Toni Kukoč is a Croatian former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful period in European basketball, he was one of the first established European stars to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Waiter", Kukoč played for four NBA teams between 1993 and 2006, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1996. He is a three-time NBA champion, having won championships with the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1996, 1997, and 1998.
Dino Meneghin is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is widely considered to be the best Italian player ever, as well as one of Europe's all-time greats. A 2.06 m tall center, Meneghin was born in Alano di Piave, Veneto. On 20 November 1966, when he was 16 years old, he played in his first game in the Italian League, with Ignis Varese. He played the last game of his career at the age of 45.
The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1943 until 1992 in international basketball, and was controlled by the Basketball Federation of Yugoslavia.
Mirza Delibašić was a Bosnian professional basketball player and coach.
Radivoj Korać was a Serbian and Yugoslav professional basketball player. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Korać is well-known for holding the EuroLeague's all-time single-game scoring record, at 99 points scored, in a game versus Alviks, during the 1964–65 season, and for once making 100 out of 100 free throws on a live television show in Belgium.
Alexander Yakovlevich Gomelsky was a Russian professional basketball player and coach. The Father of Soviet and Russian basketball, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.
Sergei Alexandrovich Belov was a Russian professional basketball player, most noted for playing for CSKA Moscow and the senior Soviet Union national basketball team. He is considered to be one of the best European basketball players of all time, and was given the honour of lighting the Olympic Cauldron with the Olympic flame during the 1980 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, in Moscow.
The Spain men's national basketball team represents Spain in international basketball competitions. They are managed by the Spanish Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Spain. Spain is the current World and European champion.
Pierluigi "Pierlo" Marzorati is an Italian former professional basketball player. He is considered to have been one of the best point guards of all time in Europe, and was named the Mister Europa, in 1976. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. In 2007, he was inducted into the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame and enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.
Juan Carlos Navarro Feijoo, commonly known as either Juan Carlos Navarro or J. C. Navarro, is a Spanish former professional basketball player. During his playing career, at a height of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall, he played at the shooting guard position. On March 14, 2014, he was named a EuroLeague Basketball Legend. He is the current team manager of FC Barcelona Bàsquet.
The Serbia men's national basketball team represents Serbia in international basketball competition and is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Serbia. Serbia is currently ranked sixth in the FIBA World Ranking.
Alexander Alexandrovich Belov, commonly known as Sasha Belov, was a Soviet basketball player. During his playing career, he played at the center position. Belov is most remembered for scoring the game-winning basket of the gold medal game of the 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games, which gave the gold medal to the senior Soviet national team. In 1978, when just 26 years old, Belov died of cardiac sarcoma, a type of cancer.
Teófilo "Teo" Cruz Downs was a Puerto Rican professional basketball player. After playing college basketball, Cruz played in Puerto Rico's top-level league, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) with Cangrejeros de Santurce, Indios de Canóvanas, Mets de Guaynabo, Cardenales de Río Piedras, and Taínos de Mayagüez. Cruz also played in Spain with Picadero Damm, and in Belgium with Racing Club Mechelen.
Juan Antonio San Epifanio Ruiz, most commonly known as "Epi", is a Spanish retired professional basketball player. He spent all of his club career playing with FC Barcelona. He was named the Mister Europa European Player of the Year in 1984, by the Italian basketball magazine Superbasket, and the Best European Player of the 1980s decade, by the French sports newspaper L'Équipe. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.
Pedro Ferrándiz González was a Spanish basketball coach. He is most famous for coaching Real Madrid basketball club in the 1960s and 1970s. The International Olympic Committee awarded him the Olympic Order in 1977.
Emiliano Rodríguez is a Spanish retired professional basketball player. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. He was enshrined into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2008, Rodríguez was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.
Wayne Donald Brabender Cole is an American-born Spanish retired professional basketball player and coach. He acquired Spanish citizenship in 1968, relinquishing his U.S. citizenship to qualify for the Spanish national team. At a height of 6'4", he could play at either the shooting guard or small forward positions. He was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. On February 3, 2008, Brabender was chosen as one of the 50 most influential personalities to European professional club basketball, over the previous half-century, by the EuroLeague Basketball Experts Committee.
Aldo Ossola is an Italian former basketball player. At a height of 1.92 m, he was a point guard with a great ability to set the offensive rhythm and game tempo for his team. He is a member of the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted in 2008. His older brother, Luigi Ossola, played football professionally, in the Serie A, and another older half-brother Franco Ossola, was one of the highest all-time scorers of the Torino F.C.
Basketballin Greece erupted with the win of the Greece men's national basketball team at the 1987 EuroBasket in Athens, which caused a general basketball euphoria in the country. Since then, the Greece men's national teams have achieved consistent international success, leading Greece to join Russia, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France, and Lithuania in the circle of European basketball powers. In addition to the Greece national team's triumph in 1987, they won the gold medal at the 2005 EuroBasket, silver medals at the 1989 EuroBasket, and the 2006 FIBA World Cup, and the bronze medal at the 2009 EuroBasket.
Arturo Guerrero Moreno is a Mexican former basketball player and coach. He represented the Mexico national team and played in two Summer Olympic Games. Due to his shooting ability, he was nicknamed "Mano Santa". Along with Carlos Quintanar and Manolo Raga, he is generally considered to be one of the two best Mexican basketball players of all time.
