Zoran Slavnić

Zoran Slavnić
Personal information
Born October 26, 1949
Belgrade, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia
Nationality Serbian
Listed height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Career information
Pro career 1963–1983
Position Point guard
Career history
As player:
1963-1977 Red Star Belgrade
1977–1979 Joventut Badalona
1979–1981 Šibenka
1981–1982 Partizan
1982–1983 Juventus Caserta (Indesit)
As coach:
1983–1984 Šibenka
1984–1985 Partizan
1985–1986 KK Split (Jugoplastika)
1986–1988 Málaga (Caja de Ronda)
1988–1991 Red Star Belgrade
1991–1992 Dafni Athens
1994–1995 Red Star Belgrade
1995–1996 Joventut Badalona
1996–1997 Iraklis Thessaloniki
2001 TSK uniVersa Bamberg
2007 Serbia
Career highlights and awards
  • FIBA's 50 Greatest Players (1991)
FIBA Hall of Fame as player

Zoran "Moka" Slavnić (born October 26, 1949) is a Serbian retired basketball player and coach. He played with Crvena zvezda for 10 senior seasons. One of the best European point guards of all time, he was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991.

With Crvena zvezda, he won two National Championships, three National Cups and one European Cup Winner's Cup. He also won the Spanish Championship with Joventut Badalona. During his basketball career he played for Crvena zvezda (1967–1977), Joventut Badalona (1977–1979), Šibenka (1979–1981) and Partizan (1981–1982). His coaches Ranko Žeravica, Zdravko Kubat and Mirko Novosel. His son Zvezdan Slavnić.

Slavnić was one of the rare players who won everything he could in a career with his national team: 3 European Championships (1973, 1975, 1977), World Championship (1978) and Olympic Gold (1980).

Views and rows

Extremely outspoken and direct, Slavnić is very confrontational in his interviews and public appearances when discussing basketball-related topics and even specific individuals in and around the sport. He's been known to openly lambast former teammates and players he previously coached with criticism often delivered in the form of mocking and insults using juvenile and sophomoric tone.

Željko Obradović

Sometime in the 1990s Slavnić had a bitter falling out with Željko Obradović, a former player of his who went on to become a famous coach. For years since, Obradović has been a target of Slavnić's who often brings up the famous coach in his interviews. Most recently in a summer 2013 interview, asked about whether the two settled their differences, Slavnić said: "I'm 11 years his senior. I brought him to Partizan in 1984 despite the Partizan management people laughing at me for doing so. Miketa Đurić can confirm this while Siske Čolović unfortunately can't since he's not with us anymore. At the very first practice Obradović told me: 'What fortune for me to be coached by my idol'. But later all of that petered out... When the apprentice starts thinking he's better than the journeyman that is how it usually goes. Obradović is a little peasant from Čačak whom I saved from the life of drinking beer in front of a convenience store. And in life, this is the thanks you get in return. That's all I got to say about that".[1]

Miloš Teodosić

In late September 2011, following the Serbia national team's unsuccessful showing at the Eurobasket 2011 under head coach Dušan Ivković, Slavnić turned on Miloš Teodosić, a player Slavnić himself introduced to the national team four years earlier as one of nine debutantes he took to the Eurobasket 2007, by saying: "Teodosić completely shattered Ivković's authority. No point guard in the world can get away with the things Teodosić has been allowed to do. I got the impression he could take a shot with his foot, the coach still wouldn't have sanctioned him. I threw the kid into the fire four years ago, practically straight from the junior national team. I ignored the 'well-wishers' who were warning me he's a 'Valjevo swindle'. But now, I think Teodosić has died in his own narcissism and this is Ivković's fault for giving him way too much freedom on the court".[2]

A year later, Slavnić got even more ammunition for criticism of Teodosić after Serbia required a last gasp effort to qualify for the Eurobasket 2013. First, Slavnić partly supported disgruntled player Dragan Labović's blistering attack on Ivković in the part where the player criticizes the coach's tactics, before taking the criticism further by addressing Nenad Krstić and Teodosić: "Teodosić is wrong to blame the journalists for the bad atmosphere around the national team. If anything, they weren't critical enough because they're afraid. Instead of bowing his head in shame together with that Kraljevo peasant Krstić, Teodosić is now publicly thanking Ivković for 'opening the door of Europe to him' when I was the one who helped him with that. And this is why this piece of Valjevo garbage is afraid to say hello to me for the past five years".[3]

When Slavnić's induction into the FIBA Hall of Fame was announced in May 2013, a few Croatian news outlets complained about Toni Kukoč getting passed over.[4] Asked to comment, Slavnić retorted: "I'd like to publicly ask these Croat dunderheads the following question. Ever heard of birth certificate? Kukoč is 19 years younger than me. What are you, afraid he's not gonna get in? Saša Đorđević and Saša Danilović, who are from his generation, haven't gotten in yet so it's no surprise Kukoč's not in yet either. Besides, Croats should be kissing my ass because I did more for their basketball than all of them put together. I made Dražen Petrović, Dino Rađa, and Kukoč. They're my kids".[5]

References

  1. ↑ Moka Slavnić - Ko je seljak, a ko sujetan? Ko mu (ni)je čestitao ulazak u Kuću slavnih? Šta misli o Teodosiću, Miličiću i šta je rekao Prosinečkom...;MozzartSport, 5 July 2013
  2. ↑ Moka: "Teo umire u narcisoidnosti";B92, 22 September 2011
  3. ↑ MOKA SLAVNIĆ: Teo je valjevsko đubre, a Krstić kraljevački seljak!;telegraf.rs, 17 September 2012
  4. ↑ Kako je moguće da je Toni Kukoč opet zaobiđen?;TPortal.hr, 29 May 2013
  5. ↑ MOKA: Neka me Hrvati poljube u du*e!;telegraf.rs, 31 May 2013

External links