Luka Pavićević (Serbian Cyrillic: Лука Павићевић; born 17 June 1968) is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player. Most recently, he served as the head coach for Alvark Tokyo of the Japanese B.League.

Luka Pavićević
Free agent
PositionHead coach
Personal information
Born (1968-06-17) 17 June 1968 (age 56)
Titograd, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia
NationalityMontenegrin / Serbian
Career information
CollegeUtah (1985–1987)
NBA draft1990: undrafted
Playing career1982–2003
PositionPoint guard
Number5, 6
Coaching career2003–present
Career history
As player:
1982–1985Budućnost
1987–1988Cibona
1988–1991Jugoplastika / Pop 84
1991–1992Radnički Belgrade
1992–1994Ironi Nahariya
1994–1995Proleter Zrenjanin
1995–1996Crvena zvezda
1996–1997FMP
1997–1998Beobanka
1998–1999Crvena zvezda
1999–2000Soproni Ászok
2000–2001Espoon Honka
2001Anwil Włocławek
2001Rabotnički
2002Besançon
2002–2003Crvena zvezda
As coach:
2003–2004OKK Beograd
2004–2005Atlas
2005–2006Hemofarm
2006–2007Panionios
2007–2011Alba Berlin
2011–2014Chorale Roanne
2015–2016Budućnost
2017–2022Alvark Tokyo
Career highlights and awards
As player

As head coach

Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Yugoslavia
Under-19 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 1987 Italy Under-19
European Championship for Juniors
Gold medal – first place 1986 Austria Under-18
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Sweden Under-18
European Championship for Cadets
Gold medal – first place 1983 West Germany Under-16
Head coach for  Serbia and Montenegro/ Serbia
U20 European Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Russia Under-20
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shenzhen

A point guard, Pavićević played basketball between 1982 and 2003. During his playing days, he played for Budućnost, Cibona, Jugoplastika / Pop 84, Proleter Zrenjanin, Crvena zvezda, FMP, Beobanka, Soproni Ászok, Espoon Honka, Anwil Włocławek, Rabotnički, and Besançon.[1] He retired as a player with Crvena zvezda in 2003. In three seasons with Jugoplastika, he won three European Champions Cup championships (1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91), three Yugoslav League titles (1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91), and three Yugoslav Cup tournaments.[2]

Early life

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Born in Titograd, young Luka grew up in the neighbourhood of Preko Morače where he attended the Maxim Gorky Elementary School.[3][4] His construction engineer father Božidar had a stint as a director of the Republički zavod za urbanizam i projektovanje (RZUP) state-owned urban planning enterprise while his mother Nedeljka worked as a dentist-orthodontist.[3][4]

Inspired by a documentary called Maestro about the Yugoslav basketball star player Dragan Kićanović—produced by Yugoslav television and aired as part of its 1980 Moscow Olympics coverage—Pavićević took up streetball at age 12 via joining ballers gathering daily on the concrete court in the city's Njegošev Park.[4] Marking himself out as a quick ball handler capable of competing against significantly older individuals, the teenager caught the eye of KK Budućnost's head coach Čedomir Đurašković who invited the youngster to join the club.

Club career

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KK Budućnost

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Joining Budućnost in 1982, young Pavićević was immediately attached by coach Đurašković to the full squad. The fourteen-year-old point guard thus became the youngest ever player to appear in a Yugoslav top-tier league game, surpassing KK Šibenka 15-year-old shooting guard Dražen Petrović's late 1979 record.[5]

Coaching career

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After retirement in 2003, Pavićević joined OKK Beograd as their new head coach. Afterwards, he coached Atlas, Hemofarm, Panionios, Alba Berlin and Chorale Roanne. In November 2015, Budućnost hired Pavićević as their new head coach.[6] In March 2016, he parted ways with Budućnost.[7]

In June 2017, Pavićević was named as the head coach of Alvark Tokyo of the Japanese B.League.[8][9] He won two Japanese B.League titles (2017–18 and 2018–19) and FIBA Asia Champions Cup title in 2019. In June 2022, he parted ways with Alvark Tokyo.

National team coaching career

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Pavićević was the head coach for the Serbia and Montenegro under-20 team at the 2004 FIBA Europe Championship in the Czech Republic and at the 2005 FIBA Europe Championship in Russia. His team won a bronze medal in 2005.

In August 2011, Pavićević was the head coach for the Serbia University team that won a gold medal at the Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China.[10]

In December 2011, the Basketball Federation of Montenegro named Pavićević the new head coach of the Montenegro national team.[11] On 22 September 2014, he parted ways with the Basketball Federation of Montenegro as the Montenegrin team coach.[12]

In April 2015, the Islamic Republic of Iran Basketball Federation named Pavićević the new head coach of the Iran national team.[13] He parted ways with them later that year.

In November 2016, Pavićević was named as part of the technical committee of the Japan Basketball Association, and was named interim head coach within the month following the end of the tenure of previous head coach Kenji Hasegawa.[14][15] He left head coach position in 2017.

Career achievements and awards

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As player:

As head coach:

Head coaching record

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Alvark Tokyo 2017–18 60 44 16 .733 2nd in Eastern 5 5 0 1.000 Champions
Alvark Tokyo 2018–19 60 44 16 .733 3rd in Eastern 6 5 1 .833 Champions
Alvark Tokyo 2019–20 41 32 9 .780 1st in Eastern - - - -

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "'U Splitu sam se tako dobro osjećao, a onda je počeo rat'". vecernji.hr. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Luka Pavićević Biografija" (PDF). okkbeograd.org.rs. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Luka Pavićević, košarkaški trener - Radne navike". Mozzart Sport. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Velikani crnogorskog sporta – Luka Pavićević: Zbog Kićanovića sam postao "mali iz parka", Jugoplastika je bila avangarda". Antena M. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  5. ^ O., B. (21 July 2018). "Košarkaški "samuraj" Luka Pavićević, čovek koji je Japancima doneo novi smisao igre pod obručima". Blic. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Pavićević novi trener Budućnosti!". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Luka Pavićević više nije trener Budućnosti". mozzartsport.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Burno u CG - Luka Pavićević u Japanu". sportklub.rs (in Serbian). 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Luka Pavicevic's system was key to Alvark Tokyo's title run". japantimes.co.jp. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  10. ^ "UNIVERZIJADA: Košarkaši odbranili zlato". mondo.rs. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Pavićević: Dogovorili smo se, biću selektor Crne Gore". vijesti.me. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Luka Pavićević više nije selektor CG" (in Serbian). Radio Televizija Crne Gore. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  13. ^ "Luka Pavicevic Appointed Iran Basketball Coach". tasnimnews.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  14. ^ Nagatsuka, Kaz (1 December 2016). "Japan Basketball Association dismisses men's national team coach Hasegawa". The Japan Times. The Japan Times Ltd. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  15. ^ "Japan launch search for new coach after Hasegawa departure". FIBA. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
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