The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague sees players and coaches return to the competition every season, but the status of some icons who are back for this 2022-23 campaign starting next week is quite unique.
The welcome back parade starts with two of the most celebrated coaches in the game: Zeljko Obradovic, the winningest coach in EuroLeague history, and Sergio Scariolo, the reigning World Cup and EuroBasket gold-medal head coach of Spain.
Obradovic returns with Partizan NIS Belgrade, the club where he finished his playing career and started his coaching legacy, winning the first of his record nine EuroLeague titles in 1992. No person, player or coach, has won more continental titles since European club basketball competitions began in 1957. Obradovic's 18 Final Four appearances as a coach are also an all-time record. Obradovic last coached a EuroLeague game on March 6, 2020, leading Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul against Khimki Moscow Region right before the COVID-19 pandemic.