European Basketball: Change & Future Outlook

Is an era ending in European basketball? Those who follow the EuroLeague began to ask and discuss this question more loudly, with the successive news of resignations from European basketball legends.

A few days ago, Milan coach Ettore Messina released a statement and stated that there were differences of opinion and incompatibility within the team; He stated that he left his job as a coach and will now contribute to the organization as a consultant. Not long after, just two days later, Željko Obradović announced that he was resigning, taking responsibility for Partizan’s poor start to the season. Although it was a surprise for some basketball fans that two legendary coaches resigned within a very short time, there were also a lot of people waiting for these decisions.

Partizan, which did not start the season well, is in the 18th place in the EuroLeague with 4 wins and 9 losses in 13 matches played. In fact, since the beginning of the season, Obradović had often expressed the things that bothered him about his team. In September, he criticized the team’s insufficient fitness, injuries and the fact that the squad was still not complete. In his statement in France last week, he complained about the players always having phones in their hands.

Despite the full squad training in the last training before the Fenerbahçe match, he heard from others that two of his players would not play in the match, and this behavior disturbed him greatly. While speaking to the press, he said, “I will fight and do my best to maintain discipline,” but the disciplinary problems were neither over nor diminished.

The Panathinaikos match played in the 13th week proved how far the problems were from over. During the break, when the players did not make eye contact, acted early and headed to the field, Obradović got angry with his players and said, “You should listen to me.” For the coach who is known for his breaks, his relationship with his players, and his understanding of communication and discipline, perhaps that break was the exact moment when his decision to quit took shape. In his statement after the match, he said, “Even working hard is not enough for us.” With the words “It is important to have a character that will fight even in difficult times,” he was signaling that he had lost faith in the team and that the book would be closed.

Although Partizan’s results seem sufficient to explain the resignation, this separation actually shows that Obradović’s expectations do not coincide with the new generation of basketball players. It is clearly felt that coaches like Messina and Obradović have difficulty communicating with the new generation of players. Although it is difficult to definitively call the end of the road for the two legends, it would not be wrong to say that an era has ended for a school of basketball, a style of communication and “old European basketball”.

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