Ivkovic: true basketball legend
Ivkovic passed away at the age of 78. On the day when the heart of the celebrated coach stopped beating, the whole basketball world was shocked. It is a great loss for Serbian, European, and world basketball. Duda started his coaching career at Partizan Belgrade and later worked in Greece, Russia, Turkey…
He won a handful of trophies, of which two Euroleagues should be singled out. He won titles by the leading Olympiacos in 1997 and 2012. The last club Ivkovic coached was Turkish Anadolu Efes. When it comes to national basketball, leading Yugoslavia, he won several European titles and one world title. Dusan had enviable coaching, but what was even more important were great human qualities. Hardly a single player he worked with would say anything bad about him.
His life and coaching story was full of anecdotes. In addition to basketball, he also had a huge love for pigeons. He was allegedly related to the famous scientist Nikola Tesla. Duda only didn’t get the opportunity to work in the NBA, and it is almost certain that he would do great there like his great friend Gregg Popovich. This is certainly something that Ivkovic regretted, and there was an offer to go to the strongest basketball league in the world. 19 years ago, the Denver Nuggets were interested in their team taking over one of the best coaches in Europe. It was right Dusan Ivkovic.
Ivkovic chooses CSKA instead Denver
When the Greek media once asked him about his engagement in the NBA league, Duda stated the following: – “I had my first meeting in Nice with CSKA. At the same time, I received an offer from Denver, I went to New York, talked to Kiki VanDeWeghe, the then general manager of the Nuggets, and then we went to lunch with my agent and three other scouts.
They asked me questions all night while we were eating. ” Duda was supposed to become the first European coach in the NBA, but in the end, it didn’t happen. Ivkovic was supposed to be an advisor in the first year and then sign a two-year contract, but Duda ended up in Russia in the end.
“We have agreed on the terms of the contract, as well as my role. We agreed that I would be an advisor during the first year, that is, I would learn about the NBA, and then that I would sign a two-year contract. The next morning we were having coffee and I was told that the owners were on vacation and that nothing could be done. They asked me to be patient for a few days, to which I replied that I had a meeting with CSKA in two weeks. The days went by and I signed for CSKA”.
Duda lived basketball for 24 hours
It is a real pity that basketball fans did not have the opportunity to see Duda in the NBA. Gregg Popovich stole the craft from Duda Ivkovic. This is the best indicator that Ivkovic would do very well in the NBA. All the teams he led were adorned with the top organization of the game. He always knew how to choose a top playmaker.
Dusan Duda Ivkovic lived basketball 24 hours a day and that is why he would be ideal for a league like the NBA. A lot could be learned from Duda in the basketball sense, but also a lot of life lessons. The audience in the USA was deprived of seeing the beauty of his basketball live. Although he did not try in the NBA, Duda is certainly one of the best coaches of all time. Ivkovic will live forever for the entire basketball world.