Žarko Paspalj (
Serbian Cyrillic: Жарко Паспаљ) (born March 27, 1966) is a retired
Serbian professional
basketball player and current sports administrator. Since 2009 he's been vice-president of the
Serbian Olympic Committee.
From 1982 until 1998, he played for
Budućnost,
Partizan,
San Antonio Spurs,
Olympiacos,
Panathinaikos,
Panionios,
Paris Racing,
Aris, and
Virtus.
For years, he was also an automatic choice for the
Yugoslav national team, representing his country in two
Olympics, 1
World championship, and 4
European championships.
Early life
Paspalj was born in
Pljevlja,
SR Montenegro, in
SFR Yugoslavia. His Serbian
forester father Jovan from a small village on the slopes of
Kozara in
Bosanska Krajina moved to Pljevlja on business as he dealt in lumber trade. Once there he got married to a local woman Mileva and stayed on.
When young Žarko was 10 years old, his father moved the family to
Titograd because he got a job there. Žarko took up basketball and soon distinguished himself in the youth system of
KK Budućnost.
Playing career
Early days in Titograd
Žarko Paspalj began his pro career in 1982 when at age 16 he got moved up to Budućnost's first team where he was part of a talented generation alongside the likes of
Zdravko Radulović and
Luka Pavićević. Back then, Budućnost was a small, unambitious side that essentially served as talent
feeder for bigger Yugoslav league clubs like
Partizan,......
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