Otar Korkia

Otar Korkia (Georgian: ოთარ ქორქია, Russian: Отар Михайлович Коркия; May 10, 1923 in Kutaisi – March 15, 2005 in Tbilisi) was a Georgian professional basketball player and coach. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players, in 1991. He was also named the Best Georgian Basketball Player of the 20th Century, and the Best Georgian Sportsman of the 20th Century.[1]

Otar Korkia
Otar Korkia, during a basketball game
Personal information
BornMay 10, 1923
Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
DiedMarch 15, 2005(2005-03-15) (aged 81)
Tbilisi, Georgia
NationalitySoviet / Georgian
Listed height1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
Listed weight93 kg (205 lb)
Career information
Playing career1940–1958
PositionCenter
Number7, 10
Coaching career1958–1970
Career history
As player:
1940–1947Dinamo Kutaisi
1947–1958Dinamo Tbilisi
As coach:
1958–1959Soviet Union Under-20
1959–1968Dinamo Tbilisi
1968–1970Cambodia
Career highlights and awards
As player:
  • FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991)
  • 3× Soviet League champion (1950, 1953, 1954)
  • 2× Soviet Cup winner (1949, 1950)
  • Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1950)
  • Order of Lenin (1957)
  • Order of Honor (Georgia)
  • Best Georgian Basketball Player of the 20th Century
  • Best Georgian Sportsman of the 20th Century

As head coach:

Medals
Representing  Soviet Union
Men's Basketball
Summer Olympic Games
1952 Helsinki
FIBA EuroBasket
1947 Czechoslovakia
1951 France
1953 USSR
1955 Hungary

Playing career

Club career

During his club career, Korkia played with Dinamo Kutaisi, from 1940 to 1947, and with Dinamo Tbilisi, from 1947 to 1958.[2] He won three USSR League championships, in the years 1950, 1953, and 1954, and two USSR Cups, in 1949 and 1950.

National team career

Korkia was a member of the senior Soviet Union national basketball team, which won the silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympic Games. He played in seven games during that tournament.[3] He later became the captain of the senior Soviet national team.

He also won gold medals at the 1947 EuroBasket, the 1951 EuroBasket, and the 1953 EuroBasket. Additionally, he won the bronze medal at the 1955 EuroBasket.

Coaching career

Korkia was the head coach of Dinamo Tbilisi, when the club won the FIBA European Champions Cup (later called EuroLeague) championship, in the 1961–62 season. He was named an Honored Coach of the USSR, in 1967.

Titles won

Player

Head coach

Personal life

Korkia's nephew, Mikheil, was also a well-known senior Soviet national basketball team player.

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See also

References
  1. GEORGIA LOSES LEGEND KORKIA.
  2. Boris Khavin (1979). All about Olympic Games (in Russian) (2nd ed.). Moscow: Fizkultura i sport. p. 306.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Otar Korkia Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
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