25 Years of the ABA League

On this day exactly 25 years ago, the ABA League was founded. A decade after the disappearance of what had been the highest-quality basketball league in Europe, the idea of creating a league that would once again bring together clubs from across the region and, in many ways, pay tribute to that unparalleled competition became a reality. Today, the ABA League celebrates its 25th anniversary, a milestone that speaks for itself.

Over the past 25 years, the ABA League has undergone numerous changes - organizational, structural, and competitive. It has also expanded its geographical reach. Yet throughout all these years, some things have remained unchanged, regardless of the circumstances. Those are the very qualities that make basketball such a magical game. Talent has never been in short supply. On the contrary, it has been abundant, as has the excitement generated season after season by players who matured and developed through ABA League competition before rising to become genuine global stars.

ABA League games have produced some of the most memorable and dramatic chapters in European basketball history. Many players who honed their skills in this environment have gone on to become the league's finest ambassadors around the world, much to its pride. Names that command respect in every corner of the globe, such as Nikola Jokić, Goran Dragić, Bojan Bogdanović, Bogdan Bogdanović, Jusuf Nurkić, Beno Udrih, Miloš Teodosić, Nemanja Bjelica, Pero Antić, Nikola Peković, Dario Šarić, Roko Leni Ukić, Ivica Zubac, Džanan Musa and many others first established themselves as elite players in the ABA League.

The record books show that, over its first 25 years, the ABA League has crowned 10 different champions: Olimpija, Zadar, FMP, Hemofarm, Maccabi, Partizan, Cibona, Crvena zvezda, Budućnost, and Dubai. The most successful club in league history is Partizan, with eight championship titles. Branko Lazić has lifted the championship trophy a record seven times and also holds the record for the most games played. The most decorated coaches are Duško Vujošević and Dejan Radonjić, each with five league titles. Nemanja Gordić is the league's all-time leading scorer and assist leader, Alen Omić is the all-time leading rebounder, and Suad Šehović holds the record for the most three-pointers made. Dejan Milojević remains the only player to have won three MVP awards and also holds the record for the highest single-game valuation.

Records are made to be broken, and beyond the statistics and the numbers, the next 25 years will bring new and extraordinary basketball stories waiting to be written.