Here’s a list of the best modern basketball coaches in Europe.

Creating a list of the best in basketball is always a difficult task. How about a list of the best European coaches? We dedicated this blog to just that, but made everyone’s job a little easier. We’ve only focused on modern basketball, which means some of the biggest names in history won’t be on the list. So who are those coaches who have earned a place on the list of the best European coaches in modern basketball?

Before we got down the list, we need to clarify the what even is modern basketball? It is quite clear that basketball is dictated by the best competition – in Europe it is the Euroleague. And the best European competition has a clearly defined modern era, which began in the 2000. Thus, names like Božidar Maljković, Aca Nikolić, Alexander Gomelsky and others are not on the list.

Svetislav Pešić

Let’s sart of the list with the Yugoslav legend “Kari” played professional basketball from 1964 to 1979 and three years later began his coaching journey, which continues to this day.

  • 1x Evroliga (2003) – FC Barcelona
  • 1x EuroCup (2007) – Dynamo Moscow
  • 2x German League (2000, 2014) – Alba Berlin in Bayern München
  • 2x Spanish League (2003, 2004) – FC Barcelona
  • 3x Spanish Royal Cup (2003, 2018, 2019) – FC Barcelona
  • 1x World Cup (2002) – gold medal with Yugoslavia
  • 1x European Championship (2001) – gold medal with Turkey

Ergin Ataman

The best Turkish coach of all time wrote an extraordinary story in the last two years at Anadolu Efes. He became famous in Turkey, where he achieved success with Ulekspor, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Efes.

  • 2x EuroLeague (2021, 2022) – Anadolu Efes
  • 1x EuroCup (2016) – Galatasaray
  • 1x EuroChallenge (2012) – Besiktas
  • 1x Saporta Cup (2002) – Montepaschi Siena
  • 5x Turkish league (2009, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021) – Anadolu Efes in Galatasaray
  • 6x Turkish cup (2004, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2018, 2022) – Ulkespor, Anadolu Efes in Besiktas
  • 6x Turkish super cup (2000, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2018, 2019) – Anadolu Efes, Ulkespor in Besiktas

Sergio Scariolo

The Italian achieved the most success as a coach of the Spanish national team, and he also had a wonderful career as a club coach. In 2019, he also won the NBA league with Toronto as an assistant coach.

  • 1x EuroCup (2022) – Virtus Bologna
  • 2x Spanish league (2000, 2006) – Real Madrid in Unicaja Malaga
  • 1x Spanish Cup (2005) – Unicaja Malaga
  • 1x Russian Cup (2008) – Khimki Moscow
  • 1x Italian Super Cup (2021) – Virtus Bologna
  • 3x Andalusian Cup (2003. 2007, 2008) – Unicaja Malaga
  • 4x European Championship (2009, 2011, 2015, 2022) and 1x bronze medal (2017)
  • 1x World Cup (2019)
  • 1x silver medal at OI (2012) in 1x bronze medal at OI (2016)

Dimitris Itoudis

In the first decade of the twentieth century, he became famous as an assistant coach at Panathinaikos, where he remained until 2012. During this time, he won 5 Euroleague titles, 11 Greek League titles, 7 Greek Cup titles. But what did he win as a head coach?

  • 2x EuroLeague (2016, 2019)
  • 6x Russian league (2015-2019, 2021)
  • 6x VTB league (2015-2019, 2021)
  • 5x Gomelsky Cup (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020)

David Blatt

The Israeli-American coach Blatt is also among the best basketball coaches in Europe. As an assistant coach, he won the Euroleague with Maccabi in 2004, but he achieved the most success as a head coach.

  • 1x EuroLeague (2014) – Maccabi Tel Aviv
  • 1x EuroCup (2018) – Darussafaka
  • 1x EuroChallenge (2005) – Benetton Treviso
  • 1x Italian league (2006) – Benetton Treviso
  • 1x Italian Cup (2007) – Benetton Treviso
  • 1x ABA league (2012) – Maccabi Tel Aviv
  • 5x Israel league (2002, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2014) – Maccabi Tel Aviv
  • 6x Israel cup(2002, 2003, 2011-2014) – Maccabi Tel Aviv
  • 1x EuroBasket (2007) in 1x bronze medal (2011) – Russia
  • 1x bronze medal at OI (2012) – Russia

Pablo Laso

As early as 2008, he led the Spanish second division team Gipuzkoa to the first division. Three years later, he took over Real Madrid and managed it until this year, when he parted ways with the royal club due to health problems. As a player, Laso is still all-time first in assists and steals in the Spanish league.

  • 2x EuroLeague (2015,2018)
  • 6x Spanish league (2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022)
  • 6x Spanish cup (2012, 2014-2017, 2020)
  • 6x Spanish super cup (2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020)

Xavi Pascual

The Spanish coach who succeeded Duško Ivković as Barcelona coach. One of the best European basketball coaches wrote his story from 2004 to 2016. This was followed by a move to the Greek giant Panathinaikos and a last year’s transfer to Russian Zenit.

  • 1x EuroLeague (2010) – FC Barcelona
  • 4x Spanish league (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014) – FC Barcelona
  • 3x Copa del Rey (2010, 2011, 2013) – FC Barcelona
  • 4x Spanish super cup(2009-2011. 2015) – FC Barcelona
  • 2x Greek league (2017, 2018) – Panathinaikos
  • 1x Greek cup (2017) – Panathinaikos
  • 1x VTB league (2022) – Zenit

Pini Gershon

Together with David Blatt, Pina Gershon holds the title of the best Israeli coach of all time. He achived all his coaching successes with Maccabi from Tel Aviv, where he also played as a professional basketball player.

  • 2x EuroLeague (2004, 2005)
  • 1x SuproLeague (2001)
  • 6x Israel league (2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009)
  • 6x Israel cup (2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010)

Dušan Ivković

Even if the legendary Duda achieved the greatest success in the last millennium, Dušan Ivković is still one of the best European coaches in modern basketball. For many, he is also considered the best European coach of all time. As the head coach of Yugoslavia, he won the European Championship three times, the World Championship once, the Olympic Games once and was second at the Olympic Games twice. But what about his successes in this millennium?

  • 1x EuroLeague (2012) – Olympiacos
  • 1x Greek league (2012) – Olympiacos
  • 3x Greek cup (2000, 2001, 2011) – AEK Athens in Olympiacos
  • 1x Saborta cup (2000) – AEK Athens
  • 3x Russian league (2003-2005) – CSKA Moscow
  • 1x Russian cup(2005) – CSKA Moscow
  • 1x ULEB cup (2006) – Dynamo Moscow
  • 1x Turkish cup (2015) – Anadolu Efes
  • 1x Turkish super cup (2015) – Anadolu Efes
  • 1x silver medal of the European Championship (2009) – Serbia

Ettore Messina

The best Italian coach of all time at the club level is one of the few who also won the NBA All-Star game as an assistant coach in 2016. As coach of Benetton, Virtus, CSKA Moscow and Real, he has won everything since 2000. For many, Ettore Messina is the best European basketball coach of all time.

  • 3x EuroLeague (2001, 2006, 2008) – Virtus Bologna and CSKA Moscow
  • 3x Italian league (2002, 2003, 2022) – Benetton Treviso and Olimpia Milano
  • 7x Italian pokal (2001-2005, 2021, 2022) – Benetton Treviso and Olimpia Milano
  • 2x Italian super cup(2002, 2020) – Benetton Treviso and Olimpia Milano
  • 3x VTB league (2008, 2013, 2014) – CSKA Moscow
  • 6x Russian league (2006-2009, 2013-2014) – CSKA Moscow
  • 2x Russian cup (2006, 2007)
  • 3x Gomelsky cup (2012-2014) – CSKA Moscow
  • 3x Torneo de la CAM (2009-2011) – Real Madrid

Željko Obradović

For many, the best European coach of all time. Želimir Obradović is a basketball legend who won 63 titles in his coaching career, including a record 9 Euroleague titles and 18 places in EuroLeague Final Four. Before 2000, as the coach of Yugoslavia, he won a silver medal at the Olympic Games in 1996, a gold medal at the WC in 1998, a bronze medal at the European Championship in 1999 and a gold medal at the European Championship in 1997. Željko Obradović is the coach who comes closest to the status of the best coach in Europe of all time, but he certainly deserves the title of the best European coach in modern basketball.

  • 6x EuroLeague (2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2001, 2017) – Panathinaikos and Fenerbahce
  • 11x Greek league (2000, 2001, 2003-2011) – Panathinaikos
  • 7x Greek cup (2003. 2005-2009. 2012) – Panathinaikos
  • 4x Turkish league (2014, 2016-2018) – Fenerbahce
  • 3x Turkish cup (2016, 2019, 2020) – Fenerbahce
  • 3x Turkish super cup (2013, 2016, 2017) – Fenerbahce