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Basketball Unforgettable Legends: Mirza Delibašić

Mirza Delibašić (January 9, 1954 – December 8, 2001) was a Bosnian basketball player. He was a born in Tuzla, located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the former Yugoslavia.

Mirza Delibašić "Kindje" led his club KK Bosna Sarajevo to the Euroleague Championship in 1979. After leaving KK Bosna, Delibašić went to Spain where he along with Juan Corbalán, Wayne Brabender, Fernando Martín Espina, Dražen Petrović, and Arvydas Sabonis, is considered to be one of the best players ever to play for the "royal club" Real Madrid.

Photograph: Vedia PhotoStream

Mirza Delibašić, the sportsman of the 20th century in Bosnia and Herzegovina

En route to a place among the European greatest players, Mirza Delibašić has won everything there was to win with Yugoslavia including Olympic gold in 1980, European gold three times, World Championship gold in 1978, plus many titles in European club competitions.

In addition to having played together for their national team, Mirza Delibašić and Dražen Dalipagić have also played together for Real Madrid. Their performance in a 1981 Euroleague game vs. KK Cibona in Zagreb is only one of the many highlights of their careers.

Mirza Delibašić scored 33 and Dalipagić 30 points. The game appropriately finished with a two-on-one fastbreak with Delibašić making a behind-the-back fake pass to Dalipagić and passing by a defender for a two-handed dunk at the buzzer. Cibona fans put aside their team loss and showed their appreciation for Bosnian stars` performances with standing ovations at the end of the game.

In August 1983 He suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage and had to permanently retire from the sport he loved. He lived in Sarajevo throughout the 1992-1996 siege of the city. His final years were marked by persistent health problems due to his heavy drinking, which led to his death on December 8, 2001 in Sarajevo at the age of 47. Several thousand people attended his funeral in Sarajevo and KK Bosna renamed its arena in his honor.

In 2000, Mirza Delibašić was selected the sportsman of the 20th century in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A memorial basketball tournament is held every year in the Dvorana Mirza Delibašić. In 2007, he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Read Mirza Delibašić's full story and statistics in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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