50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008)
The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural season of the FIBA European Champions Cup, which is officially recognized as the predecessor of today's modern EuroLeague competition, which is the premier level men's basketball league in Europe.
The list was made up of 35 players, 10 coaches, and 5 referees that were deemed to have contributed the most to the growth of the EuroLeague. It also included other nominees for each category. All together, 105 players, 20 coaches, and 12 referees in total were nominated.
Contributors edit
Players edit
The following is the list of 35 awarded players.[1][2]
Coaches edit
The following is the list of 10 awarded coaches.[1][2]
Country | Coach | Years[b] |
---|---|---|
Serbia (4) | Aleksandar Nikolić | 1951–1985 |
Dušan Ivković | 1968–2016 | |
Božidar Maljković | 1971–2013 | |
Željko Obradović | 1991–present | |
Spain (2) | Pedro Ferrándiz | 1955–1975 |
Manuel "Lolo" Sáinz | 1969–2001 | |
Russia | Alexander Gomelsky | 1949–1991 |
United States | Dan Peterson | 1962–1988, 2011 |
Israel | Pini Gershon | 1974–2015 |
Italy | Ettore Messina | 1976–present |
Referees edit
The following is the list of 5 awarded referees.[1][2]
Country | Referee |
---|---|
Bulgaria | Artenik Arabadjian |
France | Yvan Mainini |
Greece | Costas Rigas |
Russia | Mikhail Davidov |
Slovakia | Lubomir Kotleba |
Other nominees that were not selected edit
70 Player nominees edit
- Years in parentheses indicate years played as a senior men's club basketball player in all leagues, not just the EuroLeague.
10 Coach nominees edit
- Years in parentheses indicate years spent as a basketball coach, in all competitions, not just the EuroLeague.
Country | Coach | Years Coached (in all competitions) |
---|---|---|
Italy | Cesare Rubini | (1957–1973) |
Italy | Alessandro "Sandro" Gamba | (1965–1992) |
Italy | Valerio Bianchini | (1974–2008) |
Serbia | Ranko Žeravica | (1954–2003) |
Serbia | Svetislav Pešić | (1982–Present) |
Croatia | Mirko Novosel | (1967–1993) |
Croatia | Željko Pavličević | (1975–Present) |
Israel | Ralph Klein | (1964–2008) |
Spain | Alejandro "Aíto" García Reneses | (1973–Present) |
Greece | Giannis Ioannidis | (1977–2003) |
7 Referee nominees edit
Country | Referee |
---|---|
Finland | Carl Jungebrand |
Hungary | Ervin Kassai |
Lithuania | Romualdas Brazauskas |
Poland | Wiesław Zych |
Serbia | Obrad Belošević |
Spain | Pedro Hernández-Cabrera |
United Kingdom | David Turner |
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ Indicate years played as a senior men's club basketball player in all leagues, not just the EuroLeague.
- ^ Indicate years spent as a basketball coach, in all competitions, not just the EuroLeague.