Branko Kovačević (basketball)

Branko Kovačević (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранко Ковачевић; born March 15, 1951) is a retired Yugoslav professional basketball player.

Branko Kovačević

Personal information
Born	15 March 1951 Valjevo, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian
Listed height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Career information
NBA draft	1973 / Undrafted
Playing career	1969–1986
Position	Small forward
Number	14
Career history
1969–1978	Metalac Valjevo
1979–1984	Crvena zvezda
1984–1986	Smelt Olimpija

Playing career

Kovačević started his career in Valjevo, playing for a struggling Second Division side Metalac. He became a key player for Metalac, guiding them to promotion in First Federal Basketball League in 1973. With Kovačević as their best player and one of the best scorers in the entire First Division, Metalac spent memorable years in the top flight.[1]

In 1979 Kovačević signed for Crvena zvezda. He helped his team reach the 1984 Korać Cup final, after scoring 34 points in the semi-final first leg against Zaragoza.[2]

After five years with Crvena zvezda, Kovačević went to Smelt Olimpija. Once again, Kovačević managed to help his team gain promotion from 1. B Federal Basketball League.

National team career

Kovačević was a member of the Yugoslavia national junior team at the 1970 FIBA Europe Championship for Juniors. Over five tournament games, he averaged 3.4 points per game.[3]

See also

• List of KK Crvena zvezda players with 100 games played

References

1. "Branko "čovek-tim" Kovačević". kosmagazin.com. 6 March 2016. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
2. "Zvezdinih 130 Saragosi..." mozzartsport.com. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-21.
3. "Yugoslavia 8 - Branko Kovacevic". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 5 December 2018.