respectively. However, Serbia were stopped in their semifinal game by Lithuania, by a score of 67–64,[37] and they eventually also lost to the host team, France, in the bronze-medal game, by a score of 81–68.[38]

On 21 August 2016, he led Serbia's national team to the silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2017 EuroBasket, Serbia won the silver medal, after losing in the final game to Slovenia.[39]

At the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Serbia lost to Argentina in their quarterfinals game. In the classification games, Serbia defeated the United States and Czech Republic, and thus finished the tournament in 5th place.[40] After the game versus the Czech Republic, Đorđević announced that he would no longer be the head coach of Serbia's senior national team.[41]

Awards and accomplishments

Club titles that Đorđević won as a senior level player:

Club titles that Đorđević won as a head coach:

Personal life

Đorđević's father, Bratislav Đorđević, was a professional basketball player, and was also the head coach of several European basketball clubs.[42]

Đorđević is one of UNICEF's National Ambassadors for Serbia, alongside Emir Kusturica, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Janković and Novak Djokovic. He is also one of the founders of the humanitarian organization Group Seven, as well as the President of the Belgrade Marathon. Đorđević has also worked as a sports commentator for EuroLeague TV.

gollark: I think you can guess based on summaries of the contents.
gollark: As such, overthrow God and install our own.
gollark: Their definition of "good" isn't ours.
gollark: Yeeeees.
gollark: However, if you claim God is not responsible for your actions based on free will, it is necessary.

See also

References
  1. "Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. "Aleksandar Djordjevic Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2010-08-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. 1992: Partizan's miracle year.
  5. Sasha Djordjevic, "Alexander the Great".
  6. "History made by Sale: Olympic medal both as coach and player".
  7. May, Peter (14 October 2010). "Erden brings new dimension to C's". ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  8. "Aleksandar Saša Đorđević at Biografija.org". biografija.org. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  9. "Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers Box Score, November 29, 1996". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  10. "Aleksandar Đorđević 1996-97 Game Log". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  11. "KAD SALE PODUČAVA NAVARA: Srpski igrači i treneri najzaslužniji za strelovit uspon španske košarke". novosti.rs. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  12. Se cumplen 20 años de la Liga del Madrid en el Palau... que no le dejaron celebrar. Marca, 6 June 2020
  13. Aíto: "Perder esta Liga ha sido una injusticia" Mundo Deportivo, 6 Juny 2020
  14. Aleksander DJORDJEVIC (SRB).
  15. "Aleksandar Djordjevic Named Coach of Milano - European Cup Radivoj Korac (1996) - FIBA Europe". Fibaeurope.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  16. Αλεξάντερ Τζόρτζεβιτς: Τιμή και προνόμιο να βρίσκομαι στον Παναθηναϊκό. paobc.gr (in Greek). 30 June 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  17. "Termination of the cooperation with Aleksandar Djordjevic". paobc.gr. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  18. "Bayern Munich name Sasha Djordjevic head coach". sportando.com. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  19. ""Srpski" Bajern osvojio Kup posle 50 godina". b92.net (in Serbian). 18 February 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  20. Nikolić, Darko (29 March 2018). "Bajern smenio Sašu Đorđevića!". sport.blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  21. "Uvreda za zdrav razum – Pešić nije napao samo mene, već instituciju trenera". b92.net (in Serbian). Tanjug. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
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  23. "Djordjević è il nuovo allenatore della Virtus Bologna, esonerato Sacripanti". Gazzettadibologna.it. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  24. "Đorđević se vratio u Italiju i preuzeo Virtus!". B92.net. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  25. "Round of 16: Segafredo Virtus Bologna 81-58 Le Mans". Championsleague.basketball. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  26. "Đorđević debitovao sa +23 u Ligi šampiona". B92.net (in Serbian). Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  27. Basket, Champions League: Virtus Bologna qualificata alle Final Four
  28. Finale a suon di triple: Kevin Punter vince il premio di MVP
  29. La Virtus Bologna conquista la Champions League: Tenerife ko in finale 73-61.
  30. "Milos Teodosic officially signs with Virtus Bologna". Sportando.basketball. July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  31. irtus Bologna, colpo da Eurolega: arriva Teodosic!
  32. Serie A, i roster completi della stagione 2019/2020
  33. Italian Basketball Federation officially ends LBA 2019-20 season, Sportando
  34. Italian Basketball president Petrucci announces that LBA title won’t be assigned, Sportando
  35. "FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014". Fiba.basketball. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  36. "Đilas: Đorđević i Maljkovićeva selektori do 2019". Novosti.rs (in Serbian). Tanjug. 4 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  37. "LITHUANIA END SERBIAN STREAK, RETURN TO FINAL". eurobasket2015.org. Archived from the original on 2015-09-19. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  38. "FRANCE REWARD HOME SUPPORT WITH BRONZE". eurobasket2015.org. 20 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-22. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  39. "Slovenia overcome injuries to claim historic title in Dragic's swansong". FIBA.basketball. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  40. "Serbia v Czech Republic". FIBA.basketball. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  41. "Đorđević napušta mesto selektora Srbije!". Sportklub (in Serbian). 14 September 2019.
  42. "The excitement starts here". Euroleague.net. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
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