Slobodan Popović (basketball)

Slobodan "Boban" Popović (Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан "Бобан" Поповић; 1944 – 31 December 1968) was a Yugoslav professional basketball player.

For Serbian Olympic runner, see Slobodan Popović.
Slobodan Popović
Personal information
Born1944 (1944)
Loznica, German-occupied Serbia
Died31 December 1968(1968-12-31) (aged 24)
Belgrade, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
NationalityYugoslav
Listed height1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Career information
NBA draft1966: undrafted
Playing career1961–1968
PositionForward
Number14
Career history
1961–1963Bijeljina
1963–1968Crvena zvezda

Playing career

Born in Loznica, Popović moved to Bijeljina at a young age where he later started to play basketball. He grew up playing for OKK Bijeljina.[1][2] Afterwards, he moved to a Belgrade-based team Crvena zvezda of the Yugoslav First League, where he played from 1963 to 1968. His teammates in the Zvezda were Zoran Slavnić, Dragan Kapičić, Ljubodrag Simonović, Dragiša Vučinić, and Vladimir Cvetković among others. With them, he was a member of the roster that won a National Championship in the 1968–69 season, and he was posthumously awarded with the title.[3][4][5]

Legacy

Popović is considered one of the best basketball players in history of Bijeljina, by many locals.[6] Following his death, Radnik Bijeljina has been hosted the Slobodan Popović Memorial, an exhibition basketball tournament between clubs which was held since 1971. Clubs such as Crvena zvezda, Radnik, Bosna, Radnički Beograd, OKK Beograd, and Nice competed at the event.[3][2]

See also

References
  1. "Istorijat KK Radnik". kkradnik.com. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  2. "Asovi bijeljinske košarke". bhbasket.ba. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  3. "„SRCE JUNAČKO, DUŠA DJEVOJAČKA" Sjećanje na Bobana Popovića, uspješnog košarkaša iz Bijeljine". infobijeljina.com. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  4. "Košarkaška prvenstva Jugoslavije (1945-91) – peti deo". strategija.org. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  5. "Ono što se mora znati o KK Crvena zvezda". mojacrvenazvezda.net. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  6. "Život Blagiše Nikolića posvećen košarci". semberija.info. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
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