Insider basketball knowledge from five legends, starting with Zeljko Obradovic
Euroleague Masterminds: What coaching greats know
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3 Mins read
A new series by Euroleague Basketball provides fans and basketball junkies the chance to listen from the best and brightest minds in the game today, as Euroleague Masterminds presented by Motorola – a five-part series – launches today.
The first episode features Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade boss Zeljko Obradovic, a nine-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion. The following episodes see fellow head coaches Ioannis Sfairopoulos (Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade), four-time EuroLeague winner Ettore Messina (EA7 Emporio Armani Milan), two-time EuroLeague champion Pablo Laso (FC Bayern Munich) and Saras Jasikevicius (Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul) all offer their expert opinions. If you want to get inside the mind of a Euroleague head coach, this is the series for you.
"I started to be a coach in 1991. We are now in 2023, so in this long period, basketball has changed a lot," recognizes Coach Obradovic.
"What I like is for my team to use the quality they have and to play smart. You need to adjust, you need to think about everything. Small details make the difference in my opinion."
The millions of people who watch the Euroleague Basketball games each week get to see the final product out on the floor, but there’s plenty of work that goes on beforehand, most of which is unseen. As Obradovic makes clear, what happens in practice is the best signifier of what happens in the game.
"It’s very important how your players will react in practice first of all, because practice is always very, very important," he adds. "If you do good in practice, you will do good in the game. I hate practice when my team is not concentrated. If I see that one or two players do not have concentration, it is better to put them in the bench and continue with another."
In-game changes and tweaks are part and parcel of being a head coach, but the Xs and Os are what separates a good coach from a great one. During the EuroLeague Masterminds series, the coaches break down their schemes and explain what makes their teams tick. Importantly, though, both the coaches and the players need to have an open mind and be ready to take on new ideas.
"Every day is an opportunity to learn something new and to be better," comments Obradovic. "I believe it’s a big privilege if you’re doing something that you like in life, and I like basketball. I am very, very happy because of this that I’m doing something that I like so much."
Starting today, the episodes will be released once a week and continue until Monday, April 22. EuroLeague Masterminds will be available to watch on Euroleague.net and YouTube.