Twenty three years ago today, Mirza Delibasic, the best athlete of Bosnia and Herzegovina of all time, passed away.
Mirza Delibasic was born on January 9, 1954 in Tuzla. He began his sports career in 1968, when he became the pioneer champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina in tennis. He soon replaced the racket with a basketball in Tuzla’s Sloboda, before moving to KK Bosna in 1972.
He played almost 700 games for “Students” and scored approximately 14,000 points.
He was the champion of Yugoslavia (1978 and 1980), the club champion of Europe in 1979, and won every possible trophy with the national team of the former country. He was the champion of the Old Continent twice (1977 and 1979), the world champion in 1978, and the Olympic champion in 1980.
He was named the best basketball player of the SFRY in 1980.
He played for Yugoslavia 176 times and scored 1,759 points. He was voted the best athlete of Bosnia and Herzegovina four times, and in 2000 he was named the all-time athlete in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He was the coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national basketball team, which finished eighth at the 1993 European Championship. This remains the best finish ever for the Bosnian national team in European competitions.
Mirza Delibasic died in Sarajevo on December 8, 2001.
