Bogdan Tanjevic, the legendary Montenegrin coach, spoke to Basketball Sphere about the beginnings of his coaching career and growing up alongside Aleksandar Nikolic, the major problem the NCAA poses for Europe, and he also reflected on the seasons of Crvena Zvezda and Partizan.
A man who has always drawn attention—first through his successes, and later through his approach and the way he has commented on basketball events over the years—even today, at 78 years of age, remains deeply connected to his first love: basketball.
We are, of course, talking about Mr. Bogdan Tanjevic — a legend of Yugoslav basketball, through whose hands have passed some of the greatest players from the Balkans, most notably Dejan Bodiroga and Peja Stojakovic.
Strict but fair—probably the best way to describe this Montenegrin expert, who in his rich trophy collection holds a European championship title with Bosna from Sarajevo, EuroBasket gold with Italy, and a World Cup silver with Turkey.
Successful in different eras of basketball, which only further confirms his status as one of the most respected basketball coaches ever to come from this region.
The beginnings of a coaching career
Speaking about the very start of his coaching journey, it’s interesting that at just 24 years old, he decided to end his playing career and take over as head coach of KK Bosna. Reflecting on that early and bold transition, Tanjevic recalls:
,,It feels so far away now, like a previous life. The idea that I would one day become a coach had always been simmering inside me. Even as a player on the court, I acted like a coach—a true playmaker, El Comandante…
I was supposed to go to Slavonski Brod, everything had been agreed upon—they were paying the most in all of Yugoslavia at the time, seriously. It was all arranged; I won’t mention the figures, but I will say that for those days, the sums were excessively large—five or six times what I was earning as a player at OKK Beograd.
In a way, I had already been practicing coaching when I trained my godfather Raberstajn’s team in Konjic, which competed in the republic league. I spent three weeks with them, and I really liked it. That’s how it all started…” begins Bogdan Tanjevic in this conversation with Basketball Sphere.
The Talent Hasn’t Disappeared—It’s Just Taken on New Shapes and Context
Asked how he views working with youth categories today in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, and how he compares the principles of his era with those of today, Tanjevic emphasizes that the talent hasn’t disappeared—it has simply taken on different shapes and context.
,,A new group of virtuosos has emerged. We have a whole new generation of our great players in the NBA. I always think in terms of the shared space. Back in those days, we couldn’t even imagine one of our players being considered among the best in the world. Today, it’s a widely respected opinion among players—even American ones—that Jokic is the best player in the world. Not to mention the miracles Doncic has pulled off over there.”
Still, no conversation about the present would be complete without mentioning the golden era of Yugoslav basketball. Tanjevic fondly recalls a generation that’s hard to forget:
,,I don’t want to go too far back, but guys like Radja, Kukoc, Divac, and of course Drazen—he always deserves to be mentioned first—each of them played major roles in the best clubs in the world.”
Inability to retain young players
In that context, Tanjevic also reflects on the changes that have occurred over time in the way young players build their careers, as well as the consequences of professionalization.
,,With the introduction of paid contracts in the NCAA, things will now get even worse—in other words, players will start leaving even faster. In any case, professionalization itself has hurt us, because once players gained professional status, it opened the door to agents.
Clubs that had the know-how were no longer able to retain their best young players, because there’s always someone with a bigger wallet. All things considered, I still think there is good work being done. In Serbia, from what I’ve seen, the best work is being done. The problem is that there are no means to keep young players.”
He also draws a nostalgic comparison to a time when major achievements were made without foreign players on the team.
,,We used to win Champions Cups without foreigners. Barriers were broken. In my time, the rules protected us, so you could plan a team, wait for young players to develop, and give them a chance to play until they reached their prime. That was a time of non-amateurism, and there were rules that protected you.”
“If Sabonis had been able to leave at 22, he would’ve been the best player in the world—no competition”
Later in the conversation, Bogdan Tanjevic turned to the broader European basketball scene, specifically highlighting the power and influence of the Soviet Union during that time. He spoke about the unique system that was in place, the talent coming from the Baltics, and the differences between the basketball of the past and today.
,,In the Baltic countries, basketball was always very well developed. If players had been allowed to go to the NBA earlier—if there hadn’t been that state law—Sabonis, for example, had he been able to leave at age 22, would’ve been the best player in the world without any competition. He wouldn’t have had a rival. He was that dominant at 22.
Everything that’s happening now is happening in this new era, where future players are already professionals… You can’t stop them. Up until the age of 18, they’re amateurs, and then anyone can take them—or even worse, they don’t want to sign contracts with their home clubs, expecting to get more money or a better career elsewhere. It’s a different time.
Things were easier for us. I lived through the period of two foreign players allowed in Italy. It was a joy to have everything in your own hands. With your own work, you could achieve something extraordinary.
Today, there’s no way to dream of creating anything on your own—just with knowledge, intuition, talent, and foresight—to achieve some bigger result. That’s why coaches can’t be blamed either—they work with what they have. In my time, I was the father and mother of the team, the agent and psychologist—I protected them from making bad decisions,” recalls Bogdan Tanjevic.
Considering the budgets – the Belgrade eternal rivals have done an excellent job
Commenting on the current state of basketball in the former Yugoslav region, Tanjevic clearly recognizes the dominance of Serbian clubs, as well as the reasons behind such a disparity compared to the rest of the region.
While Crvena Zvezda and Partizan regularly achieve success in Europe and fill their arenas, former giants like Cibona, Zadar, and Split remain in the shadows, struggling with financial and organizational issues. In his response, Tanjevic distinguishes between systems, budgets, and the quality of domestic players – which he considers crucial when games are decided by the smallest of margins.
“Zvezda’s strength lies in its domestic players, but in terms of talent level, if my life depended on it, I’d rather coach Partizan. Zvezda’s local players hold the team atmosphere together – they know which crest they’re playing for. Balkan players know how to play close games when things break down and you need to improvise.
Ours have better knowledge than American players who don’t have that kind of experience – they haven’t played in games that mean life or death. They haven’t faced relegation battles or fought for serious achievements. I can’t watch those American games – only the dramatic ones that come down to a single possession.
It’s all about professionalism – in every sphere of life, including basketball. You can’t blame the Belgrade eternal rivals for anything – both teams, in my opinion, are among the top 10 in Europe, which is fantastic in itself. When you look at the finances, they’re running on half the budget of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Panathinaikos…
So those are excellent results, as confirmed by attendance at games. Twenty thousand fans – it’s insane. The tickets aren’t even cheap, but they’re sold out – which covers a significant portion of the budget. It’s a pity there’s no Cibona, that Zagreb doesn’t have a team like that, and there has to be support from the city and the state,” Tanjevic reflects, with a touch of nostalgia.
Tactically and technically limited players—trained to fulfill roles
Comparing generations, it’s clear that the former Yugoslav basketball greats were not only physically and technically superior but above all—complete players. Their ability to dribble, shoot, assist, and think at a high tactical level gave them a dimension that today’s young players seem to lack more and more often.
Instead, we increasingly see athletically powerful players who are tactically and technically limited, trained to perform roles almost robotically. Tanjevic sees the root of this problem in changes to the training process, as well as how basketball is lived today.
He especially highlights the legendary coach Slavko Trninic, who was ahead of his time—an outstanding coach with vast knowledge. He trained young players for six to eight hours a day, focusing on passing technique, drills in place, and other details that created technically and tactically complete players. For example, KukoC became the first high-level wing playmaker thanks to such training. Today, that level of intensity in training is nearly impossible.
,,Players today must be equipped with huge technical knowledge and be willing to put in four hours of work daily. However, coaches don’t have the time or means to focus on this kind of work. When that changes, players’ creativity and imagination will come to the fore.
The conclusion is clear—today’s players are not as technically equipped as they used to be, because neither coaches nor players spared time on skill development back then. As a result, they were able to solve very complex situations on the court—something we see less and less of today.”
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