Dusan Alimpijevic, the head coach of Besiktas, spoke to Basketball Sphere about the trends in modern basketball, offensive and defensive principles, alternative types of defense, and many other topics related to his team, in an interview that took a slightly different angle compared to everyday discussions.
After an historically successful season in which he led Besiktas to two finals — the Turkish Cup and the domestic championship — and positioned them ahead of the EuroLeague team Anadolu Efes, which is financially much stronger, Dusan Alimpijevic not only didn’t have time to rest, but also entered the upcoming season with even greater enthusiasm. His focus shifted to building a team for a EuroCup title run, as well as giving lectures at basketball clinics.
As for the first, with the retention of Jonah Matthews despite EuroLeague offers, and many quality signings, the Turkish team has hinted that they could be even more competitive for all trophies in the upcoming season. He approached the second with equal energy.
“Baskeball has shifted towards verticality and speed”
Just a few days after being one of the lecturers at the renowned Belgrade Clinic of Dusan “Duda” Ivkovic, Dusan Alimpijevic spent more than an hour and a half in Athens explaining certain principles on which Besiktas’s gameplay is based to numerous coaches from around the world. One of the topics was how training adjustments are made in line with the trends in modern basketball. At the beginning of his conversation with Basketball Sphere, the Serbian coach described what has changed the most in game preparation over the last few years.
“The speed of executing drills. Everything has to be done at full speed, everything has to be shorter and more intense. There are a lot more games now, and training has to adjust to that. Basketball has completely shifted toward verticality and speed. There’s less intensive work on the court than in previous years. With us, players have their space to come and work on individual skills in the ‘open gym,’ and coaches are available to them. Apart from that, in most cases, we enter meeting rooms to define details and goals with the players, scouting, or auto-scouting. After that, we move into the conditioning part, followed by our main workout, which ends with some shooting drills.”
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On switch defense and alternative defenses
The demands of today’s basketball require a lot of thought. Switch defense is quite relevant these days, and for some teams, it is highly effective, but there is also another side to the story. What is currently the most sensible defensive and offensive approach when it comes to tactical choices?
“If you have dominant players who play isolation and are able to solve those situations with high efficiency, then it’s not the best solution (switch). It can be useful when you want to neutralize certain things — for instance, you don’t want to leave a power forward alone on a pop-out without rotation in an empty corner if they are a good shooter. If you have a dominant big man who easily solves ‘mismatch’ situations in the low post, then you definitely need to use a different type of defense.
What hasn’t changed over the years is that everything done in practice, as well as in life, must be at 100%. It can’t be 70%. That’s the most important thing. Whatever system is chosen by the coach, that system is good if the team believes in it and if it is executed with 100% energy, commitment, and at good speed. To repeat, offense has shifted toward speed and verticality. We’ve seen at all levels that teams that couldn’t keep up with that speed had serious problems.”
Adapting the Way of Practicing Toward the Basketball of the Future!@BJK_Basketbol head coach Dusan Alimpijevic and his assistants Dmytro Boldaev & Bugra Bayezit kick off Day 4 with an on-court masterclass on modern practice methods! pic.twitter.com/jhJPxUJDgn
— EuroLeague Head Coaches Board – EHCB (@HeadCoachesOrg) July 6, 2025
Unlike in the past, we rarely see alternative defenses anymore. Although they are somewhat more common in the form of full-court zone presses, other types of alternative defenses are less represented. The fact that they can be very useful is demonstrated by the example of Real Madrid in 2023, when Chus Mateo’s team became European champions largely thanks to that approach.
“I talked about this with my coaching staff. We did a small analysis to see how many teams in the EuroLeague play alternative defenses, zone defenses of any kind, whether it’s 1-3-1, 2-3, 3-2, it doesn’t matter — any zone defense on half court. There is still full-court zone pressing that can bring some benefits, but the options on half court — very few. There’s a very clear reason for that. Scorers who can put the ball in the basket are at a much higher level now, and there are many more such players on each team than before. In the past, you had one or two players, and you could take that kind of risk consciously.
Today, you can’t, because everyone can score. Zone defense, by nature, is a more passive form of defense, where the player drops inside, and risks are shared, with more focus on protecting the paint and the space within the three-point line. You give up more three-point shots. Statistically, if you looked at how many games are won through three-point shooting (not counting clutch shots), the number would be far greater. Basketball has shifted in that direction because much more is created from beyond the three-point line than from inside. There are no longer so many dominant big men.”
How Besiktas changed its philosophy
Dusan Alimpijevic also touched upon the changes at Besiktas between two seasons. In his first year at the helm of the Turkish team, the black-and-whites were among the worst in terms of offensive rating, while defensively they were among the best in the EuroCup. In the months that followed, the situation changed. Offensively and defensively, Besiktas found themselves in the middle of the table, with the second-best three-point shooting percentage in the league. There was a noticeable shift toward a more offensive style.
“I shared an important piece of data with the people at the Belgrade Clinic. We looked at all domestic leagues and wanted to see the best defensive teams based on the numbers. It wasn’t just about the average points allowed per game, but various parameters. We wanted to see where the best defensive team ranked in the standings, and where the top offensive team ranked. It turned out that the best defenses were allowing over 70 points per game. For example, Anadolu Efes had the best defense in Turkey, allowing 80 points, and they were third in the league.
At that time, we had the best offense (end of April), ahead of them. We weren’t too low defensively (fourth), as we had a weaker start in that area of the game. We had many examples where the best defensive team wasn’t first in the league, but rather third, fourth, or fifth. When we talk about good defenses, we can say that a team allowed 80 points but still played good defense, because the offense had made huge strides. Today, there are no more games where you score just 54 points. The team you have at your disposal dictates how you play. Clearly, after the departure of some players last season, what we had available on the market meant we had to focus on offense, but still keep the defense at the highest level.”
“Two years ago, I was criticized for my stance on domestic players, and now…”
Plans for the next season and the role of domestic players
When it comes to plans for the upcoming season, only Berk Ugurlu, Jonah Mathews, Yigit Arslan, and Conor Morgan remain from the previous roster, excluding new acquisitions. All other players, including veterans like Derek Needham and Dustin Sleva (who moved to Zalgiris), have left the club.
“The most important thing is that every player who signed with us previously, has moved to a higher level afterward. Financially, as well. It’s our responsibility as a club that when we sign players, we guarantee that will happen. For that reason, we decided to let some go and try to select a team for the next season that is even closer to the top of the EuroCup than the previous year.”
What stands out is that Dusan Alimpijevic relied on domestic players. Ugurlu and Arslan played significant roles in Besiktas’s successes.
“It’s very important that in every country, there are local players who can enrich the team with their quality, and who best understand the club and the fans. Without good domestic players, you can’t aim for extreme success. This year, the number was a bit smaller on my team, but we tried to make sure that these were quality individuals, with a good mentality and solid basketball skills. Two years ago, certain coaches criticized me when I said the league should move towards increasing the number of foreign players because it would strengthen domestic players. In any country. Now those same coaches have decided to reduce the number of Turkish players. There are no Turkish, Serbian players, etc… Everyone should be a team, a family.”
On restoring Besiktas’s reputation
Besiktas had some interesting situations regarding officiating this season. During the Turkish Super League final series, the club even issued a statement on the matter, and in one game, Dusan Alimpijevic successfully challenged calls three times in the first half. Additionally, he was once ejected due to a miscommunication with the score table.
“Big names have been part of the club in the past, and there’s a strong tradition. Besiktas played in the EuroLeague in one season, but there was a certain decline in between. The investments were good, but they couldn’t achieve the rating to stay constantly at the top. A year before we arrived, they were securing their survival in the league in the final round. That doesn’t belong to a club like this. I’m happy because in our first year we made it to three semifinals, and now two finals, along with EuroCup playoffs participation.
We are consistently in the top three everywhere. We finished second in the Turkish Super League, competing against two EuroLeague teams. That’s a huge achievement. Reputation is very easy to lose, but it takes time to rebuild it. We’ve done a lot in two years, and I expect that Besiktas will no longer be viewed the same way as before. We played two finals against the European champions, and not once did anyone completely outplay us; we always fought. We’ve restored Besiktas’s reputation. This is a serious organization with a serious number of fans.”
“I would like something big at Besiktas”
European basketball is changing constantly and rapidly, and one issue has been in special focus in recent months.
“I would introduce a restriction on young players going to college. This is a topic that isn’t easy. It’s something that needs serious consideration, and people at the top need to make a collective decision in the interest of European basketball, national leagues, and the EuroLeague. If we’re talking about basketball moving towards energy, verticality, and speed, and we have a drain of young players who bring those qualities, we’ll have a problem.
I’m afraid that this player pool will become so small and dry that in the end, we’ll end up with the opposite of what we’re talking about — we’ll be slower and injured, at the European basketball level. I don’t even see the interest from clubs to invest in a young player, only for that player to take a million at 18 and go to the U.S. I have two cases like this in my club: a guy who was supposed to start the season and get 17-18 minutes of play, but he was offered huge money for two years, tax-free. You can’t tell them not to take it; that’s money that secures their life. We need to do something about this issue because if we don’t, we’ll enter a problem that we won’t be able to get out of,” said Dusan Alimpijevic.
🔊 Akatlar'da, Sinan Erdem'de, Basketbol Gelişim Merkezi'nde. #TogetherWeRise 🦅 pic.twitter.com/xKQR7TfSFT
— Beşiktaş GAİN (@BJK_Basketbol) June 21, 2025
Reflecting on memorable moments and what he would relive
Dusan Alimpijevic also shared his thoughts on what moments he would relive if given the chance. There have been so many unforgettable experiences throughout his career, but some stood out as particularly special.
“The journey with Bursa through the EuroCup was incredible. It’s hard for people to understand just how spontaneous and unexpected it was. That year, the EuroCup was one of the strongest ever, and two of the biggest coaching names in European basketball appeared—Zeljko Obradovic and Sergio Scariolo. Not to mention the teams that were there, like Virtus and Partizan, and also others, who have remained strong with great investments and coaches. That run, that euphoria—it was something unprecedented.
However, what I’m experiencing with Besiktas is beyond anything. I’d gladly relive it. The club has 20 million fans, and the energy you feel when you step into the arena—there’s no way to describe it. Everything with Bursa was wonderful, and I’ll remember it for my entire life. Documentaries will be made about that. But what we’re building with Besiktas is something I would always want to experience again because I can’t explain the beautiful connection that’s formed between us and the fans. My family is enjoying what we have here, and that’s why I’d love for us to do something big for Besiktas. Then, it would truly be unforgettable”, concluded Dusan Alimpijevic to Basketball Sphere.
