Želimir "Željko" Obradović (, ; born 9 March 1960) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basketball League (GBL) and the EuroLeague.
Widely regarded as the greatest coach in European basketball history and outside the NBA, Obradović has won a total of 66 club titles and honours over the course of his 30-year-long coaching career, including a record nine EuroLeague titles with five different clubs, along with 18 EuroLeague Final Four appearances. In addition to his success at club level, he has also won major trophies as head coach of the Yugoslavia national team (present-day Serbia), most notably winning the gold medals at the 1997 EuroBasket and the 1998 FIBA World Championship.
Among his individual coaching awards, he has won two FIBA European Coach of the Year awards, three EuroLeague Coach of the Year awards, four Greek Basket League Best Coach awards, the ABA League Coach of the Season award, two Manager of the Year in Turkey awards, the Best Sports Coach in Greece award and the Ivković Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2008, he was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors, making the list as one of the ten head coaches that were chosen.
Early life Obradović was born on 9 March 1960, in Čačak, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia.
Playing career Borac Čačak (1978–1984) Obradović started his club career as a basketball player with Borac Čačak, in their youth system.
During the 1977–78 season, then eighteen-year-old Obradović, got his first taste of senior men's team basketball at Borac, as he appeared in six Yugoslav First Federal League games during the season, and contributed a total of 3 points. After eventually establishing himself as the team's starting point guard, he stayed with the club until 1984.
Partizan (1984–1991) Obradović joined Partizan in 1984. He was brought in by Partizan's incoming head coach Moka Slavnić and vice president Dragan Kićanović, both recent retirees who had starred on the Yugoslav national team throughout the 1970s as a legendary guard duo.
In Obradović's third season with the team, Partizan won the 1986–87 season title of the Yugoslav League. In the following season, they reached the 1987–88 season edition of the European Champions Cup's Final Four. Finally, they won the 1989 Yugoslav Cup and the Korać Cup's championship of the 1988–89 season. During his time at Partizan, Obradović established himself as one of the best and most reliable point guards in Yugoslavia's top-level league.
National team Obradović was a member of the junior national teams of Yugoslavia. With Yugoslav under-19 national team, he played at the 1979 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.
He was also a member of the senior Yugoslav national team. With Yugoslavia's senior national team, he won a silver medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, and a gold medal at the 1990 FIBA World Championship.
Coaching career Obradović's relevancy as a professional club basketball coach is confirmed by the collection of titles he has acquired in his twenty-eight-year career as a head coach, including a record 9 European-wide premiere level EuroLeague championships (won with five different teams), a record 14 EuroLeague Finals appearances, a record 18 EuroLeague Final Four appearances, two European-wide secondary level Saporta Cup championships, and numerous national domestic league championships and national cups.
Partizan (1991–1993) Obradović's coaching career began quite suddenly in the summer of 1991 while he was still an active thirty-one-year-old Partizan player getting ready for EuroBasket 1990 with the Yugoslav national team. Selected and coached by Dušan Ivković, the 1991 national squad was to be captained by Obradović—the oldest player among the assembled group. However, after finishing the training camp in Poreč and coming back to Belgrade to sleep over before leaving in the morning for a preparation friendly tournament in Dortmund, Germany, Obradović got called in for a meeting with the Partizan management—club president Radojica Nikčević, vice-president Dragan Kićanović, as well as board members Đorđe "Siske" Čolović, Milorad "Miketa" Đurić, and Dragan Todorić—who convinced him to take over the Partizan head coaching job, which entailed retiring from playing effective immediately thus giving up a chance to captain the national team at the upcoming EuroBasket.
The idea was to have Obradović, a debutante head coach, work under the guidance of experienced elder statesman of Yugoslav basketball, sixty-seven-year-old professor Aleksandar Nikolić, whose coaching advisory services were soon secured by Kićanović and the club management. Also joining the front office in the technical director capacity was another fresh retiree from playing, thirty-one-year-old Milenko Savović, Obradović's longtime teammate at Partizan, who had spent the previous 1990–91 season playing for Vojvodina.
In the 1991–92 season, Partizan had a 20–2 record in the 1991–92 YUBA League regular season. In the playoffs, they progressed to the final, winning the best-of-five series 3–0 against Crvena zvezda. It also won the Yugoslav Cup in 1992, beating Bosna 105–70 in the final game. In European competition, Obradović led the young squad to become the champions of 1991–92 FIBA European League, on the spur of breakup of Yugoslavia. Partizan played its international matches in Fuenlabrada, Spain, due to international sanctions imposed on FR Yugoslavia.
In 1992–93 season, Partizan was runner-up to Crvena zvezda with 3–2 record in the final series. In 1993 Yugoslav Cup, it lost with 104–91 in the final game to OKK Beograd.
Joventut Badalona (1993–1994) In 1993, Obradović signed a contract with the Spanish team Joventut Badalona, based in Badalona. With Joventut, he won the 1993–94 FIBA European League. In Liga ACB, Joventut finished in 3rd place with 24–14 record. In 1994 Copa del Rey de Baloncesto, Joventut was eliminated in the quarterfinals. However, he won the 1993–94 Torneo Comunidad de Bàsquet.
Real Madrid (1994–1997) After the end of season, Obradović signed a contract with Real Madrid. In his first season with the club, Real Madrid failed to defend the Liga ACB title, finishing in 3rd place with 27–19 record. In 1995 Copa del Rey de Baloncesto, Real Madrid finished in 4th place. However, he won the 1994–95 FIBA European League.
In 1994–95 season, Real Madrid did not manage to take any title. In Liga ACB, Real Madrid finished in 5th place with 28–12 record. In 1995–96 Copa del Rey de Baloncesto, Real Madrid finished in 3rd place. On the European scene, Obradović made his third consecutive Final Four appearance and second with Real Madrid, but ended losing in 3rd place game. In 1996–97 season, Real Madrid finished as the runner-up in the Liga ACB and was also eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 1997 Copa del Rey de Baloncesto. In European competitions, Real Madrid participated in second-tier FIBA Saporta Cup and eventually won it with 78–64 in the final game over Verona. At the end of the season, Obradović parted ways with the team.
Benetton Treviso (1997–1999) In the summer of 1996, in-demand Obradović, who had just won EuroBasket 1996 as FR Yugoslavia's head coach, made a high profile club move, signing with the Italian league champions Benetton Treviso thus succeeding Mike D'Antoni who had taken an offer from the NBA to join the Denver Nuggets' coaching staff as an assistant. Acquired on initiative by the club's general manager Maurizio Gherardini, reportedly despite some initial apprehension on the part of the Benetton Group CEO Luciano Benetton, the three-time-Euroleague-winning coach Obradović took over the squad led by the center Željko Rebrača (whom the coach already knew well having coached him in Partizan and Yugoslavia national team to great success) and shooting guard Henry Williams.
In 1996–97 season, Treviso was eliminated in the quarterfinal series of the Serie A1 playoffs with 3–2 record by Reggio Emilia. In 1996–97 FIBA EuroLeague, Treviso finished in 3rd place after 96–89 win over Partizan in the Final Four.
In 1997–98 season, Treviso finished as the runner-up in the Serie A1 playoffs, after 3–0 record in the final series against Varese. Also, Treviso won the FIBA Saporta Cup, following 64–60 win in the final game over Valencia.
Panathinaikos (1999–2012) In the summer of 1999, Obradović became head coach of Panathinaikos. In his first season with the club, he won the 1999–2000 Greek Basket League with 3–0 record in the final series against PAOK Thessaloniki. Also, Panathinaikos won the 1999–2000 FIBA Euroleague, after 73–67 win in the final game over Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was club's second Euroleague championship in history.
Obradović stayed with Panathinaikos until 2012, leading the team to become the top club in European club basketball during that time, while simultaneously maintaining the club at the top position in the Greek national championship. In total, Obradović won with Panathinaikos eleven Greek League championships, seven Greek Cups and five Euroleague titles (2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011).
In 2007, he achieved winning the highly coveted Triple Crown championship, for the second time as a head coach (the first was in 1992 with Partizan), and won the EuroLeague Coach of the Year award. Also in 2009, in Berlin, he completed this achievement as head coach for the third time. In 2011, he won his 8th Euroleague trophy overall, and 5th with Panathinaikos.
Despite winning the Greek Cup in the 2011–12 season, Panathinaikos finished 4th in the 2011–12 season of the Euroleague.
Fenerbahçe (2013–2020)
In early July 2013, Obradović signed a two-year contract with the Turkish club Fenerbahçe, that was reportedly worth €3 million in net income salary, over the contract period. After inheriting a roster with point guard Bo McCalebb and versatile shooting guards / small forwards Bojan Bogdanović and Emir Preldžić, the famous head coach added a pair of marquee forwards, in Linas Kleiza and Nemanja Bjelica. He additionally signed Luka Žorić and Melih Mahmutoğlu, as well as talented youngsters Ömer Yurtseven and Kenan Sipahi.
In his first season with the club, Obradović won the Turkish League championship, following a 4–3 record in the league's finals series against Galatasaray. In the 2014 Turkish Cup, Fenerbahçe were eliminated in the semifinals by Pınar Karşıyaka. In the 2013–14 EuroLeague season, they reached the Top 16 stage.
In the 2014–15 season, Fenerbahçe finished the regular season of the Turkish League in first place, with a 23–7 record. In the Turkish League Playoffs, they were eliminated in the semifinals series by Karşıyaka Basket, with a 3–1 record. They were also runners-up in the 2015 Turkish Cup. In the 2014–15 EuroLeague season, Fenerbahçe reached the 2015 Euroleague Final Four, where they were eliminated in the semifinals, and later lost in the 3rd place game. The appearance in the EuroLeague Final Four was the first in the club's long history. On 25 May 2015, after the end of season, he signed a two-year extension with Fenerbahçe.
In the 2015–16 season, Fenerbahçe finished in second place in the Turkish Super League regular season, with a 24–6 record. In the Turkish Super League Playoffs, Fenerbahçe went on to win the league championship, with a 4–2 record in the finals series against Anadolu Efes. The club also won the 2016 Turkish Cup. In the 2015–16 EuroLeague season, they finished as runners-up, after losing against CSKA Moscow in the final game of the 2016 Final Four.
On 18 November 2016, Ozan Balaban, a board member of Fenerbahçe SK, declared at the QNB Finansbank sponsorship ceremony of the club, that Obradović would sign a new three-year deal with the club. On 3 December 2016, Obradović officially extended his contract with the club, until the end of the 2019–20 season.