Dubai Basketball | |||
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League | ABA League EuroLeague | ||
Founded | 2023 | ||
History | Dubai Basketball 2023–present | ||
Arena | Coca-Cola Arena [1] | ||
Capacity | 17,000 | ||
Location | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | ||
General manager | Dejan Kamenjašević | ||
Team manager | Nenad Banjanin | ||
Head coach | Jurica Golemac | ||
Team captain | Klemen Prepelič | ||
Affiliation(s) | Falcons Academy | ||
Website | dubaibasketball.com | ||
Dubai Basketball is a professional basketball club based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The team competes in the ABA League and the EuroLeague. The club plays its home games at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. [2] [3]
Founded in 2023, the team entered the EuroLeague after just two years of existence and is the first non-European team to play in the competition, when not accounting for Israeli teams. The team's colours are brown, black and white.
Dubai Basketball was founded by Abdulla Saeed Juma Al Naboodah and Dejan Kamenjašević in 2023 as the first home franchise team based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [4] [5]
In January 2024, the ABA League confirmed Dubai Basketball's inclusion for a three-season term starting in the 2024–25 season. [6] [7]
On 19 March 2024, the ABA League officially announced BC Dubai would join the league for the next three seasons, starting from 2024. [8] [9] The club’s entry into the ABA League was part of an initiative to develop basketball in the region. [10] [11] Jurica Golemac was signed as the team's first head coach, [12] while Nate Mason was the first officially signed player for the team. [13] Dāvis Bertāns also became the first former NBA player to defect from that league to play for Dubai instead. [14] Later in the summer, Dubai BC announced that the 17,000 seater Coca-Cola Arena would serve as the team's home arena. [15]
In their first ABA game, on September 22, 2024, Dubai defeated Red Star Belgrade at home. [16] They also defeated Partizan, Zadar and Cedevita Olimpija, amongst others, in the 2024–25 season, securing a place in the playoffs. [17] They were eliminated by Partizan Belgrade in the semifinals. [18]
The team will complete in the European top-tier basketball league, EuroLeague for the following 2025–26 season when the team got a five–year license to participate until 2029–30 season. [19] They became the first non-Israeli team that was not based in Europe to play in the league. For its debut season, Dubai worked with a player budget of €16 million. [20]
In July 2024, Dubai Basketball announced the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai as its official home venue. The arena, with a seating capacity of 15,000, hosts all home games during the EuroLeague and ABA League seasons. [26] [27]
Jurica Golemac (born May 29, 1977) is a Slovenian professional basketball coach and former player. Standing at 2.09 meters (6 ft 10 in), he played as a power forward and center. Golemac began his professional playing career in 1995 and retired in 2013, having competed for clubs across Europe including Cibona, Union Olimpija, Panathinaikos, and Galatasaray. He also represented the Slovenian national team in multiple EuroBasket tournaments. [28] [29]
After retiring, Golemac transitioned into coaching, achieving notable success with Slovenian and regional teams. He led Koper Primorska to multiple domestic trophies and later served as head coach of Cedevita Olimpija from 2020 to 2023, winning national league and cup titles. [30] [31]
In 2024, Golemac became the first head coach of Dubai Basketball. In the club’s debut ABA League season, he guided the team to an impressive regular-season record and a playoff semifinal appearance. [32]
Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.
Dubai Basketball roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: September 2, 2024 |
No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Moving from | |
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3 | SF | ![]() | Dwayne Bacon | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ![]() |
4 | G | ![]() | Aleksa Avramović | CSKA Moscow | ![]() |
10 | SF | ![]() | Justin Anderson | FC Barcelona | ![]() |
13 | G/F | ![]() | Džanan Musa | Real Madrid | ![]() |
14 | C | ![]() ![]() | Mam Jaiteh | AS Monaco | ![]() |
17 | C | ![]() | Mfiondu Kabengele | Reyer Venezia | ![]() |
25 | PG | ![]() | McKinley Wright IV | Budućnost | ![]() |
30 | F/C | ![]() | Filip Petrušev | Olympiacos | ![]() |
34 | C | ![]() | Kenan Kamenjaš | Budućnost | ![]() |
No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Moving to | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | PG | ![]() | Aleksa Uskoković | Borac Čačak | ![]() |
11 | PG | ![]() | Isaiah Taylor | Free agent | |
22 | PF | ![]() | JaCorey Williams | Maroussi | ![]() |
29 | C | ![]() | Jerry Boutsiele | Budućnost | ![]() |
43 | C | ![]() ![]() | Leon Radošević | Free agent | |
44 | C | ![]() ![]() | Ahmet Düverioğlu | Esenler Erokspor | ![]() |