The NBA learns from the basketball lecture that Svetislav Pesic has been teaching for more than 40 years on the European benches and who have seen him, among other achievements, lead Barça to its first Euroleague in 2003. And there are several of the best coaches in the best league in the world who learn from the character as well as the offensive and defensive concepts of the famous Balkan coach.
The renowned coach of the Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstrareferred last season and two years ago to the discipline of Pesic, with whom he coincided in his beginnings as a coach in the German second division between 1993 and 1995, when Spo was a player and coach at Hertener Löwen and the former Barça player directed ALBA Berlin.
The one that would lead to LeBron James to win his first rings in 2012 and 2013 was one of those who suffered first-hand from Pesic’s tactical recital in the semifinals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in which Serbia’s Nikola Jokic He almost threw out Team USA and version 3.0 of the Dream Team (95-91), one even better than the original Dream Team of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and company, according to Pesic himself.
🇷🇸🇺🇸
The American Almost Tragedy
Serbia vs Team USA
Serbia was on the verge of giving Team USA what would have been a historic defeat in the semifinals of the 2024 Paris Games (95-91). The Balkan team led 63-76 in the final quarter and felt greatly harmed by the referees in the final stretch.
In case anyone didn’t know him yet in the NBA, that game in which the almighty American team almost lost its world throne with the LeBron, Curry y Durant he definitively put the Serbian coach on the map.
“Serbia was something to see in the last two summers, I didn’t miss any of their games,” Spo told MD last season.
“A lot of it was because of Niko (Nikola Jovic, Heat player), but also because I have been a fan of coach Pesic for years,” added the American coach.
Who has not taken his eye off Serbia and Pesic in recent years has precisely been Nikola Jokic’s current coach in the NBA, David AdelmanNuggets coach. MD asked Adelman if the former FC Barcelona player had given him any whiteboard ideas to use Jokic differently on the court and the Nuggets coach offered a deep reflection.
“Yeah, I think it’s interesting. We’ve used things they’ve done with him, and they’ve used things we’ve done, which makes a lot of sense just because we’re the ones with him the most, and you see what fails and what succeeds,” Adelman said on Denver’s recent visit to Toronto.
“I think there are some parts of the international game that are different, that don’t translate to our game, just because the rules are different, the way you zone and the spacing brings a totally different focus. But yeah, there are definitely things that we’ve implemented, the way they play with it in the afterwards. “Sometimes you take a part of a continuity or part of a movement that they use, and we use a specific part of it for a prepared player, after a timeout, whatever it is,” the Nuggets coach continued explaining. 44 years.
“So a lot of respect, one of the best coaches in this world, all the success he has had, and just knowing that our best player returns to the program and what they have done there, where they came close to winning the gold medal. A lot of respect from our coaching staff to his, you always learn from everyone, not just from where he returns to his team,” Adelman highlighted, complimenting the current coach of the Bayern Munich of 76 years old.
🔝
One of the best coaches in the NBA
Erik Spoelstra, Learning of Pesic
Serbia touched gold in both the Olympic Games with bronze and in the last World with silver after losing the final against Germany. Svetislav Pesic stopped being the coach of the Serbian team after the surprising elimination in the Eurobasket against Finland, taking over Dusan Alimpijevic the charge.
The Nuggets coach delved into the tactical aspects of what he has learned from Pesic in relation to how to use the triple MVP Nikola Jokicnow injured.
“I think a lot of the change of direction things, taking the ball in one direction to find it in the post on the other side of the court, things like that, which is not exclusive to us or Serbia. There are a lot of really good coaches in the world, so you look for things, changes of direction, that he receives the ball cleanly because of the attention he receives,” Adelman detailed.
“Internationally, in the Olympics, they can play more zone. In the NBA less, but they can do a lot of things for him. Sometimes it’s just difficult to get him the ball on the strong side and you have to find creative ways for him to receive the ball cleanly before he receives it five meters (from the rim). In both cases, we try to achieve that in the way we can to win games,” also said the Nuggets coach, replacement for the dismissed Michael Malone in April after eight years as an assistant.
Compliments to the changes in the character of the former Barcelona player
Pesic’s big change
Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajakovicis another of Pesic’s admirers on the NBA benches, as it could not be otherwise, since he is Serbian like the former Barça player. Rajakovic has had the opportunity to learn up close from the veteran coach.
“It has been very successful in recent years. 40 years as a coach. An incredible coach, an incredible character. He is someone I admire a lot and I have had the opportunity to learn from him. This past summer I had the opportunity to see him train with Serbia ahead of the European Championship. Its basic principles have not changed anything over the years, and it has always required a lot of ball pressure and aggressiveness on the ball, how disruptive you need to be, how to use your hands with and without the ball,” reflected the Balkan coach.
Rajakovic himself applies that ball pressure with Toronto, third in the NBA in intercepted balls with 20.7 per match. It is one of the keys why Rajakovic is, today, the European coach who has most succeeded in the best league in the world because he has the Raptors fourth in the East with 23-15.
But the preparer of 46 years He also praises Pesic’s ability to adapt his well-known strong character to new times.
Read also
“Those principles haven’t changed, but he has also done an incredible job adjusting to the new generation of players, being more flexible and listening to the players. For someone who is older in age, he is doing an incredible job. He is a great example for young coaches to learn from,” noted Darko Rajakovic.
The best league in the world surrenders to the coach with whom Barça won its first Euroleague, describing him as “one of the best in the world.” Would you see Pesic training in the NBA?
