The Yugoslav basketball legend Dražen Dalipagic was born 27 November, 1951 in Mostar, Yugoslavia. The 197-centimeters-tall small forward played the majority of his career with Partizan Belgrade (1971-1982) club, becoming one of the greatest scorers of all-time, and winning numerous accolades on club and international level.
Dalipagic made his EuroLeague debut during the 1976/77 season, as Partizan were eliminated in the group stage. The 26-year-old Yugoslav forward had a shot, yet impressive run, scoring 150 points in 4 games, averaging 37.5 points per game. His finest years in the EuroLeague came in the early 1980’s, as he twice won the bronze – once with Partizan in 1982, and once with Real Madrid in 1983 season. Dalipagic became the EuroLeague Top Scorer in 1982 with 358 points in 12 games, averaging 29.7 points per game, and he finished second in scoring in 1983, scoring 315 points in 14 games, averaging 22.5 points per game. In total, he played 4 seasons in the EuroLeague, scoring 1066 points in 41 games, averaging 26.0 points per game.
Internationally, Dalipagic enjoyed a glorious career with the Yugoslav national team, winning gold medals in every major tournament, and being one of the driving forces of Yugoslav success. Dalipagic led the 1978 FIBA World Cup in scoring and also won the tournament’s MVP award. He was one of the main reasons, why Yugoslavs were able to challenge the Soviet Union dominance on the international arena, and turn his country in the leading basketball nation during the 1970’s era.
In his EuroLeague, Saporta Cup, Korac Cup, and international games from 1973 to 1991, Dalipagic scored 3862 points in 186 games. In total during his career, Dalipagic scored 18515 points in 659 games, averaging 28.1 points per game.
ACCOLADES
EuroLeague (1982, 1983)
EuroLeague Top Scorer (1982)
Olympic Games (1980)
Olympic Games (1976) Olympic Games (1984)
FIBA World Cup MVP (1978) FIBA World Cup Top Scorer (1978) FIBA World Cup (1978) FIBA World Cup (1974) FIBA World Cup (1982, 1986) FIBA Eurobasket MVP (1977) Eurobasket (1973, 1975, 1977) Eurobasket (1981) Eurobasket (1979) FIBA Korac Cup (1978) FIBA Korac Cup (1974, 1981) FIBA Korac Cup (1975) Yugoslav League (1976, 1980) Yugoslav League (1978, 1982) Yugoslav League (1973, 1975, 1977) Italian League Top Scorer (1988)
Year
76/77
79/80
81/82
82/83
TOT
Team
Age
26
29
31
32
GP
4
11
12
14
41
PPG
37.5
22.1
29.7
22.5
26.0
PTS
150
243
358
315
1066
RNK
31st
11th
2nd
FIBA SAPORTA CUP STATISTICS
Year
90/91
TOT
Team
Age
40
GP
5
5
PPG
18.8
18.8
PTS
94
94
TRK
QF
FIBA KORAC CUP STATISTICS
Year
73/74
74/75
75/76
77/78
80/81
TOT
Team
Age
23
24
25
27
30
GP
9
10
4
10
8
41
PPG
20.4
24.1
19.8
32.4
28.6
8.0
PTS
184
241
79
324
229
1057
TRK
GS
YUGOSLAV, SPANISH & ITALIAN LEAGUE STATISTICS
Year
71/72
72/73
73/74
74/75
75/76
76/77
77/78
78/79
79/80
80/81
81/82
83/84
84/85
85/86
86/87
87/88
88/89
90/91
TOT
Team
Age
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
33
34
35
36
37
38
40
GP
21
26
25
25
24
26
26
1
22
35
28
32
30
33
23
30
40
26
473
PPG
12.9
26.8
20.6
26.6
28.7
34.6
33.4
20.0
31.5
30.0
33.9
29.2
30.7
43.7
38.1
47.2
33.8
15.0
31.0
PTS
271
696
515
665
689
900
869
20
694
1049
950
933
922
1443
876
1417
1353
391
14653
TR
6
6
4
15
9
11
9
OLYMPIC GAMES STATISTICS
Year
1976
1980
1984
TOT
Team
Age
25
29
33
GP
6
8
7
21
PPG
17.8
24.4
22.7
22.0
PTS
107
195
159
461
RNK
9th
2nd
5th
FIBA WORLD CUP STATISTICS
Year
1974
1978
1982
1986
TOT
Team
Age
23
27
31
35
GP
7
9
9
10
35
PPG
6.9
22.4
16.8
16.0
16.0
PTS
48
202
151
160
561
RNK
86th
8th
13th
EUROBASKET STATISTICS
Year
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
TOT
Team
Age
22
24
26
28
30
32
GP
7
7
7
7
9
6
43
PPG
8.0
12.1
19.4
13.7
15.6
18.3
14.5
PTS
56
85
136
96
140
110
623
RNK
54th
21st
7th
20th
11th
13th
Description for statistics
FIBA Saporta Cup is the same competition, as FIBA European Cup Winners’ Cup, ULEB Cup or EuroCup, a 2nd-tier European Cup competition. FIBA Korac Cup is the same competition as FIBA EuroChallenge, a 3rd-tier European Cup competition. GP – Games played PPG – Points per game PTS – Total points RNK – Individual scoring ranking TRK – Team ranking